Wages in the US have hit record highs, even when historic salaries are adjusted for inflation. And with the nation boasting a low unemployment rate, the American Dream seems more attainable than ever – at least on paper. However, salary levels vary enormously across the country, and if you're aiming to strike it rich in the Land of Opportunity, pursuing a career that pays more than any other is clearly a smart move.
So what's the top-paying job where you live? Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which collates mean annual wage data by profession for each state and DC, read on to discover the top-paying roles in every corner of the country, with states ranked from lowest to highest-paid. How does your paycheck compare?
The BLS collects average pay data for around 830 occupations in total. In Oklahoma, the profession with the highest mean yearly wage is physician, pathologist, which earns $296,030 per year. This is the lowest figure of any state or DC on this list, though it's still much higher than America's overall mean salary of $65,470.
It's also important to highlight that the BLS doesn't provide precise figures for several top-paying roles in the state, such as anesthesiologist and cardiologist.
Interestingly, Oklahoma is one of 31 states where the highest-paid state employee is a football coach. In this case, the biggest earner is Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy, who rakes in $7.6 million annually.
As in the majority of states, Delaware's highest-paying job is in the healthcare sector. The average mean salary for an OB/GYN comes in at $309,490, beating every other profession. Again, however, the BLS doesn't collect precise average pay info for a range of the state's top-paying medical roles, including cardiologist and surgeon.
In terms of median pay, which can give a more accurate picture of the typical wage, the most lucrative roles are OB/GYN, cardiologist, surgeon, physician, and nurse anesthetist.
Eye doctors earn the highest mean salaries in Hawaii, though again, exact numbers for some of the best-paying jobs such as radiologist and dermatologist are unavailable for the state. The average annual pay for an ophthalmologist in the Aloha State is over five times higher than the mean for all occupations of $65,030, which is on the low side considering Hawaii has America's steepest living costs.
Several other healthcare-related roles also have median annual salaries of $239,200. The best-compensated non-medical job is CEO, which commands a median salary of $223,912.
Over in West Virginia, general surgeons earn the most money, with a mean annual wage of $344,770. However, their numbers are very low – with just 230 surgeons in the entire state, they represent only 0.03% of its workforce.
At the other end of the scale, registered nurse is the most common job in West Virginia, with 20,860 positions. Registered nurses in the state earn almost five times less than surgeons, with their pay averaging $75,990 per annum. On the upside, West Virginia has the cheapest cost of living in the country according to the latest Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) survey, meaning wages go much further in the state.
Orthopedic surgeons, who diagnose and treat injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, reign supreme at the top of the payscale in Arkansas.
According to the data for median pay in the state, which is less complete and precise, the top-paying roles are all in the medical field, ranging from orthopedic surgeons to dermatologists and emergency medicine physicians.
Physicians typically make $351,270 a year in North Dakota, more than any other profession. That said, data isn't precise for several other lucrative healthcare roles in the state, such as orthopedic surgeon, which may actually pay more.
Senior medical positions dominate when it comes to median salaries, but several non-healthcare jobs stand out, with judges and magistrates, architectural and engineering planners, and purchasing managers the best renumerated.
Radiologists, who use X-rays, MRIs, and other scanning technologies to treat and diagnose illnesses, have the highest average annual pay in DC at $353,800.
But the figures falls short of the $400,000 a year the president earns, not to mention the highest reported federal government salary of $492,643. This is awarded to medical officer Dr Gary Gibbons, the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
The BLS only has vague salary information for five top-paying medical roles in Maine. Among the jobs it does have exact numbers for, ophthalmologist is the most lucrative, with a mean salary of $355,640.
Median pay data is lacking for many healthcare-oriented jobs, but for those the BLS does have data for, the highest-paying is family medicine physician. The role typically grosses $224,328 a year.
The ER is the place to be in Maryland for doctors who want to earn top dollar – emergency medicine physicians pull in the most money in the state, with mean annual pay of $358,680, though the data for cardiologists and anesthesiologists is vague so it's possible they may earn more.
Mirroring other states, the highest-paying roles in Maryland are all medical-related. Among those that aren't, CEOs, computer and information systems managers, and financial managers are the best compensated.
Emergency medicine physician is also the number-one job for mean pay in Nevada, though practitioners there earn more on average than their counterparts in Maryland, pulling in $361,510 annually. They are relatively few in number though, and the most common jobs in the state pay relatively poorly.
These include laborers and stock movers, whose mean annual pay is $39,690, and fast food and counter workers, who earn an average of $29,330 a year in the Silver State.
Missouri med students keen to maximize their future earnings may want to gravitate toward radiology; professionals in the field take home the state's biggest paychecks at a tidy $363,870 per year on average.
