The 25 Highest-Paying Jobs in America (2024 BLS Data)
Median annual wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — the most comprehensive employer wage survey in the country.
Median wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reflect what workers in the middle of the pay distribution actually earn — not the inflated figures that often appear in job postings. These 25 occupations represent the highest median wages in the U.S. economy, spanning medicine, law, technology, and engineering. The data comes from the OEWS employer survey, which covers 1.1 million business establishments and captures base wages paid, not bonuses or equity.
Wages shown with a ≥ prefix indicate BLS reporting caps — the actual median may be higher, but the agency does not publish figures above $239,200. This affects several surgical and medical specialties, where true median pay likely exceeds the reported ceiling by a meaningful margin.
Highest-paying job
Surgeons, all other
≥$239,200
Median of top 25
Average across all 25 occupations
$232,242
Tech occupations in top 25
Computer & Mathematical category
0
Top 25 Highest-Paying Occupations
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Bachelor's degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Master's degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Bachelor's degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Full Data Table
| # | Occupation | Category | Median Wage | Job Growth | Annual Openings | Education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surgeons, all other | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +3.9% | 0.6 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 2 | Radiologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +2.7% | 0.8 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 3 | Psychiatrists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +6.1% | 0.9 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 4 | Prosthodontists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.5% | 0 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 5 | Physicians, pathologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.2% | 0.4 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 6 | Physicians, all other | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +2.5% | 9.6 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 7 | Pediatric surgeons | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +1.5% | 0 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 8 | Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.1% | 0.4 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 9 | Orthodontists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.4% | 0.2 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 10 | Oral and maxillofacial surgeons | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.1% | 0.2 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 11 | Ophthalmologists, except pediatric | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.3% | 0.3 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 12 | Obstetricians and gynecologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +1.2% | 0.6 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 13 | Neurologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +5.4% | 0.3 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 14 | Emergency medicine physicians | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +2.7% | 1 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 15 | Dermatologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +6.4% | 0.4 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 16 | Cardiologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +4.1% | 0.6 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 17 | Anesthesiologists | Healthcare Practitioners | ≥$239,200 | +3.2% | 1.3 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 18 | Family medicine physicians | Healthcare Practitioners | $238,380 | +2.7% | 3.3 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 19 | General internal medicine physicians | Healthcare Practitioners | $236,350 | +3.3% | 2.1 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 20 | Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers | Transportation & Material Moving | $226,600 | +3.9% | 11.7 | Bachelor's degree |
| 21 | Dentists, all other specialists | Healthcare Practitioners | $225,770 | +0.3% | 0.2 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 22 | Nurse anesthetists | Healthcare Practitioners | $223,210 | +8.6% | 2.7 | Master's degree |
| 23 | Pediatricians, general | Healthcare Practitioners | $210,130 | +0.8% | 1.2 | Doctoral or professional degree |
| 24 | Chief executives | Management | $206,420 | +4.3% | 22.2 | Bachelor's degree |
| 25 | Dentists, general | Healthcare Practitioners | $172,790 | +4.1% | 3.9 | Doctoral or professional degree |
Why medicine and surgery dominate the highest salaries
Medical specialties occupy the top of this list for structural reasons: the pipeline is deliberately constrained. Residency slots are federally capped, board certification requirements limit who can practice each specialty, and the training timeline runs 11–14 years beyond high school for surgical fields. Wage-setting in medicine also occurs in a market where third-party payers — not patients — negotiate rates, creating stable, high floors even in lower-cost geographies.
Anesthesiologists, surgeons, and psychiatrists all cluster near or at the BLS reporting cap of $239,200. The cap is not an earnings ceiling — it is a statistical artifact of how the OEWS survey bins top-coded responses. Many surgical subspecialists earn $300,000–$600,000 annually once private practice revenue, call pay, and facility fees are included. The BLS figures understate actual compensation for these roles more than for any other occupation on this list.
Technology's position in the top 25
Technology occupations — software developers, data scientists, computer and information systems managers — punch into the top quartile of wages despite requiring far less training time than medicine. A software engineer can reach peak base salary in five to eight years of experience; a neurosurgeon requires fifteen. That asymmetry makes technology the better risk-adjusted path for most people choosing between high-paying career tracks.
Critically, tech occupations also produce far more annual openings than medical specialties. Software developers and data scientists post tens of thousands of openings annually; neurosurgery may post a few hundred. For workers optimizing the combination of wage level, training cost, and probability of employment, technology sits in a uniquely favorable position. The BLS wage figures also exclude equity compensation — a material omission for senior engineers and engineering managers at public or late-stage companies.
Education and the wage premium: what the data shows
The correlation between doctoral or professional degree requirements and median wage is stark across this list. Occupations requiring a doctoral or professional degree hold the majority of top-25 slots. This reflects two compounding mechanisms: extended credentialing raises the barrier to entry, compressing supply, while specialized expertise commands a higher price from employers or patients who have few substitutes.
The notable exception is management, particularly chief executives and architectural and engineering managers, which require only a bachelor's degree by BLS classification but reach top-25 wages through experience and scope rather than a terminal credential. Technology roles show a similar pattern: formal education requirements are lower, but demonstrated skill and seniority compress the earnings gap with credential-gated occupations. The data suggests that credentialing is one path to a supply constraint — but not the only one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does BLS median annual wage mean?
The BLS median annual wage is the wage at which half of workers in an occupation earn more and half earn less. It comes from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, which surveys employers — not individual workers — making it a reliable measure of actual market pay. It is not an average, which would be pulled upward by outlier earners.
Are these take-home pay figures?
No. These are gross annual wages before federal and state income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare deductions. Take-home pay varies significantly based on filing status, state of residence, and benefit elections. High-earning occupations like surgery and law also face marginal tax rates that reduce net pay materially below the figures shown.
Which high-paying jobs have the most openings?
Technology occupations — software developers, data scientists, and IT managers — tend to generate far more annual openings than medical specialties. Surgical fields require 10–14 years of post-secondary training and post relatively few openings nationally. For workers weighing wage level against probability of employment, tech offers a more accessible path to high compensation.
Do these wages include bonuses and stock?
No. The BLS OEWS survey captures base wages and salaries paid by employers. It excludes performance bonuses, equity compensation (RSUs, stock options), tips, overtime differentials, and non-cash benefits. Total compensation in technology and finance — where equity grants can double or triple base pay — is often materially higher than the figures shown here.