25:["$","$L26",null,{"category":"$27","relatedArticles":[{"id":"cG9zdDo0MjAyOQ==","databaseId":42029,"postId":42029,"author":{"node":{"id":"dXNlcjo1MA==","databaseId":50,"userId":50,"avatar":{"url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/10ca58872f36412ceff58616bb971c22?s=96&d=mm&r=g","size":96,"__typename":"Avatar"},"description":"Amelia Josephson is a writer passionate about covering financial literacy topics. Her areas of expertise include retirement and home buying. Amelia's work has appeared across the web, including on AOL, CBS News and The Simple Dollar. She holds degrees from Columbia and Oxford. Originally from Alaska, Amelia now calls Brooklyn home.","additionalMeta":{"expertise":null,"__typename":"User_Additionalmeta"},"email":null,"firstName":"Amelia","fullName":"Amelia Josephson","lastName":"Josephson","name":"Amelia Josephson","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":334,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnection"},"slug":"ajosephson","__typename":"User"},"__typename":"NodeWithAuthorToUserConnectionEdge"},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"CategoryToCategoryConnection"},"databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":38,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnection"},"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"}],"__typename":"PostToCategoryConnection"},"content":"$28","date":"2015-11-20T10:00:56","excerpt":"

\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoxODIxNTQ=","databaseId":182154,"altText":"The Economics of Craft Fairs","date":"2023-01-05T02:04:21","fileSize":47565,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2023-01-05T02:04:21","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/economics_of_craft_fairs_1-1.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2023-9-1","readable":"September 1, 2023"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/the-economics-of-craft-fairs","metaDesc":"The holiday season always sees a lot of craft fairs. Do the makers selling goods at these craft fairs make a living? That depends. Learn more here.","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":9,"title":"The Economics of Craft Fairs - SmartAsset","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"the-economics-of-craft-fairs","status":"publish","title":"The Economics of Craft Fairs","uri":"/career/the-economics-of-craft-fairs","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo1MA==","databaseId":50,"userId":50,"avatar":"$29","description":"Amelia Josephson is a writer passionate about covering financial literacy topics. Her areas of expertise include retirement and home buying. Amelia's work has appeared across the web, including on AOL, CBS News and The Simple Dollar. She holds degrees from Columbia and Oxford. Originally from Alaska, Amelia now calls Brooklyn home.","additionalMeta":"$2a","email":null,"firstName":"Amelia","fullName":"Amelia Josephson","lastName":"Josephson","name":"Amelia Josephson","postCount":"$2b","slug":"amelia-josephson","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$2e","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

As American consumers increasingly long for a personal, local touch in the goods we buy, the craft industry seems to be booming. Have you ever dreamed of quitting your 9-to-5 job and starting a career selling handmade crafts? Or wondered whether selling goods at craft fairs would be a lucrative side hustle? Here’s what you should know about the economics of craft fairs, from how much it costs to participate to how much you stand to earn.

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Check out our cost of living calculator.

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What Counts as a “Craft?”

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You may have heard that in the case of craft beer, what’s marketed as “craft” is sometimes owned and produced by big corporate conglomerates. The same can be said for some of the items sold at craft fairs. If you head to a holiday craft fair in your area, particularly one that casts a wide net for vendors, you may be seeing mass-produced items. But in theory, a craft fair should have vendors selling items they made themselves, by hand. One reason to go to a craft fair is to “shop small” and support local businesses.

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Pay to Play

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As a craftsperson, you’ll generally have to pay for the privilege of selling your wares at a craft fair. The price you’ll pay for a booth or table at a craft fair will depend on several factors: the size of the fair, the prestige, the length of the fair and the perks involved.

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For example, an established three-day fair that draws a huge crowd and engages in a lot of promotion and advertising will charge vendors more than a small, local event held in a parking lot or church basement. According to Entrepreneur.com, booth space at a craft fair typically costs between $200 and $300. Some fairs also charge a percentage of your sales.

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Craft fairs come in two basic forms: juried and non-juried. Vendors who want to sell their crafts at a juried show have to apply for the privilege. Sometimes there is an application fee. Juried shows also charge higher booth fees. However, because they’re likely to attract customers with more to spend, the financial outlay involved in selling at a juried show is generally considered worthwhile.