OB/GYNs, who typically earn $323,810 annually, are the next best-paid in the Show-Me State, followed by general physicians and psychiatrists.
Wielding a scalpel pays big in Kansas, where surgeons out-earn everyone else, bringing in an average annual salary of $365,230. This is double the figure for CEO, the best-paying non-medical occupation in the state, and over six times higher than Kansas' average salary of $56,270.
Surgeons are scarce in the state though, with just 40 in total. General physicians are much more numerous at 4,680, but their average pay is lower, at $230,000 annually.
Texas is a major outlier as its top-paying role is non-medical, with athlete commanding the highest average salary. This figures since the Lone Star State is home to some of the world's biggest-earning sportspeople, including Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The highest-paid NFL player, he pulls in a staggering $60 million a year.
On a side note, America's highest-paid CEO, Jon Winkelried, heads TPG, a Texas-based company – his pay package amounted to $198.7 million in 2023. Texas, which doesn't levy income tax, is of course the adopted home of Elon Musk, the world's richest person.
In affluent Massachusetts, radiology is the best-paying line of work. Its professionals, who number 3,300 in the state, earn $369,490 a year, almost five times the state average for all occupations of $80,330.
Outside the medical profession, financial managers, lawyers, and human resource managers all earn mean salaries in excess of $180,000, making them among the best-compensated occupations in Massachusetts.
Eye doctors top the salary ladder in Illinois, with an average annual salary of $375,370. Medical roles make up the top five highest-paying jobs, but airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers command the sixth spot, with a mean salary of $298,460.
Only California has more jobs in the aviation field, though Washington pays a better average wage of $369,440 for the roles.
Physician, pathologist is the top-paying occupation in Kentucky. The job is based in a hospital or lab and involves analyzing bodily tissues to diagnose and treat injury and disease. It commands an average salary of $376,940 in the state.
According to the BLS, this is the highest figure in America for the role, so experts in the field may want to make a beeline for the state. It's worth noting though that exact figures are lacking for North Dakota and Minnesota, where pay could be higher still for this particular job.
Numbering just 50, the surgeons of Little Rhody earn big money, with the mean annual wage for the job $379,530 in America's smallest state. This eclipses the average for all other professions there.
Cardiologists and CEOs are the next best-paid. But the state's most common role, that of fast food and counter worker, which accounts for 13,660 positions in Rhode Island, pays a small amount. The average yearly salary for the job is just $31,340.
Neurologists boast the biggest paychecks in New Mexico, with an average salary of $383,340. Cardiologists follow closely behind, with a mean yearly wage of $382,740.
This contrasts starkly with the Land of Enchantment's rather disenchanting average salary for all professions of $57,520, let alone its poverty rate, which is the highest in the country at 18.2%.
Radiologists lead the pack in New Hampshire, with a mean annual wage of $388,410. The top 20 best-paying roles in the state are all in the medical arena, apart from the position of CEO, which has an average salary of $188,920.
Other non-healthcare jobs in New Hampshire that pay over $160,000 yearly typically include architect, sales manager, postsecondary economics teacher, and air traffic controller.
Surgeons in Connecticut live very comfortably since they're paid more than any other professionals in the state, averaging a salary of $392,080.
Unlike many other states, the most common job category in Connecticut, general and operations managers, pays exceedingly well. The 48,760 Nutmeggers engaged in this type of work take home a mean annual wage of $155,870.
South Carolina's highest-paying role is orthopedic surgeon. These are just 80 of these medical professionals in the state, and they earn $398,350 a year on average.
Checking out the top 20 best-compensated jobs, only two are non-medical: CEO and postsecondary law teacher. Salaries for these positions in the Palmetto State average $220,650 and $196,470 respectively.
Caring for patients' cardiovascular health is a major cash generator in Virginia. The state's cardiologists earn more money on average than any other occupation, pulling in $399,570 a year typically.
On the other hand, fast food and counter workers, who represent Virginia's most common jobs category, are paid around 13 times less: the 96,390 Virginians working in this sector earn just $30,070 a year on average.
New York is yet another state where heart doctors dominate the earnings league.
In fact, cardiologist is the highest-paying job in an impressive 12 states. General surgeon is next – the role is number one in 10 states – followed by radiologist, which is the best-compensated position in four states and DC.
Alaska is among the 10 states where general surgeon is the highest-paying role, with an average annual salary of $407,300 for the job in the Last Frontier.
Alaska's general internal medicine physicians aren't far behind with a mean salary of $402,000. They are followed by OB/GYNs, who typically earn $306,700 per year, and general physicians – their average annual pay comes in at $284,240.
