Highest-Paying Jobs Statistics 2026
Pediatric Surgeons are the highest-paying occupation in the United States, with a national median wage of $559,030 a year. 23 of the 824 detailed occupations in the release pay a median of $200,000 or more, and 137 pay a median of $100,000 or more.
Wage estimates: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. The ranking and the counts are PayCrunch calculations from those estimates.
Which US occupations pay the most, measured two ways: by the national median wage and by the 90th percentile of the wage distribution. All 824 detailed occupations in the BLS OEWS May 2025 release were ranked; the top 25 on each measure are below.
Key statistics
Each line is one figure with its source. Quote any of them directly; the citation format is at the foot of the page.
- Pediatric Surgeons are the highest-paying US occupation, with a national median wage of $559,030 a year.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- 23 of the 824 detailed occupations in the release pay a national median of $200,000 or more.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- 137 occupations — 16.6% of the total — pay a national median of $100,000 or more.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- 21 of the 25 highest-paying occupations by median wage are in the healthcare practitioners and technical group.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- The highest-paying occupation outside healthcare is airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers, at a national median of $232,140 a year.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- Measured by the 90th percentile rather than the median, athletes and sports competitors rank first, at $742,310 a year nationally.Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- The highest state-level 90th-percentile wage in the dataset is $934,460, for cardiologists in Georgia, among states employing at least 500 people in the occupation.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- The median wage of the 25 highest-paying occupations is $289,140 a year, against $61,340 for all 824 occupations.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- Even at the 10th percentile, the highest-paying occupation pays $215,410 — more than the median of every occupation but 21 in the release.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
- The management group has the highest median of the 22 SOC major groups, at $114,130; healthcare practitioners and technical is third at $100,185, because that group also contains many lower-paid technical occupations.Source: PayCrunch calculation from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025.
The 25 highest-paying occupations by median wage
Ranked by national annual median. 21 of the top 25 sit in the healthcare practitioners and technical group; the highest-paid occupation outside healthcare is airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers at $232,140. Physician and surgeon medians in this release exceed those of every other field by a wide margin: the top 19 occupations by median are all in the healthcare practitioners and technical group.
| Occupation▲ | SOC▲ | Entry (10th pct)▲ | Median▲ | Top of range (90th pct)▲ | Best-paying state▲ | 90th pct there▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Surgeons | 29-1243 | $215,410 | $559,030 | $726,660 | national figure | $726,660 |
| Cardiologists | 29-1212 | $107,190 | $496,010 | $712,130 | Georgia | $934,460 |
| Radiologists | 29-1224 | $89,010 | $420,860 | $594,410 | Colorado | $684,280 |
| Surgeons, All Other | 29-1249 | $80,320 | $414,010 | $655,320 | Wisconsin | $802,110 |
| Anesthesiologists | 29-1211 | $101,460 | $391,490 | $557,130 | Washington | $646,940 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | 29-1242 | $84,170 | $358,550 | $659,290 | Ohio | $641,190 |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons | 29-1022 | $86,250 | $352,220 | $622,640 | national figure | $622,640 |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | 29-1214 | $103,610 | $335,550 | $495,910 | Florida | $672,830 |
| Dermatologists | 29-1213 | $102,810 | $328,730 | $578,560 | Texas | $534,030 |
| Physicians, Pathologists | 29-1222 | $92,540 | $312,400 | $449,970 | New York | $493,460 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | 29-1241 | $100,180 | $300,080 | $489,710 | Florida | $639,960 |
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | 29-1218 | $94,680 | $292,910 | $437,300 | North Carolina | $600,460 |
| Orthodontists | 29-1023 | $99,850 | $289,140 | $416,000 | national figure | $416,000 |
| Psychiatrists | 29-1223 | $84,060 | $281,870 | $446,520 | Florida | $568,460 |
| Physicians, All Other | 29-1229 | $69,170 | $265,930 | $452,360 | North Dakota | $564,890 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | 29-1216 | $73,570 | $256,560 | $475,430 | Georgia | $581,750 |
| Neurologists | 29-1217 | $83,370 | $248,560 | $450,780 | Texas | $449,840 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | 29-1215 | $76,830 | $244,180 | $428,550 | Idaho | $525,140 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 29-1151 | $155,250 | $236,590 | $339,500 | Florida | $416,000 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 53-2011 | $106,710 | $232,140 | $463,830 | Georgia | $642,610 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | 29-1029 | $104,120 | $224,990 | $402,700 | Texas | $407,960 |
| Chief Executives | 11-1011 | $75,700 | $213,990 | $507,730 | Oregon | $772,840 |
| Pediatricians, General | 29-1221 | $91,470 | $210,040 | $338,500 | Arizona | $408,620 |
| Industrial-Organizational Psychologists | 19-3032 | $79,010 | $193,950 | $247,220 | national figure | $247,220 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | 11-3021 | $107,550 | $175,140 | $297,510 | Washington | $327,300 |
National figures, BLS OEWS May 2025. Ranked by median; click any column to re-sort.