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The booth fee won’t be the only fair-related expense you have to pay for. In some cases you’ll have to provide your own table and chairs, though these are often included. To attract visitors to your booth you’ll probably want to have more than just a table and the goods you’re selling. You may want to have a nice tablecloth, some cookies and lemonade or other enticements. It’s a good idea to pay for a sign and business cards to promote your business.

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You can save money by bringing your own food but you still might end up succumbing to temptation and spending money at the craft fair yourself. Another expense that may pay off is some sort of give-away, whether it’s a free sample or mini product with purchase, or a larger item that’s raffled off at the end of the fair.

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Costs of Doing Business

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Let’s say you’re a crafter who decides to take the plunge and spend $200 for a booth or table at a craft fair. Your costs don’t end there. You likely have to travel to the craft fair by plane, train, car or public transit. You may also have to pay for luggage or shipping.

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Want to get a credit card reader so your customers can pay with a credit card? You’ll have to pay for that, too. Square, which lets you use your smartphone as a card reader, charges a 2.75% swipe fee. Intuit charges the same percentage. Paypal and Shopify both charge swipe fees of 2.7%. All of these services charge a higher percentage for payments you enter manually.

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Then there’s the cost of the materials you use to make your wares. If your personal talent is making wallets out of old tires or picture frames out of salvaged wood, your costs will be fairly low. But if you make artisan jewelry out of gold and diamonds, you’re going to need to shell out a lot more for materials. Whatever their materials costs, many makers double, triple or quadruple their costs to determine the price they’ll charge customers.

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Those with the highest costs generally charge the highest prices, which means they need to sell fewer items to make a craft fair an economics success. If your goal is to make $2,000 at a craft fair and the average price of your goods is $20, you’ll have a different approach than someone whose average price is $200.

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For some vendors, customer volume is key to success, while for others it’s a question of finding a good match with a handful of customers who have more to spend. That’s why it’s important to do your research before you apply to sell at a craft fair. You want to make sure the crowd that attends is a good match for your merchandise.

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In fact, one successful jewelry artist wrote in an essay about why she quit doing craft fairs that the fairs weren’t a good match for her business model. Because her materials were more expensive, her prices were higher and craft fair attendees weren’t willing to spend that much. As a consequence, she was paying to attend craft fairs and not making a profit.

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For folks with high materials costs, selling online may make more sense than attending a lot of craft fairs. On the other hand, there are high-end craft fairs where a maker with high prices could do well. And selling at a craft fair could provide valuable marketing that would translate into greater online sales.

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Making a Living at Craft Fairs

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median weekly earnings in the U.S. were $803 in the third quarter of 2015. Let’s say you want to do a little better than that and earn $900 per week. At 50 weeks of work, you’ll earn $45,000 per year. You won’t be flying first class but you’ll have a solid income.

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In craft circles, there’s a lot of talk about the “7x rule.” According to this rule, makers should aim to sell 7 times what they pay for the booth fee at a craft fair. So, if you go to a craft fair that has a $200 booth fee, you’ll want to sell at least $1,400 worth of merchandise. 45,000/1,400 = 32.14. Does that mean you’ll have to attend 32 craft fairs per year to meet your income goal? Not exactly, because you’ll still have to cover your costs. You either need to make more money or attend more craft fairs.

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When you run the numbers, you can see why it’s pretty rare to make an income from craft fairs alone. If you already have a part- or full-time job and do, say, five craft fairs each year as a side hustle, you could rake in $7,000 ($1,400 x 5) in revenue. That’s a respectable side hustle for five weekends of work, plus the hours you spend making your merchandise. Or, you could supplement your craft fair income by selling your wares in a brick-and-mortar or online shop.

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Here’s a 2012 quote from an Etsy forum titled “Craft Fairs… it’s a living! Average income from craft fairs.” It shows how difficult it can be to make a living solely from the income made at craft fairs:

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“Usually about 10x my booth fee is a pretty profitable show for us. We take what we make and subtract about a third of it for materials, then subtract our expenses for the show (booth fee, gas, meals, possible motel?) and if we have a couple hundred dollars after that we’re good. Of course if you broke it down to hourly pay for two of us, including time to create, prepare, set up, sell, take down, drive to and from, our hourly wage is not too good.”
\n

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Paying Your Small Business Taxes

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The income you make at a craft fair is income you’ll have to declare to Uncle Sam when it comes time to pay your income taxes. For starters, you’ll need to obtain a tax ID number for your small business, which may involve registering with the state where you’ll be selling your wares. If you don’t have a business you’ll declare your craft fair income on your personal income tax returns.

