Dental competition in the 25 largest US metros, ranked

Of the 25 largest metro areas in the US, the San Francisco Bay Area has the most dental competition for its size, with 2,442 residents per general dental practice. St. Louis has the least, with 4,458, followed closely by Minneapolis-St. Paul (4,445). The US average is about 3,853 residents per general practice, so 19 of the 25 largest metros are more crowded than the country as a whole.

The figures come from Dentagraphics' hand-verified count of active general dental practices and Census Bureau American Community Survey data, cross-referenced against multiple commercial data sources. Each metro links to a full page with county-by-county numbers and the specific areas worth a closer look.

The 25 largest metros, from most to least competitive

Rank	Metro area	Residents per general practice	General practices	Median household income
1	San Francisco Bay Area, CA	2,442	1,888	$118,945
2	Los Angeles, CA	2,479	5,240	$80,795
3	Miami, FL	2,762	2,213	$66,890
4	Seattle, WA	2,802	1,434	$98,808
5	Chicago, IL	2,861	3,300	$81,815
6	Boston, MA	2,865	1,705	$101,003
7	San Diego, CA	2,903	1,139	$88,461
8	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	2,997	2,605	$81,049
9	Washington, DC	3,004	2,110	$116,265
10	New York, NY	3,074	6,323	$89,881
11	Detroit, MI	3,128	1,389	$71,452
12	Austin, TX	3,247	731	$87,529
13	Houston, TX	3,281	2,206	$76,490
14	Denver, CO	3,376	886	$90,554
15	Charlotte, NC	3,481	782	$74,530
16	Tampa, FL	3,524	926	$64,592
17	Philadelphia, PA	3,639	1,702	$83,729
18	Phoenix, AZ	3,670	1,375	$73,050
19	Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	3,709	1,267	$71,672
20	Orlando, FL	3,854	698	$67,072
21	San Antonio, TX	3,877	677	$68,720
22	Atlanta, GA	4,065	1,516	$80,534
23	Baltimore, MD	4,114	687	$94,389
24	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN	4,445	830	$90,643
25	St. Louis, MO	4,458	631	$75,161

Source: Dentagraphics metro pages, hand-verified active general dental practices; Census ACS. US average: 3,853 residents per general practice. A lower number means fewer residents for each practice, so more competition.

What the ranking shows

California and the big coastal metros are the most crowded. Four of the seven most competitive metros are in California or Washington state. High incomes help explain it: the San Francisco Bay Area ($118,945) and Washington, DC ($116,265) have the highest median household incomes on the list.

Miami is crowded without the high income. Miami has the third most competition (2,762 residents per practice) with a median household income of $66,890, well below the US median. That combination deserves extra caution.

The Midwest and parts of the South have the most room. St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Baltimore and Atlanta all have more than 4,000 residents per general practice. Minneapolis-St. Paul ($90,643) and Baltimore ($94,389) pair that room with incomes above the US median.

Fast-growing Sun Belt metros are mostly near the middle. Phoenix, Austin, Houston, Charlotte, Tampa, Orlando and San Antonio sit between 3,200 and 3,900 residents per practice. Growth is drawing dentists as well as patients.

A metro average hides the areas that matter

Every metro on this list contains crowded areas and open ones. On each metro page we compare, ZIP by ZIP, how many residents each general practice serves within 5 miles, the local median household income and how much attention each area gets from dentists researching it on Dentagraphics. Some examples:

San Antonio: the ZIPs dentists research most already have about 2,300 to 2,700 residents per general practice within 5 miles, while ZIPs 78252 and 78245 have more than 11,000 and get little attention.
Atlanta: Hampton, Ellenwood and Dallas, Georgia have more than 11,000 residents per practice with incomes above $80,000.
Washington, DC: Aldie, Dumfries, Lorton and New Market are relatively open, with incomes above $125,000.
Los Angeles: one of the most crowded metros in the country, but Castaic stands out as a high-income area with less competition.
San Francisco Bay Area: almost no open room, with Oakland's 94619 the exception.

The point is the same in every metro: the busiest areas for dentists' research are often already crowded, and the open areas are often the ones nobody is looking at.

How to use this ranking

Shortlist metros that fit your life and license. If you're relocating, start with our residents per general dental practice by state table.
Open the metro page and compare its counties. County gaps are usually bigger than gaps between metros.
Narrow to areas around specific sites. Look at the competition within about 5 miles or a short drive, plus income, age and insurance mix.
Verify the competition. A count is only as good as the list behind it. Dentagraphics tracks 118,330 practices verified by hand, each rechecked every year.

See our guide to dental practice site selection for the full process.

Frequently asked questions

Which big city has the most dentists per person? Among the 25 largest metros, the San Francisco Bay Area, with 2,442 residents per general dental practice. Los Angeles (2,479) and Miami (2,762) follow.

Which large metro has the fewest dentists per person? St. Louis, with 4,458 residents per general dental practice, then Minneapolis-St. Paul (4,445) and Baltimore (4,114).

Is a metro with more residents per practice a better place to open? Not on its own. It means less competition on paper. Whether residents become patients depends on income, age, insurance mix and the specific site. Use the ranking to narrow your search, then look at counties and specific areas.

Why does Dentagraphics count practices instead of dentists? A new practice competes with other offices, not with every licensed dentist. One office can have several dentists, and some dentists don't see patients in a practice you'd compete with.

How current are these numbers? Practice counts come from Dentagraphics' live database, which is rechecked every year, with a person reviewing every flagged change in between. The figures here were taken from our metro pages in October 2026.