Ranked by the top of the range instead
Ranking on the 90th percentile rather than the median reorders the list. Athletes and Sports Competitors take first place on that measure, at $742,310 nationally, against a median of $66,710 — the largest gap between the two measures of any occupation in the release. This is the clearest illustration that a median and a top-of-range figure answer different questions.
| Occupation▲ | SOC▲ | Entry (10th pct)▲ | Median▲ | Top of range (90th pct)▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletes and Sports Competitors | 27-2021 | $26,500 | $66,710 | $742,310 |
| Pediatric Surgeons | 29-1243 | $215,410 | $559,030 | $726,660 |
| Cardiologists | 29-1212 | $107,190 | $496,010 | $712,130 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | 29-1242 | $84,170 | $358,550 | $659,290 |
| Surgeons, All Other | 29-1249 | $80,320 | $414,010 | $655,320 |
| Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons | 29-1022 | $86,250 | $352,220 | $622,640 |
| Radiologists | 29-1224 | $89,010 | $420,860 | $594,410 |
| Dermatologists | 29-1213 | $102,810 | $328,730 | $578,560 |
| Anesthesiologists | 29-1211 | $101,460 | $391,490 | $557,130 |
| Chief Executives | 11-1011 | $75,700 | $213,990 | $507,730 |
| Emergency Medicine Physicians | 29-1214 | $103,610 | $335,550 | $495,910 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | 29-1241 | $100,180 | $300,080 | $489,710 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | 29-1216 | $73,570 | $256,560 | $475,430 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | 53-2011 | $106,710 | $232,140 | $463,830 |
| Physicians, All Other | 29-1229 | $69,170 | $265,930 | $452,360 |
| Neurologists | 29-1217 | $83,370 | $248,560 | $450,780 |
| Physicians, Pathologists | 29-1222 | $92,540 | $312,400 | $449,970 |
| Psychiatrists | 29-1223 | $84,060 | $281,870 | $446,520 |
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | 29-1218 | $94,680 | $292,910 | $437,300 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | 29-1215 | $76,830 | $244,180 | $428,550 |
| Orthodontists | 29-1023 | $99,850 | $289,140 | $416,000 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | 29-1029 | $104,120 | $224,990 | $402,700 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | 13-2052 | $50,190 | $105,070 | $357,020 |
| Lawyers | 23-1011 | $78,360 | $159,670 | $351,600 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | 29-1151 | $155,250 | $236,590 | $339,500 |
Ranked by the national 90th-percentile wage. BLS OEWS May 2025.
Where the highest state figures are recorded
The single highest state-level 90th-percentile wage in the filtered dataset is $934,460 for cardiologists in Georgia, where OEWS reports 1,150 people employed in the occupation. State figures here use the PayCrunch employment floor: a state must employ at least 500 people in an occupation before it can be named, which changes the answer for 389 of the 824 occupations. Without that floor the top of this list fills with estimates drawn from fewer than a hundred people.
How to cite this page
Ready to paste:
PayCrunch (2026). Highest-Paying Jobs Statistics 2026. Aggregated from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://paycrunch.co/stats/highest-paying-jobs-statistics.html (accessed 31 August 2026).
For a single figure, name the occupation and the release — for example: “registered nurses earned a median of $97,550 a year (BLS, OEWS May 2025, via PayCrunch)”. Please credit the Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as PayCrunch: the wage estimates are theirs, and the aggregation is ours. Figures on this page were last recomputed on 31 August 2026 from the May 2025 release.
Method
Source
Every wage figure on this page comes from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release of May 2025, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. No figure here is a PayCrunch estimate. What PayCrunch contributes is the aggregation: the counts, medians, means and rankings across occupations are computed from that release and are labelled as PayCrunch calculations wherever they appear.
What the three figures mean
Entry is the annual 10th percentile wage for the occupation nationally. Median is the 50th percentile. Top of range is the annual 90th percentile — the wage level below which 90 percent of the estimated wage distribution for that occupation falls. None of the three is a ceiling, a promise, or a statement about any individual.
The state figures
Where a state is named as best-paying, it is the state with the highest annual 90th-percentile wage among states that OEWS reports employing at least 500 people in that occupation. That employment floor is PayCrunch's rule, not the BLS's; it exists because unfiltered state estimates are frequently drawn from very small samples. The best-paying states dataset documents the floor in full and publishes the unfiltered answer alongside the filtered one for every occupation.
Rebuilding these numbers
The script that computes every figure on this page is .github/stats-engine/build_stats.py in the PayCrunch repository. It reads two files, /data/open/best-paying-states.json and the occupation page dataset, and regenerates all eight statistics pages. Nothing on this page is typed by hand.
Limitations
- OEWS is a survey. Every figure carries sampling error, and the error is largest where the occupation is smallest. BLS publishes relative standard errors alongside the estimates.
- These are occupational aggregates, not worker aggregates. Statistics here summarise the 824 occupation-level estimates, giving each occupation equal weight. They are not employment-weighted, so they do not describe the average American worker and should not be quoted as if they did.
- The 90th percentile is not a maximum. It is a point on a wage distribution. Pay above it exists.
- No cost-of-living adjustment. All figures are nominal annual wages.
- Wage and salary employment only. OEWS excludes the self-employed, so occupations with many independent workers are under-covered.
- SOC titles are classification labels, not job titles as employers use them, and one SOC code can cover several distinct jobs.
- One release only. These are May 2025 figures; OEWS releases are not straightforwardly comparable across years.
Frequently asked questions
Pay for individual occupations
PayCrunch pages for high-paying occupations, each with BLS entry, median and top-of-range figures and the best-paying state.
The full dataset behind these figures is on the best-paying states page, and every occupation is queryable through the PayCrunch API. All occupation pages →