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Depending on where the craft fair is happening, you may need special paperwork or permits to sell, too. Each time you apply to sell at a craft fair it’s a good idea to ask the team running the fair if there are special licenses or permits you’ll need as a vendor. You should also ask if there will be someone on hand to collect local sales taxes at the close of the event.

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In some states, there is a floor for collecting sales tax, which means you might not need to collect the tax if your sales are small. The rules concerning local and state sales tax can be complex, but it’s important to comply with all relevant tax law. For more details on tax compliance for craft fair vendors, check out this page from the U.S. Small Business Administration. With mobile services like Square and Paypal, you can enter your tax settings before you start swiping payments.

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Bottom Line

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Anyone interested in selling at a craft fair can head to festivalnet.com or thecraftsfaironline.com. Both are sites that aggregate listings for craft fairs around the country. Unless you have an impeccable record of picking the perfect craft fairs for your work and racking up sales, you may decide to think of craft fairs as a complement to other income sources. One other income source could be your day job. Or, if you want to devote yourself to your craft full-time, you can complement craft fair revenue with sales in galleries and online.

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Small Business Planning Tips

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Photo credit: © iStock.com/PeopleImages, © iStock.com/joste_dj, © iStock.com/carterdayne

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In general, this is a good time for those seeking new opportunities in their careers. Unemployment is low and the economy continues to add jobs every month. Even so, leaving your current position for a new one is a stressful …

\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoxOTY2MDg=","databaseId":196608,"altText":"The Top Ten Jobs for Salary and Growth in 2015","date":"2023-05-06T22:15:23","fileSize":95781,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2023-05-06T22:15:23","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/09/iStock_000020320960_Medium-1.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2023-5-7","readable":"May 7, 2023"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/the-top-ten-jobs-for-salary-and-growth-in-2015","metaDesc":"Which jobs are on the rise? These top 10 jobs pay well and have strong salary and wage growth in the past year. If you're thinking about changing careers...","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":5,"title":"The Top Ten Jobs for Salary and Growth - SmartAsset","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"the-top-ten-jobs-for-salary-and-growth-in-2015","status":"publish","title":"The Top Ten Jobs for Salary and Growth in 2015","uri":"/career/the-top-ten-jobs-for-salary-and-growth-in-2015","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo0OA==","databaseId":48,"userId":48,"avatar":"$32","description":"Nick Wallace studied Economics at the University of Washington. He enjoys getting people thinking about finances by looking a the numbers. Nick is a freelance journalist and data analyst living in Michigan. He still lends his economic and analytic expertise for SmartAsset's studies.","additionalMeta":"$33","email":null,"firstName":"Nick","fullName":"Nick Wallace","lastName":"Wallace","name":"Nick Wallace","postCount":"$34","slug":"nick-wallace","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$37","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

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This is the 2015 version of SmartAsset’s study. Read the 2016 version here.

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On the other hand, a successful change of career paths can have huge long-term benefits. SmartAsset researched data on employment and income to find the jobs with the greatest upside.

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Key Findings

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The movie and TV industry is booming. Two of the top ten jobs are involved with the process of producing television shows, movies and other types of motion pictures. Film editors and camera operators saw job growth of 8% last year, more than double the national average.
Healthcare is a good bet. It’s no secret that healthcare is a growth industry. The numbers bear that out. Three of the top ten jobs for salary and growth are in healthcare, including the teachers responsible for training all these new medical experts.

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Try SmartAsset’s free investment calculator.

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Methodology

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For our analysis SmartAsset looked at 2013 and 2014 Bureau of Labor Statistics data on nearly 700 jobs, considering every job with total U.S. employment of at least 5,000. Our index tracked the current average salary, the one-year job growth and the one-year salary growth for each profession. We found the number of standard deviations above or below the mean each job scored for each metric and totaled them up to find each job’s overall ranking.

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$\"The$

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Personal Financial Advisors

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As the economy improves, people have more money to spend – and save. That’s good news for personal financial advisors, who offer their expertise and guidance on important financial decisions, such as how to allocate savings among various investments and how to prepare for retirement. The number of personal financial advisors in the United States grew by 7% last year. Today there are nearly 200,000 in all, earning an average of $108,090 per year.

