First professional · Salt Lake City, Utah

Is Dentistry at University of Utah worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $117,517; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $165,107; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $279,129; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $296k (likely $296k – $296k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $96k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in UT; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.2 years (likely 5.3–7.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $104k (likely −$82k – $309k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.25M (likely $823k – $1.73M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.