Dentist Ranked #1 Job in America by U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News and World Report has released its list of the 100 Best Jobs of 2017, with Dentist making the top spot in this year’s rankings. Orthodontist and Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon also made the top ten jobs list for 2017. Dentistry and the other top jobs were selected for their propensity to offer “great growth potential, enviable work-life balance, high wages and low unemployment.”

MarketWatch, a company that helps assemble the rankings determines the rankings by “looking at hiring demand, salary, unemployment rate, 10-year growth, future prospects, and stress levels.” Dentistry received top marks for median salary, $152,700, an unemployment rate of 0.1%, and 23,300 job openings forecasted for this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an employment growth rate of 18% through 2024 for the profession.

Dentists who work in private offices are paid particularly well, but so are those who work for the state government and alongside other health practitioners. The metropolitan areas that compensate dentists the best include Jackson, Tennessee; Port St. Lucie, Florida; and Greensboro, North Carolina.

Stress levels and work-life balance are factors of increasing significance when choosing a career, and the report notes above-average marks in these fields for dentists. According to U.S. News & World Report, dentists have average opportunities for advancements and upward mobility, average stress levels in terms of work environment and complexities of the job’s responsibilities, and above average flexibility for alternative work schedule and work life balance.