Dental Benefits

California Dental Benefits Benchmarks

Real dental plan data from verified employers in your state

Verified Data
2,017Employers
2,386Plans
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Dental benchmarks

Employee Benefits in California

Updated November 2026

Dental plans typically feature predictable costs and high employee participation rates, making them a staple of most benefit packages.

Our database includes 2,017 employers in California offering 2,386 verified benefit plans. DPPO plans are the most common (82% of employers), followed by DMO (18%). Fully-Insured funding is the predominant model, used by 82% of state employers. Most employers offer one plan to employees (48%).

Dental benchmarks cover preventive care coverage, basic and major service cost-sharing, and annual maximums.

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California plan design & cost benchmarks

In-Network Cost Sharing: sample layout
In-Network Benefits
LimitedBalancedRobust
Your Plan
Individual Deductible
$29
$49
$74
$4952Bal
Family Deductible
$99
$127
$182
$12752Bal
Annual Maximum
$1,151
$1,791
$2,486
$1,79152Bal
Ortho Lifetime Maximum
$1,094
$1,616
$1,994
$1,61652Bal
Preventive Coverage
84%
89%
97%
89%52Bal
Basic Coverage
71%
75%
79%
75%52Bal
Major Coverage
50%
56%
59%
56%52Bal

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Real plan-design and cost benchmarks for california, with percentile rankings and exportable data.

What's inside the full report
In-Network Cost Sharing

Deductibles, copays, coinsurance & out-of-pocket maximums

Employee Contributions

Monthly employee premium contributions by tier

Gross Premium Rates

Total monthly premium costs by coverage tier

Plus full benchmarks for Life, Voluntary Life, Short- & Long-Term Disability, and Stop-Loss.

Percentile rankings (25th / 50th / 75th)
Live, real-time data (this preview refreshes monthly)
Exportable to PDF & CSV

Plan Type Mix

% of employers offering each

VERIFIED
DPPO82%
DMO18%

Plan Funding

% of employers by funding

VERIFIED
Fully-Insured82%
Self-Insured17%
Level-Funded1%

Plans Offered

% of employers by plan count

VERIFIED
One Plan48%
Two Plans43%
Three or More Plans9%

California Benefits Landscape

Regional trends and benchmarking considerations

California employers navigate one of the nation's most regulated benefits environments and highest cost-of-living markets. Our benchmarking data shows California employers typically offer richer plan designs with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums compared to national averages. The competitive talent market drives above-average employer contribution rates across industries.

Key Highlights

Lower Employee Cost-Sharing

California employers in our database typically show lower deductibles and OOP maximums than the national median, reflecting both regulatory environment and talent competition.

HMO Prevalence

Unlike many states, California shows higher HMO adoption in our data, driven by established regional health plans like Kaiser Permanente.

Higher Premium Costs

Gross premium rates in California consistently exceed national averages in our benchmarks, reflecting higher healthcare costs in the state.

Benchmarking Considerations

California benefits vary by industry. Technology and healthcare employers typically offer richer plans than retail or hospitality. Use industry filters to find the most relevant comparison set for your organization.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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