Pulling in $408,950 a year on average, cardiologists have hit the jackpot in Pennsylvania, out-earning every other occupation in the state.
Heart doctors in Pennsylvania earn over 13 times more than home health and personal care aides, who make up the jobs category with the biggest headcount in the state. The 213,020 Pennsylvanians who earn a living caring for the sick, disabled, and elderly have a mean salary of just $30,580.
Relocating to Colorado is a no-brainer if you're a brain doctor. Neurologists take home the biggest paychecks in the state, which rewards these medical professionals more than any other.
By way of comparison, the state's lowest-paying roles for which the BLS has data include taxi driver, which has an average salary of $30,810, fast food cook with typical annual wages of $33,250, and host/hostess in a restaurant, lounge, or coffee shop, which pays $33,420 a year on average.
Tiny in number but big on pay, Montana's 60 surgeons typically earn $415,030 a year, almost $5,000 more than dermatologists, who are the next best-paid in the state.
Yet, like other states, Montana's most abundant roles aren't very well compensated. The average pay for the most common job categories, fast food and counter workers, who number 15,380, and retail salespersons, who number 13,600, is $27,900 and $36,170 respectively.
With annual pay averaging $418,920, cardiologists out-earn every other profession in Mississippi. The state has America's lowest mean salary at just $47,570, so heart doctors here make almost nine times more than the typical worker.
The disparity between a cardiologist's average pay and that of the lowest-paid profession in the state is jaw-dropping. Pulling in just $21,140 a year typically, hand sewers in Mississippi earn almost 20 times less than the state's heart doctors. Thankfully, the cost of living is low in the Magnolia State.
Louisiana is another of the 12 states where cardiologist is the top-paying job. Heart specialists in the Pelican State earn $422,290 a year on average. Surgeons take home almost as much, with an average yearly wage of $421,490.
Other highly remunerative roles in the state include psychiatrist and neurologist. When it comes to non-medical jobs, CEO, personal financial advisor, and petroleum engineers working in the state's booming oil industry are among the best compensated.
Training to be an orthopedic surgeon is a path paved with gold in Michigan. The occupation is the best-paying in the state, with a mean yearly wage of $426,300.
Reflecting the Rust Belt state's manufacturing comeback, Michigan's biggest employment category is miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators, essentially factory workers, who number 123,820. Their annual salary averages out at $44,620.
General surgeon is Indiana's top-paying role, with a mean salary of $429,250, but precise wage data for cardiologist, which could well pay more, is missing for the state.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers earn the lowest wages, pulling in just $25,130 a year on average. If money is your top priority, other jobs to avoid in the state range from lifeguard to bartender and fast food cook.
Eye doctors in Iowa are most definitely seeing dollar signs. They earn more than any other occupation in the state, with an average salary of $430,910. However, as with Indiana, BLS wage data for cardiologists isn't precise for the state, so there's every chance the job could pay better.
As far as non-medical roles are concerned, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers take home the biggest paychecks, with a mean yearly pay of $182,670. CEOs in the state typically earn in excess of $180,000 a year too.
In Alabama, cardiologists command the highest salaries. Their annual wage averages $433,520, more than eight times higher than the state's average salary of $53,400.
Incidentally, the best-paid employee on a state payroll nationwide is University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, whose salary amounts to $11.7 million.
General surgeons in Georgia are very wealthy if the average salary for the job is anything to go by. Coming in at $446,490, their typical annual wage is the highest in the state, surpassing the mega-bucks that cardiologists and radiologists pull in.
Medical professionals aside, CEOs are the best-paid, with a mean salary of $273,720. They're followed by airline pilots, copilots, flight engineers, financial managers, and physicists.
Back to well-paid medical roles. Orthopedic surgeon is currently Vermont's top-paying job. Experts in the field typically earn $449,240 annually.
Vermont is one of those rare states where the most common job also pays very well. General and operation managers, who have the highest headcount of any occupation in Vermont at 8,060, take home a respectable $106,070 per year on average.
Bucking the national trend, the best-paying role in New Jersey is non-healthcare-related. CEOs earn more there than any other state, with an average salary of $449,370.
As we've mentioned, the highest-paid CEO in the US is Jon Winkelried of Texan firm TPG. Meanwhile, New Jersey's top corporate earner is Johnson & Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato, whose compensation in 2023 amounted to $28.4 million.
Heart doctors stand at the top of the pay pyramid in North Carolina, where the mean salary for the profession is $450,610.
Medical professionals are particularly well compensated. For instance, oral and maxillofacial surgeons are paid more in North Carolina than all the other states the BLS has precise wage data for.
