A Credit Karma Study
Updated
Written by: Andrew Depietro
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When it comes to salaries, location can play a significant role.
Credit Karma compiled and analyzed a variety of publicly available data sets — namely from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics — to find the highest-paying jobs in every state.
It’s worth noting first that in every state, the highest mean wage goes to a physician of some type — with salaries ranging from $305,820 to $381,830, depending on the type of medical practice and the state.
Read on for more, including how jobs in other occupations — finance, law and law enforcement, engineering, sales and nursing — stack up.
Highest-paying job in each state
Highest-paying jobs by occupational category
Common questions about the highest-paying jobs in the U.S.
Methodology
Credit Karma Stat Snapshot
Physicians of different types top the lists of best-paying jobs in every state
Petroleum engineers, personal financial advisors and sales engineers are some of the notable non-medicine occupations that rank among the highest paying in many states
The same occupation in one state can earn significantly more or significantly less than in another state
Highest-paying job in each state
Jobs in the “healthcare practitioners and technical” occupations group, which includes physicians, dominate nationwide in terms of having the highest pay. In every state, the top-earning job is a doctor of some kind.
On this map of the U.S., you can select any state to see its highest-paying job and average salary for that job.
As this table shows, Georgia’s best-paying job title — non-pediatric orthopedic surgeon — has the highest annual mean wage in the U.S. with a salary of $381,830.
| Rank | State | Highest-paying job title | Hourly mean wage | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | Orthopedic surgeons (non- pediatric) | $183.57 | $381,830 |
| 2 | North Dakota | Orthopedic surgeons(non- pediatric) | $179.44 | $373,230 |
| 3 | Hawaii | Dermatologists | $176.25 | $366,600 |
| 4 | Illinois | Obstetricians and gynecologists | $175.39 | $364,800 |
| 5 | North Carolina | Radiologists | $175.23 | $364,470 |
| 6 | Florida | Anesthesiologists | $174.79 | $363,570 |
| 7 | Louisiana | Orthopedic surgeons (non- pediatric) | $174.19 | $362,320 |
| 8 | Maryland | Cardiologists | $174.08 | $362,090 |
| 9 | Texas | Cardiologists | $174.04 | $361,990 |
| 10 | New Hampshire | Cardiologists | $173.63 | $361,150 |
Highest-paying jobs by occupational category
Beyond the field of “healthcare practitioners and technical” occupations, we reviewed which jobs pay the best within other major occupations, as categorized by the BLS.
Highest-paying finance jobs
In 37 states, personal finance advisor is the highest-paying job under “business and financial operations” occupations.
The average annual wage nationwide is $119,960. And in New York — the state that pays personal financial advisors the most — the average annual pay for personal financial advisors is $158,040.
Highest-paying police jobs
The highest-paying police jobs are almost always first-line supervisors of police and detectives. The national average annual wage for a first-line supervisor of police and detectives is $98,760.
In fact, in 33 states, first-line supervisors and detectives are the highest-paying jobs in the “protective service” occupational category.
Highest-paying law jobs
In 26 states, the highest-paying law jobs are lawyers, who earn a national average of $148,030 a year. In all but three of these 26 states, lawyers have an annual average income of more than $100,000 (the exceptions being Mississippi, Montana and Wyoming).
New York is the state where lawyers make the most money, beating the national average with a mean annual wage of $179,060.
Another top-paying job in the “legal” occupations group is judges, magistrate judges and magistrates. These jobs are the highest-paying law jobs in 20 states, with Hawaii offering the highest pay for judges, magistrate judges and magistrates with an annual average of $213,120.
The third-highest-paying law jobs are administrative law judges, adjudicators and hearing officers, which have the top pay for “legal” occupations in four states. Alabama is where administrative law judges, adjudicators and hearing officers make the most money: an average of $142,600 a year.
Highest-paying engineering jobs
Engineering jobs, which come under the “architecture and engineering” occupations category, offer solid salaries in many states. Computer hardware engineers are the highest-paying engineering jobs in 12 states.
