S T SalaryCompareTool

Dentists salary in Merced, CA

Median pay for dentists in Merced, CA: $164,840/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $100,540 – $239,200 · about 60 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($165,500) by −$660 (+0%).

What it's really worth in Merced

With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $164,840 has the buying power of about $165,472 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.

Full Merced cost of living & taxes →

How Merced ranks for this job

On raw pay, Merced, CA is 90th of the 171 metros we hold dentists wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 103rd.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Merced sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Merced

A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 2.5× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is more attainable here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,975/mo works out at 14% of gross pay — inside the conventional 30% affordability ceiling.

Where dentists earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Merced.

MetroMedian payvs MercedRent vs Merced
Charlotte, NC $239,200 +45% 0.9×
Salem, OR $226,010 +37% 0.8×
Anchorage, AK $225,170 +37% 0.9×
Phoenix, AZ $219,600 +33% 0.9×

Same job elsewhere in CA

MetroMedian payvs MercedRent vs Merced
Salinas, CA $216,140 +31% 1.5×
San Jose, CA $206,850 +25% 1.8×
San Francisco, CA $202,130 +23% 1.6×
San Luis Obispo, CA $202,020 +23% 1.4×

Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Merced

Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 171 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.