Looking after the needs of patients before, during, and post-operation pays extraordinarily well in California. Anesthesiologist is the most lucrative role in the state by quite a wide margin.
The job has an average salary of $452,930, considerably more generous than the next highest figure: the $389,120 cardiologists typically earn in the state. Outside of the medical realm, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are the best-paid, pulling in an average of $286,040 a year.
Anesthesiologists are the salary superstars in Nebraska, too, commanding an average yearly pay of $455,850.
To put their salary in perspective, the mean annual wage for anesthesiologists in the state is almost eight times higher than the mean for all professions. And the figure is 16 times greater than the number for the most common occupation category, fast food and counter workers.
Tennessee certainly 'hearts' its cardiologists given they're the best-paid workers in the state. Their average salary of $472,670 is the highest by a long shot; the runners-up, orthopedic surgeons, typically earn over a quarter less.
CEOs are the best-compensated non-medical professionals, with mean annual wages of $222,920, followed by lawyers, who typically take home $155,100 a year in the Volunteer State.
Cardiologist is also the highest-paying job in Washington. Heart doctors in the state earn slightly more than their counterparts in Tennessee, with mean annual pay of $473,190.
The third best-paid employment category is airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers, who earn more typically in Washington than anywhere else in America. Their yearly mean wage in the state amounts to a very respectable $369,440.
Radiologists are the biggest earners in South Dakota, with an average salary of $475,780. Nevertheless, precise data for anesthesiologists and general surgeons is missing for the state, and there's every chance these roles pay even better.
Jobs are plentiful in South Dakota, which boasts America's lowest unemployment rate, but the average annual pay for all professions isn't great. At $53,230, it's almost nine times lower than the mean pay the state's radiologists receive.
The BLS doesn't collate precise salary data for several medical professions in Oregon, including cardiologist and general surgeon, so the state's dermatologists may not be the highest paid.
In any case, their average annual pay of $481,330 is enviable. Who knew caring for skin could be such a lucrative career?
Cardiologists claim the top spot in Florida. Heart physicians in the Sunshine State are paid an average of $494,690 annually, out-earning the runners-up, emergency medicine physicians, by a cool $105,740.
Amazingly, the typical cardiologist's paycheck could cover the wages of 14 retail salespeople, who number 312,260 in Florida and constitute the most common job category in the state.
Wyoming's heart doctors are also paid more than any other professionals, with typical annual wages of $498,630.
Among the non-medical roles, industrial production manager is the most lucrative, with yearly pay averaging $152,640, closely followed by sales manager, which commands $152,620 a year typically, and CEO. The average annual pay in the state for the boss of an organization stands at $145,320.
Earning more than half a million dollars a year on average, cardiologists are the highest-paid workers in Ohio too.
Their typical annual wage is over eight times higher than the average for all professions of $58,890 and 19 times more generous than the figure for the lowest paid role BLS has data for, host and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop. They earn just $26,310 per year on average in the state.
General surgeons in Utah do very well indeed. The Beehive State's top-earning professionals, they make $515,130 a year on average.
A notable high-paying job category in Utah is athletes and sports competitors, who number 500 in the state. Their annual pay averages $235,940, which surpasses the mean figure for many quintessentially lucrative roles, including CEO and financial manager.
Skin issues translate to big paydays in Idaho, where dermatologist is the top-paying job. The average annual pay for the role is $525,040, almost 10 times higher than the state's mean salary of $55,640.
Other highly remunerative jobs in Idaho include general surgeon, emergency medicine physician, and CEO, which all pay over $200,000 per year on average.
Down in Arizona, surgeons specializing in children's health command the highest average salary, with typical yearly wages of $533,740.
The figure is equivalent to 17 average annual paychecks for fast food and counter workers, the most common job category in the Grand Canyon State, with a headcount of 102,570.
Orthopedic surgeons are also paid more than general surgeons and all professionals in Wisconsin, taking home $534,270 a year on average.
The best-paying non-medical role in the state is CEO, with an average annual salary of $260,260. Physicists are next with $160,470, followed by computer and information systems managers, who typically earn $155,530 a year.
Minnesota's dermatologists boast the highest mean salary in America. These medical professionals, who number 420 in total, earn $581,560 a year on average.
Their pay is almost nine times more generous than the average figure for all professions in the state, which comes in at $66,700. But spare a thought for Minnesota's waiters and waitresses. At only $25,850, their average yearly pay is the lowest out of all the job categories covered by the BLS and more than a massive 22 times lower than the dermatologists' figure.
Now discover the average American's wealth by state. How does yours compare?