Petroleum engineers are the best-paying engineering jobs in seven states, and chemical engineers are the highest-paying in six states. Lastly, chemical engineers command the highest engineering salaries in six states.
Highest-paying sales jobs
Some sales jobs pay a significant salary. The most notable of highest-paying sales jobs are sales engineers, whose national average annual pay is $118,630.
Sales engineers typically need to have a bachelor’s degree-equivalent in engineering because of the technical intricacies and uses of the products they sell. Twenty-nine states have sales engineers as their highest-paying sales jobs, with Maryland offering the highest salary at $150,950 per year on average.
Highest-paying nursing jobs
Nursing is a major and growing occupation in the U.S.
According to the BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, 3,080,100 people were employed as registered nurses as of 2020, with an expected growth rate of 9% by 2030.
For nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners, the growth rate is even greater: 45% over the next 10 years, equivalent to adding 121,400 new jobs on top of the current 271,900.
In terms of compensation, the highest-paying nursing jobs tend to be nurse anesthetists. These nurses earn a national average of $202,470 a year. In Connecticut, the average annual salary is $276,540 for nurse anesthetists.
Highest-paying job in each occupational group
The BLS categorizes jobs into 22 major occupational groups. Here’s a look at the highest-paying jobs in the U.S. by occupational group:
| Major occupational group | Occupation title | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare practitioners and technical | Cardiologists | $353,970 |
| Management | Chief executives | $213,020 |
| Transportation and material moving | Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers | $198,190 |
| Life, physical and social science | Physicists | $151,580 |
| Legal | Lawyers | $148,030 |
| Architecture and engineering | Petroleum engineers | $145,720 |
| Computer and mathematical | Computer and information research scientists | $142,650 |
| Educational Instruction and library | Health specialties teachers, postsecondary | $133,310 |
| Personal care and service | Makeup artists, theatrical and performance | $124,380 |
| Business and financial operations | Personal financial advisors | $119,960 |
| Sales and related | Sales engineers | $118,630 |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports and media | Athletes and sports competitors | $116,930 |
| Production | Nuclear power reactor operators | $111,220 |
| Protective service | First-line supervisors of police and detectives | $98,760 |
| Construction and extraction | Elevator and escalator installers and repairers | $91,320 |
| Installation, maintenance and repair | Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay | $87,640 |
| Office and administrative support | Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants | $66,870 |
| Community and social service | Health education specialists | $64,930 |
| Healthcare support | Occupational therapy assistants | $63,560 |
| Food preparation and serving | Chefs and head cooks | $56,920 |
| Farming, fishing and forestry | First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers | $54,450 |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance | First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service and groundskeeping workers | $53,270 |
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Common questions about the highest-paying jobs in the U.S.
Which state has the most high-paying jobs?
California has 189 different jobs with average annual salaries of more than $100,000. That’s the greatest number of six-figure salary jobs in one state.
Which jobs have the highest salaries?
Healthcare jobs tend to dominate the highest-paying jobs in most states and on the national level. For example, the national average annual wage for cardiologists — the highest paying job in the U.S. — is $353,970.
What income do you need to be in the top 10?
To rank among the top 10 highest-paying jobs in the U.S., you’ll need an income of at least $290,310 a year, the annual pay of the 10th highest-paying job in the U.S. — pediatric surgeons.
Which states have the lowest-paying jobs?
Mississippi typically has the lowest-paying jobs. Its average annual salary for all occupations in the state is $42,700.
Methodology
To identify the highest-paying jobs in every state, we analyzed all U.S. states, then scored and ranked them based on the annual mean wage for occupations in May 2021. Occupations were chosen based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Standard Occupational Classification that categorizes an occupational level as “detailed.” Other SOC occupation levels such as “major,” “minor” and “broad” were excluded for being too general in their occupational title.
States were then ranked in order of the average annual wage of the highest-paying job in the state.