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Film and Video Editors

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Many believe we have entered a new golden era of television, with services like Netflix and HBONow pushing the quality (and quantity) of television entertainment to new levels. Add to that the continuing success of original YouTube videos, plus a Hollywood resurgence (2015 is on track to be the biggest box office year ever) and you have what amounts to a boom in the overall film industry.

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No one is more instrumental to that boom than film and video editors who mold the raw material into something watchable. The number of jobs for film and video editors grew by 12% last year, while total income increased by 8%.

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Marine Engineers and Naval Architects

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The $4.5 billion USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier is one of wonders of the modern world. A floating city, it is powered by two on-board nuclear reactors and carries 90 aircraft along with over 5,000 crew members.

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That behemoth is just one (fairly extreme) example of the work done by marine engineers and naval architects, who design ships ranging from submarines to sail boats to yachts. For their efforts, these nautical masterminds earn an average of $99,160 (before taxes) per year.

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Orthodontists

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Overbite? Crooked teeth? Head to the orthodontist, whose job it is to straighten out such matters. Orthodontists are responsible for the braces, retainers and headgear so loathed by school children, but their work is in high demand (parents foot the bills, after all). The average income for orthodontists is more than $200,000 and the number of orthodontists in the U.S. increased by 11% last year.

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Riggers

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Job requirements: must be able to lift at least 10,000 pounds on a daily basis. Riggers are responsible for moving, transporting and positioning heavy equipment and oversized loads. This might mean hauling a steam-shovel to a job site or getting a rocket in place for its launch. Riggers earn $46,900 on average, representing a one-year increase of 6%.

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Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts and Blasters

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Like watching things blow up? This may be the job for you. Explosives workers handle dynamite, ammonium nitrate, fuses, charges and other things that go “bang!” They oversee demolitions and excavations, paying special attention to safety. Perhaps thanks to the rebounding construction and mining industries, the number of opportunities for explosives workers has blown up recently, increasing by 22% last year.

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Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers

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Overall, the medical field is one of the fastest growing in the U.S. Along with orthodontists (ranked fourth) and anesthesiologists (ranked tenth), other fields experiencing strong growth include dentists and pharmacists. Health specialties teachers train all of these workers, so it is no surprise that they are likewise in high demand. Income growth for health specialties teachers was 7% last year.

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Earth Drillers (non-Oil and Gas)

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While the term “drilling” typically brings to mind oil wells, there are about 20,000 drillers in the U.S. who do a different kind of work. These earth drillers bore through rock and concrete, typically in order to lay tunnels for public utilities systems or to access valuable minerals like copper or coal. The number of jobs for earth drillers grew by 10% last year, while incomes increased by 9%.

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TV and Movie Camera Operators

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While everyone can shoot a Vine on their iPhone these days, it takes training and skill to handle the heavy-duty equipment on a TV or movie set. A camera operator isn’t just responsible for hitting play and holding still – they need to make sure each shot is properly framed and that the camera captures a scene as the director desires. For cinema buffs looking to break into the movie industry, this may be a good place to start – the number of jobs for camera operators grew by 9% last year.

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Anesthesiologists

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Anesthesiologists specialize in limiting the pain of surgery and medical treatment. This is a difficult science, requiring many years of training. However, in the long run that training can pay off. The 30,060 anesthesiologists in the U.S. earn an average of $246,320 annually. That’s roughly five time the average U.S. income.

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The Bottom Ten Jobs

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The bottom ten jobs all experienced negative wage and job growth last year. Incomes for these positions range from $24,640 to $69,610. These bottom ten fields include: metal pourers and casters, drilling and boring machine tool setters, multimedia artists and animators, middle school career education teachers, continuous mining machine operators, motor vehicle electronic equipment installers, gaming change persons and booth cashiers, gaming and sports book writers and runners, tailors and dressmakers and medical transcriptionists.

