ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Dental Hygiene/Hygienist Schools in Virginia

5 Colleges in the United States
211 Dental Hygiene/Hygienist Degrees Awarded
$60,066 Avg Early-Career Salary

Dental Hygiene/Hygienist is a field worth a close look when choosing where to study. A focused field like this rewards careful comparison of the schools that offer it.

For its 2026 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for dental hygiene/hygienist students pursuing a degree.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/health-care-professions/dental-support-services/dental-hygiene-hygienist/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 3
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 51.06), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Healthcare DA to Dental Hygienist Programs (I Am a Dental Assistant)" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Healthcare DA to Dental Hygienist Programs (I Am a Dental Assistant)" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Dental Assistant (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Dental Assistant (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Dental Assistant (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Dental Assistant (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 3
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 3 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 3
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 1 offers with relevance >= 1.0

Best Schools for Dental Hygiene/Hygienist in Virginia

If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the dental hygiene/hygienist degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Schools in Dental Hygiene/Hygienist

1

No school ranked higher than Old Dominion University this year for dental hygiene/hygienist. This very large public university is located in the city of Norfolk. The six-year graduation rate is 46%. Old Dominion University awarded about 79 dental hygiene/hygienist degrees in the most recent data year. Students who receive their dental hygiene/hygienist degree from Old Dominion University earn around $63,145 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $21,378. See the full dental hygiene/hygienist program report for Old Dominion University

2

Northern Virginia Community College is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in dental hygiene/hygienist, landing the #2 spot this year. This very large public university is located in the suburb of Annandale. About 30 dental hygiene/hygienist degrees were awarded at Northern Virginia Community College in the most recent year. Students who receive their dental hygiene/hygienist degree from Northern Virginia Community College earn around $70,727 in the first couple years of their career. Students borrow a median of $20,894 to complete this degree. Get the full dental hygiene/hygienist details for Northern Virginia Community College

3

Virginia Commonwealth University came in at #3 on our 2026 list of the best dental hygiene/hygienist schools. This very large public university is located in the city of Richmond. The six-year graduation rate is 63%. About 16 dental hygiene/hygienist degrees were awarded at Virginia Commonwealth University in the most recent year. Graduates of the dental hygiene/hygienist program make about $72,808 in their early career. Virginia Commonwealth University graduates carry a median of $25,924 in student loans. Read more about the dental hygiene/hygienist program at Virginia Commonwealth University

4

Virginia Western Community College is one of the finest schools in the country for a degree in dental hygiene/hygienist, ranking #4. Virginia Western Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Roanoke. There were roughly 57 dental hygiene/hygienist students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Western Community College in the most recent data year. Graduates of the dental hygiene/hygienist program make about $61,030 in their early career. Virginia Western Community College graduates carry a median of $11,500 in student loans. More information about a degree in dental hygiene/hygienist from Virginia Western Community College

5

Wytheville Community College is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in dental hygiene/hygienist, landing the #5 spot this year. Located in the town of Wytheville, Wytheville Community College is a mid-sized public university. Wytheville Community College awarded about 18 dental hygiene/hygienist degrees in the most recent data year. Graduates of the dental hygiene/hygienist program make about $55,931 in their early career. Wytheville Community College graduates carry a median of $9,542 in student loans. Read more about the dental hygiene/hygienist program at Wytheville Community College

6

Thomas Nelson Community College came in at #6 for dental hygiene/hygienist this year. This moderately-sized public university is located in the suburb of Hampton. About 11 dental hygiene/hygienist degrees were awarded at Thomas Nelson Community College in the most recent year. Graduates of the dental hygiene/hygienist program make about $36,758 in their early career. Thomas Nelson Community College graduates carry a median of $14,402 in student loans. Get the full dental hygiene/hygienist details for Thomas Nelson Community College

ADBLOCK #173
View All Dental Hygiene/Hygienist Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 8 schools evaluated.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options