PathData for future dentists · by Dr. Charley Levy, DDS
The numbers behind
dental school
Admissions, rankings, tuition and income for every U.S. dental school, from 75 years of national data. By a dentist, for future dentists.
13,657applied for the 2025-26 class
53%started dental school (7,296)
76U.S. dental schools, every one profiled
$185Kmedian general dentist income, 2025
Explore
Start here
Admissions CalculatorEnter your GPA, DAT and home state to see your chance of getting in, overall and at every school.60,285 applicants of data →DAT Score ConverterConvert old 1–30 DAT scores to the new 200–600 scale, or new scores back to old, for all 8 scores.ADA concordance table →Admissions Rankings 2026All 76 schools ranked on DAT, GPA, acceptance and enrollment rates, with five years of history.#1 Harvard University →School Profiles26 years of applications, offers, DAT and GPA, tuition, the class mix and where students come from.76 schools →Compare SchoolsPut up to 5 dental schools side by side: admissions, cost, out-of-state share and more.Up to 5 schools →Dental School MapEvery U.S. dental school on one clickable map. Color it by acceptance rate, cost or year opened, and zoom into any state.76 schools →New Dental SchoolsEvery dental school that has opened since 2000: what they cost, who gets in and how they compare.See the list →StatesWhere each state's students go to dental school, who stays home, and how many dentists work there.52 states and territories →Out-of-State RankingsWhich schools take non-residents, how much your home state helps, and what being out-of-state costs.76 schools →Tuition RankingsFour years of tuition and fees at every school, in-state and out-of-state, public and private.$124K to $545K →Want to Specialize?Where today’s oral surgery and orthodontic residents went to dental school, and which programs take their own graduates.Oral surgery · Ortho →After Dental SchoolGPR, AEGD or a specialty? Residency spots vs. graduates, how competitive each one is, stipends, tuition, and every program.753 programs →The Private Loan GapFederal loans now stop at $200,000. What each school's cost leaves for private loans, in-state and out-of-state, and what it costs to repay.New for fall 2026 →Take-Home Pay CalculatorIncome in, then taxes, 401(k), insurance and student loans out: a dentist's real monthly paycheck and what's left.2026 tax rules →Dentist IncomeWhat general dentists and every specialty earn, owners vs. employed, and pay in every state.GP median $185K →Dentist Life SimulatorMeet a random practicing dentist: specialty, state, school, residency, ownership and income, drawn from real data.Press go →Dental School LoansWhat $100K to $500K in dental school debt really costs at today’s federal rates, through school, grace and residency.Loan calculator →
The big picture, 1951–2025
Applications are back near their peak
13,657 people applied to dental school for 2025, the most since 2007. With 7,296 seats, 53% got in. The tightest year was 2007, at 3.0 applicants per seat.
ApplicantsEnrolled (first-time, first-year)
Source: ADA and other published data, compiled by Dr. Charley Levy. Hover a year for the numbers.
Path32 Admissions Rankings 2026
The top 10
Ranked on DAT, GPA, acceptance rate and enrollment rate.
- 1Harvard UniversityMA · Private–
- 2U of North CarolinaNC · Public▲5
- 3UCLACA · Public–
- 4University of ConnecticutCT · Public▲2
- 5U of Texas at HoustonTX · Public▼1
- 6University of FloridaFL · Public▼4
- 7Texas A&M UniversityTX · Public▲12
- 8Columbia UniversityNY · Private▼3
- 9U of Illinois, ChicagoIL · Public▲4
- 10UCSFCA · Public▼2
By the numbers
Worth knowing before you apply
$545Kthe most expensive four years of dental school: Ohio State University, out-of-state. The least: West Virginia University, $124K in-state.$259Kmedian net income of specialists in 2025, vs. $185K for general dentists.Missouripays employed general dentists the most, $242K on average (BLS, May 2025).79%of applicants with a 3.75+ GPA started dental school (2021–2025), vs. 30% with 3.00–3.24.
About
Subscribe free →Hi, I'm Dr. Charley Levy
I'm a dentist and a data nerd. Path32 started as a spreadsheet I wish I'd had when I was applying: real numbers from the ADA, BLS and other published sources, cleaned up, checked against each other and explained in plain English. More than 2,500 people read the Path32 newsletter.