National salary comparison — BLS OES 2024-2025 data
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Dental Hygienists earn a national median of $81,400/year vs Cloud Engineers at $138,000/year. Cloud Engineers earn 70% more nationally. The gap is $56,600 per year — or $4,717 per month.
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Dental Hygienist
$81,400
national median/year
$6,783/mo • $39/hr
VS
Cloud Engineer
$138,000
national median/year
$11,500/mo • $66/hr
Annual salary gap
$56,600
Cloud Engineers earn 70% more per year nationally. Over 30 years at 7% investment return that gap compounds to approximately $641,578.
Best states for Cloud Engineers
vs Dental Hygienists
Virginia+$73,600
New York+$69,600
California+$63,600
Maryland+$63,600
Massachusetts+$63,600
Best states for Dental Hygienists
vs Cloud Engineers
Alaska+$-17,600
Hawaii+$-21,600
North Dakota+$-29,600
Wyoming+$-29,600
Mississippi+$-33,600
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Cloud Engineers earn more nationally. The median annual salary for Dental Hygienists is $81,400 versus $138,000 for Cloud Engineers — a difference of $56,600 per year or $4,717 per month.
The national median salary gap between Dental Hygienists and Cloud Engineers is $56,600 per year. Cloud Engineers earn 70% more. Over a 30-year career this difference, if invested at 7% annual return, compounds to approximately $641,578.
Based on BLS OES 2024-2025 data, California pays Dental Hygienists the highest median salary at $114,400 per year.
Based on BLS OES 2024-2025 data, California pays Cloud Engineers the highest median salary at $178,000 per year.
Salary is one factor — Cloud Engineers earn more nationally. But career choice involves job satisfaction, work-life balance, education requirements, and job growth. Dental Hygienists and Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts both have different educational paths, licensing requirements, and long-term growth projections. Use salary as a starting point, not the only factor.
Based on a standard 2,080-hour work year, Dental Hygienists earn approximately $39 per hour nationally and Cloud Engineers earn approximately $66 per hour. Actual hourly rates vary based on overtime, part-time work, and whether the role is salaried or hourly.
Methodology: Salary data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) 2024-2025. Figures represent median annual wages for wage and salary workers. Self-employed excluded. Hourly rates calculated at 2,080 hours per year. State salary figures from same BLS OES dataset. Updated annually.
