Side-by-side distribution
Dentist
$265,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.8%
- Live roles
- 104
Staff Engineer
$220,300
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.1%
- Live roles
- 4,830
Highest-paying jobs
General Dentist
General Dentist
Dentist
General Dentist
General Dentist
Associate / Lead Dentist - $10k Sign-On Bonus
Associate / Lead Dentist
Associate / Lead Dentist - $10k Sign-On Bonus
Associate / Lead Dentist
Associate / Lead Dentist
Highest-paying jobs
Staff, Hardware Electrical Engineer
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff React Native Engineer ($500k - 1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Frontend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Research Engineer (Senior Staff+), Safeguards Labs
Staff Research Engineer, Discovery Team
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Elite Dental Partners
|
$270,000 | 21 |
Enable Dental
|
$273,000 | 11 |
|
Tend
|
$300,000 | 6 |
|
Dental365
|
$325,000 | 4 |
Dentalook
|
$100,000 | 4 |
Greenlife Healthcare Staffing
|
$140,400 | 3 |
United Dental Corporation
|
$234,000 | 2 |
Aizer Health
|
$228,800 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 109 |
Databricks
|
$226,000 | 77 |
|
Anthropic
|
$425,000 | 60 |
Grafana Labs
|
$147,822 | 48 |
Crusoe
|
$231,000 | 46 |
Archer
|
$192,500 | 37 |
Aurora Innovation
|
$231,500 | 34 |
Okta
|
$206,000 | 34 |
Dentist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $325,000 | 5 |
Staff Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $250,000 | 153 |
| San Francisco | $245,000 | 613 |
| New York | $240,000 | 464 |
| Dublin | $238,416 | 4 |
| Austin | $230,750 | 54 |
| Chicago | $230,000 | 46 |
| Los Angeles | $220,000 | 62 |
| Boston | $212,500 | 97 |
| Denver | $210,500 | 45 |
| London | $208,297 | 48 |
Dentist vs Staff Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Dentist is $265,000 per year (typically $171,863–$273,000), versus $220,300 for Staff Engineer ($190,000–$250,000). That puts Dentist about 20% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Dentist and Staff Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.