Highest-Paying Jobs in the US
Answer
Cardiologists ($496,010), Radiologists ($420,860), Anesthesiologists ($391,490) top this list. Physicians and surgeons fill most of the top places because their training runs 11 years or more after high school; the first jobs outside healthcare are airline pilots, chief executives and computer, engineering and science managers. A median is the pay of the worker in the middle, so half of the people in each job earn more.
How this ranking works
Includes: Detailed occupations with at least 10,000 US jobs. Ranked by: Median annual wage. Data: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Occupations without a published median and the residual “all other” categories are left out. Methodology
| 1 | Cardiologists | $496,010 | $238.47 | 17,290 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.8% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Radiologists | $420,860 | $202.34 | 26,770 | Doctoral or professional degree | +3.4% |
| 3 | Anesthesiologists | $391,490 | $188.22 | 38,760 | Doctoral or professional degree | +3.6% |
| 4 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $358,550 | $172.38 | 14,100 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.0% |
| 5 | Emergency Medicine Physicians | $335,550 | $161.32 | 32,880 | Doctoral or professional degree | +3.2% |
| 6 | Dermatologists | $328,730 | $158.04 | 11,370 | Doctoral or professional degree | +6.8% |
| 7 | Physicians, Pathologists | $312,400 | $150.19 | 11,110 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.8% |
| 8 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $292,910 | $140.82 | 21,260 | Doctoral or professional degree | +1.7% |
| 9 | Psychiatrists | $281,870 | $135.51 | 27,980 | Doctoral or professional degree | +7.2% |
| 10 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $256,560 | $123.35 | 67,150 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.0% |
| 11 | Neurologists | $248,560 | $119.50 | 10,590 | Doctoral or professional degree | +6.4% |
| 12 | Family Medicine Physicians | $244,180 | $117.39 | 107,510 | Doctoral or professional degree | +3.3% |
| 13 | Nurse Anesthetists | $236,590 | $113.75 | 51,840 | Master's degree | +9.7% |
| 14 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $232,140 | — | 103,560 | Bachelor's degree | +8.3% |
| 15 | Chief Executives | $213,990 | $102.88 | 204,350 | Bachelor's degree | +3.2% |
| 16 | Pediatricians, General | $210,040 | $100.98 | 39,390 | Doctoral or professional degree | +1.5% |
| 17 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $175,140 | $84.20 | 670,570 | Bachelor's degree | +15.8% |
| 18 | Physicists | $172,250 | $82.81 | 20,430 | Doctoral or professional degree | +7.2% |
| 19 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $171,270 | $82.34 | 220,260 | Bachelor's degree | +5.5% |
| 20 | Dentists, General | $170,950 | $82.19 | 124,390 | Doctoral or professional degree | +5.7% |
| 21 | Natural Sciences Managers | $167,220 | $80.39 | 108,690 | Bachelor's degree | +8.2% |
| 22 | Marketing Managers | $166,790 | $80.19 | 395,240 | Bachelor's degree | +6.9% |
| 23 | Financial Managers | $166,570 | $80.08 | 841,710 | Bachelor's degree | +9.7% |
| 24 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $161,740 | $77.76 | 76,660 | Bachelor's degree | +9.1% |
| 25 | Lawyers | $159,670 | $76.76 | 754,500 | Doctoral or professional degree | +4.7% |
| 26 | Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $153,990 | $74.03 | 24,030 | Doctoral or professional degree | +2.8% |
| 27 | Human Resources Managers | $149,280 | $71.77 | 220,660 | Bachelor's degree | +5.5% |
| 28 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $149,230 | $71.75 | 22,940 | Bachelor's degree | +1.1% |
| 29 | Sales Managers | $148,270 | $71.28 | 637,080 | Bachelor's degree | +4.5% |
| 30 | Purchasing Managers | $148,080 | $71.19 | 84,320 | Bachelor's degree | +4.0% |
| 31 | Air Traffic Controllers | $148,080 | $71.19 | 22,510 | Associate's degree | +1.7% |
| 32 | Public Relations Managers | $146,910 | $70.63 | 74,850 | Bachelor's degree | +5.7% |
| 33 | Petroleum Engineers | $144,910 | $69.67 | 18,060 | Bachelor's degree | +2.0% |
| 34 | Pharmacists | $140,910 | $67.75 | 321,970 | Doctoral or professional degree | +5.2% |
| 35 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $140,300 | $67.45 | 37,200 | Master's degree | +21.8% |
| 36 | Database Architects | $139,500 | $67.07 | 67,140 | Bachelor's degree | +9.4% |
| 37 | Optometrists | $136,570 | $65.66 | 42,790 | Doctoral or professional degree | +9.5% |
| 38 | Software Developers | $135,980 | $65.38 | 1,687,890 | Bachelor's degree | +10.2% |
| 39 | Physician Assistants | $135,880 | $65.33 | 162,150 | Master's degree | +21.1% |
| 40 | Aerospace Engineers | $134,960 | $64.89 | 67,710 | Bachelor's degree | +8.3% |
| 41 | Computer Network Architects | $134,050 | $64.45 | 179,740 | Bachelor's degree | +7.7% |
| 42 | Nuclear Engineers | $133,970 | $64.41 | 15,280 | Bachelor's degree | +0.4% |
| 43 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $133,660 | $64.26 | 21,470 | Bachelor's degree | −3.7% |
| 44 | Training and Development Managers | $133,000 | $63.94 | 48,050 | Bachelor's degree | +6.4% |
| 45 | Nurse Practitioners | $132,300 | $63.61 | 323,040 | Master's degree | +41.0% |
| 46 | Electronics Engineers, Except Computer | $130,220 | $62.60 | 96,900 | Bachelor's degree | +3.7% |
| 47 | Veterinarians | $130,100 | $62.55 | 83,900 | Doctoral or professional degree | +9.4% |
| 48 | Actuaries | $130,000 | $62.50 | 26,670 | Bachelor's degree | +9.2% |
| 49 | Information Security Analysts | $129,180 | $62.11 | 190,650 | Bachelor's degree | +21.0% |
| 50 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $128,500 | — | 20,060 | Doctoral or professional degree | +2.6% |
BLS OEWS, May 2025, national cross-industry estimates; projections and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Occupation names are the official BLS titles; linked names have a full pay and how-to-become page on this site.