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Photo credits: ©iStock.com/skynesher, ©iStock.com/michaelbwatkins

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\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoxNzI3Mzg=","databaseId":172738,"altText":"The Average Salary of a Dentist","date":"2022-11-08T17:44:32","fileSize":38015,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2022-11-08T17:44:32","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/12/average_salary_dentist_1-1.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2023-3-21","readable":"March 21, 2023"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/the-average-salary-of-a-dentist","metaDesc":"The average salary of a dentist is $158,310 per year, but becoming a dentist is a long road and, for most people, involves taking on six-figure debt.","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":4,"title":"The Average Salary of a Dentist - SmartAsset","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"the-average-salary-of-a-dentist","status":"publish","title":"The Average Salary of a Dentist","uri":"/career/the-average-salary-of-a-dentist","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo1MA==","databaseId":50,"userId":50,"avatar":"$3a","description":"Amelia Josephson is a writer passionate about covering financial literacy topics. Her areas of expertise include retirement and home buying. Amelia's work has appeared across the web, including on AOL, CBS News and The Simple Dollar. She holds degrees from Columbia and Oxford. Originally from Alaska, Amelia now calls Brooklyn home.","additionalMeta":"$3b","email":null,"firstName":"Amelia","fullName":"Amelia Josephson","lastName":"Josephson","name":"Amelia Josephson","postCount":"$3c","slug":"amelia-josephson","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$3f","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

There are more than 113,000 dentists in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s not surprising given that most Americans are visiting the dentist at least once a year: The CDC found in 2014 that 62% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 had visited a dentist in the past year. That’s close to the percentage (64%) of Americans who have dental benefits.

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That means a steady stream of business for dentists, and it also contributes to the profession’s high salaries. Let’s take a closer look at the job landscape for dentists and the average salary of a dentist.

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The Average Salary of a Dentist: The Basics

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According to the BLS, the 2018 mean annual salary for dentists was $175,840 per year. The number of dentists is projected to grow by 19% between 2016 and 2026. That’s much higher than the 7% projected growth rate for all fields.

","

The top-paying state for dentists is Delaware, where the annual mean wage for dentists is $264,440. Other high-paying states for dentists are Alaska, Rhode Island, Minnesota and New Hampshire. The top-paying metro area for dentists is Amarillo, TX, with a mean annual wage of $279,580. Other high-paying metro areas for dentists are Longview, TX; Fond Du Lac, WI; Reno, NV; Sebring, FL; and New Haven, CT.

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Dentists enjoy a high salary and can feel confident that their field will grow in the years to come. But becoming a dentist is no walk in the park. According to the American Student Dental Association, the average student debt for all indebted dental school graduates in 2016 was $285,185. Roughly four out of five 2018 dental school graduates reported debt levels of more than $100,000. Since 1990, the amount of debt that dental students take on has increased fourfold.

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The Average Salary of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

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Not surprisingly, oral surgeons tend to earn higher salaries than non-surgeon dentists. The mean annual salary of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is $242,370 per year, $116.52 per hour. Among the highest-paying states for oral surgeons are California, Nebraska, Indiana and Maryland. Among the highest-paying metro areas are Washington-Arlington-Alexandria; Chicago-Naperville-Elgin; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim; and Grand Rapids-Wyoming.

","

The Average Salary of a Orthodontist

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Orthodontists, too, earn higher salaries than dentists. The average salary of an orthodontist is $225,760 per year, $108.54 per hour. The highest paying state for orthodontists is Massachusetts. Other high-paying states are South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey and Iowa. The top-paying metro area for orthodontists is Boston-Cambridge-Nashua. Other high-paying metro areas are North Port-Sarasota-Bradento (Florida); Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade; New York-Newark-Jersey City; and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

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The Average Salary of a Prosthodontist

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The average salary of a prosthodontist is $191,400 per year, $92.02 per hour. The BLS lacks state- and metro-specific data on prosthodontist pay. Prosthodontists construct oral prostheses that fill in gaps in patients’ teeth or jaws.

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The Average Salary of a Dental Hygienist

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The average salary of a dental hygienist is $75,500 per year (or about $35 per hour, assuming a 40-hour work week). The top-paying state for dental hygienists is Alaska, where dental hygienists make an annual mean wage of $114,320. Other high-paying states for dental hygienists are California, Washington, Arizona and New Jersey. The top-paying metro area for dental hygienists is Fairbanks, AK, where the annual mean wage in the profession is $113,190. Other high-paying metro areas are San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA; Anchorage, AK; San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA; and Santa Rosa, CA.

