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Dental hygiene programs in Kentucky
Kentucky has 4 accredited campuses awarding dental hygiene credentials. If you finish and work as a dental hygienist in Kentucky, expect to start around $61,280–$67,880 and reach a median of $78,830 with experience; the top quarter earn $91,800 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Kentucky). Graduates of these Kentucky programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $43,898 in their first year, against $51,231 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What dental hygienists earn in Kentucky
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 2,070 employed in Kentucky. National median: $98,100.
Campuses in Kentucky, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: Bowling GreenLexingtonPaducahPrestonsburg
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegrass Community and Technical College | Lexington | Public | 84 | $43,898 | $11,399 | 43% | not reported |
| Big Sandy Community and Technical College | Prestonsburg | Public | 34 | not reported | not reported | 38% | not reported |
| West Kentucky Community and Technical College | Paducah | Public | 9 | not reported | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 6 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.