The highest paying jobs in the United States are overwhelmingly in medicine. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2024, more than a dozen physician and surgeon specialties top the pay scale at $239,200 or more in median annual pay, which is the upper limit of what BLS reports. Outside of medicine, airline pilots, tech researchers, and several finance and management roles round out the six-figure landscape.
Medical Specialties Dominate the Top
Of the 20 highest-paying occupations tracked by BLS, 19 are in healthcare. Specialties including anesthesiologists, surgeons, cardiologists, dermatologists, radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, psychiatrists, and obstetricians/gynecologists all report median pay at $239,200 or more per year. That figure represents the ceiling of BLS wage estimates, meaning actual median earnings for many of these roles are likely higher.
Family medicine physicians earn a median of $238,380, and general internal medicine physicians earn $236,350. These are the two medical roles where BLS can pin down a more precise number, and they still far exceed most other professions. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, orthodontists, prosthodontists, and neurologists all sit in the $239,200-plus tier alongside their surgical and specialty counterparts.
Every one of these roles requires a doctoral or professional degree (an M.D., D.O., or dental doctorate), followed by years of residency training. From the start of college to the first attending-level paycheck, the path typically spans 11 to 16 years depending on the specialty. That investment in time and education debt is a major reason the pay is so high, and it’s also why the supply of physicians stays relatively limited.
Highest Paying Jobs Outside Medicine
If you’re looking beyond a medical degree, several fields still offer six-figure median salaries. The single highest-paying non-medical occupation on the BLS top-20 list is airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers, with a 2024 median pay of $226,600 per year. Reaching that level typically requires thousands of flight hours, an FAA Airline Transport Pilot certificate, and years spent at regional carriers before moving to a major airline.
In technology, computer and information research scientists earn a median of $140,910. These are the people designing new computing approaches, developing algorithms, and solving large-scale problems for tech companies, government labs, and research institutions. A master’s degree is the typical entry point, though some roles require a Ph.D.
Other well-paying tech and analytical roles include information security analysts at a median of $124,910 and data scientists at $112,590. Both fields are growing rapidly, with projected employment increases of 29% and 34% respectively over the next decade. A bachelor’s degree can get you into entry-level positions in either field, though specialized certifications and experience push salaries higher.
Actuaries, who use mathematics and statistics to assess financial risk for insurance companies and corporations, earn a median of $125,770. The role requires passing a series of professional exams over several years, but you can begin working and earning a strong salary with a bachelor’s degree while you complete them.
Healthcare Roles That Don’t Require Medical School
Two of the fastest-growing, highest-paying healthcare careers sit below the physician level but well above average pay. Physician assistants earn a median of $133,260, and nurse practitioners earn $129,210. Both require a master’s degree rather than a medical doctorate, which means fewer years of schooling and lower education costs compared to becoming a physician.
Nurse practitioners in particular are in enormous demand. BLS projects 40% employment growth for the role between 2024 and 2034, making it one of the fastest-growing occupations in the country at any pay level. Physician assistants are projected to grow 20% over the same period. Both roles involve diagnosing conditions, prescribing medications, and managing patient care, with scope of practice varying by state.
Medical and health services managers, the administrators who run hospitals, clinics, and medical practices, earn a median of $117,960. A bachelor’s degree is the minimum, but most positions at larger organizations expect a master’s in health administration or a related field. Employment in this role is projected to grow 23% over the next decade.
What It Takes to Reach These Pay Levels
The pattern across highest-paying jobs is clear: the more specialized the training, the higher the pay. Physician specialties require a doctoral degree plus residency. Airline pilots need years of flight-hour accumulation. Tech research scientists typically hold a master’s or doctoral degree. Even the “shorter path” roles like nurse practitioner and physician assistant require graduate-level education.
That said, the timeline and cost vary dramatically. A data scientist can finish a bachelor’s and potentially a master’s degree in five to six years and start earning over $100,000. A neurosurgeon might not earn an attending salary until their mid-30s after four years of college, four years of medical school, and seven years of residency. Both end up in six figures, but the data scientist starts earning (and saving) a decade earlier.
For roles that don’t require graduate school at entry, certifications and experience fill the gap. Information security analysts often start with a bachelor’s in computer science or cybersecurity and build credentials like CISSP or CompTIA Security+ over time. Actuaries pass a sequence of professional exams while working, with each passed exam typically bringing a raise.
High Pay With Strong Job Growth
Earning a high salary matters more when the field is also adding jobs. Several occupations combine six-figure pay with double-digit projected growth through 2034:
- Nurse practitioners: $129,210 median pay, 40% projected growth
- Data scientists: $112,590 median pay, 34% projected growth
- Information security analysts: $124,910 median pay, 29% projected growth
- Medical and health services managers: $117,960 median pay, 23% projected growth
- Actuaries: $125,770 median pay, 22% projected growth
- Physician assistants: $133,260 median pay, 20% projected growth
- Computer and information research scientists: $140,910 median pay, 20% projected growth
Strong growth means more open positions, more employer competition for talent, and less risk of your skills becoming obsolete. A field growing at 30% or more is essentially doubling its workforce within a generation, which translates to steady hiring and upward pressure on salaries.
Where You Work Affects What You Earn
Geography plays a significant role in compensation. The national average salary across all occupations is about $64,505, but high-cost states push well above that. The Northeast region averages $71,481, while the South averages $60,270. Within individual professions, the geographic gap can be even wider. Nurses, for example, see median salaries that vary by tens of thousands of dollars depending on the state.
Higher salaries in expensive metro areas don’t always mean more purchasing power, though. A physician earning $300,000 in a high-cost coastal city may have less disposable income than one earning $260,000 in a lower-cost area after accounting for housing, taxes, and childcare. When evaluating job offers, comparing the salary to local cost of living gives you a more accurate picture than the raw number alone.