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The Average Salary of a Dental Assistant

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The average salary of a dental assistant is $39,770 per year, $19.12 per hour. The top-paying state for dental assistants is Minnesota, where the annual mean wage is $49,880. Other high-paying states for dental assistants are the District of Columbia, New Hampshire, Alaska and North Dakota. The top-paying metro area for dental assistants is Santa Rosa, CA, where the annual mean wage in the profession is $53,190. Other high-paying metro areas for dental assistants are Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI; Napa, CA; Rochester, MN and Fargo, ND-MN.

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Bottom Line

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Dentists tend to have a good work-life balance and earn high salaries. However, becoming a dentist involves a considerable investment of time and money. Those who train to become specialists such as oral surgeons and orthodontists stand to earn over $200,000 per year.

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Tips for Managing Your Money

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Flexibility and freedom are just two of the advantages that go along with being your own boss. Taking the plunge into being self-employed can be financially rewarding but if you don’t have a sizable bankroll of cash sitting around, you may need to cut corners until you start seeing a profit. While it’s important to keep your overhead down, one thing you can’t afford to skimp on is insurance. If you’re planning to start your own business or launch a freelance career, here are five important types of insurance you’ll need.

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1. Health Insurance

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One of the biggest downsides associated with leaving the 9 to 5 behind is losing your employer’s health insurance coverage. If you’re used to having your monthly premiums deducted from your paycheck, having to buy your own policy can be a real eye-opener. Finding affordable coverage means knowing what your options area.

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The National Association for the Self-Employed offers a variety of resources for entrepreneurs and small business owners, including information on health insurance. The Freelancer’s Union offers several insurance options directly to members as well as a 401(k) plan and discounts on business services. It may take some time to do the research but shopping around first can help you snag the best rate.

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2. Disability Insurance

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If you get hurt or become seriously ill it can put a serious crimp in your cash flow when you’re not able to run your business. Disability insurance can help keep you afloat financially until you’re back on your feet again. Typically, this kind of coverage is designed to replace around 60 percent of your income so you’ll want to have a sizable emergency fund in place as well.

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Buying a disability policy directly from an insurance company can be tricky, since many insurers only offer limited benefits to the self-employed. You may find it easier to get coverage through a local professional organization or association if they offer a group policy.

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3. Business Insurance

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Business insurance refers to a broad range of insurance types that are designed to fill the gaps in your existing coverage. For instance, if you work from home you may want to buy a home-based business policy, which would cover losses that don’t fall under your regular homeowners’ insurance. This may include things like damage to your business property or theft.

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If you run a small business with employees, you may want to look for a comprehensive policy that combines property and liability coverage. This type of policy protects the business structure itself and any business-related equipment against theft or damage. You’ll also be covered if an employee or someone else is injured on the business premises.

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4. Liability Insurance

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Liability insurance is designed to protect you personally against negligence claims. There are several types of liability insurance you may want to invest in, depending on the type of business you own.

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Product liability insurance, for example, insures you against claims resulting from injuries or damages caused by your business’s product. If you’re worried about other types of claims, you may want to opt for a general policy, which provides umbrella protection against lawsuits stemming from negligence or personal injury claims.

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5. Life Insurance

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Even if you’re relatively young it’s important to have some kind of life insurance in place, especially if you have a family. If you’re planning to borrow money to get your business off the ground, the bank may require you to purchase life insurance first to cover any potential losses in the event of your death.

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When buying life insurance, you’ll have to decide whether you want a whole life or term policy. Term life is less expensive but it’s only designed to be effective for a certain period of time. Permanent life insurance will cost you more but covers you for life and allows you to build some cash value in the policy.

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Making sure you have the right kinds of insurance in place before you set out on the self-employed path can save you money and stress in the long run. Squeezing coverage into your start-up budget can be tough but it pays to be safe rather than sorry.

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Update: Have more financial questions? SmartAsset can help. So many people reached out to us looking for tax and long-term financial planning help, we started our own matching service to help you find a financial advisor. The SmartAdvisor matching tool can help you find a person to work with to meet your needs. First you’ll answer a series of questions about your situation and goals. Then the program will narrow down your options from thousands of advisors to three fiduciaries who suit your needs. You can then read their profiles to learn more about them, interview them on the phone or in person and choose who to work with in the future. This allows you to find a good fit while the program does much of the hard work for you.

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Photo Credit: flickr

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