Here’s the Highest-Paid Job in Your State — Excluding Doctors

It’s true that there are a lot of things in life more important than money. However, you shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that money represents more than just the ability to buy things. After all, for the vast majority of people around the world, an hourly wage represents the price at which one sells their life. Your time should be priceless, but the reality is that it’s one of the many things money can buy.

As such, taking a long look at the highest-paid profession in your area can tell you a lot about what really matters to people. The fact that their services are so valuable often speaks to the importance of their role or how specialized their skill set is. To find the most lucrative jobs across America, GOBankingRates compiled the highest-paid profession in each state, using the mean annual wage as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However, one pattern that immediately emerges is that a few jobs — like CEOs and/or medical experts — top those lists in every state. So, to give a better sense of how each state differs from each other, this study omits medical professionals and chief executives. So, other than doctors, what profession do you think earns top dollar in your state?

Last updated: Oct. 16, 2020

Alabama: Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

• Salary: $145,820
• Total employment: 100
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

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Alaska: Airline Pilots, Copilots and Flight Engineers

• Salary: $151,460
• Total employment: 1,460
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s and non-degree award
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Arizona: Nuclear Engineers

• Salary: $149,120
• Total employment: N/A
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Arkansas: Marketing Managers

• Salary: $145,140
• Total employment: 1,320
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

California: Airline Pilots, Copilots and Flight Engineers

• Salary: $204,760
• Total employment: 10,340
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s and non-degree award
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Colorado: Airline Pilots, Copilots and Flight Engineers

• Salary: $182,150
• Total employment: 3,660
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s and non-degree award
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

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Connecticut: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $183,630
• Total employment: 240
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Delaware: Sales Managers

• Salary: $165,250
• Total employment: 1,020
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: Less than 5 years

District of Columbia: Public Relations and Fundraising Managers

• Salary: $169,600
• Total employment: 5,990
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Florida: Petroleum Engineers

• Salary: $171,880
• Total employment: N/A
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Georgia: Law Teachers, Postsecondary

• Salary: $165,400
• Total employment: 100
• Education requirement: Doctoral
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Hawaii: Astronomers

• Salary: $133,560
• Total employment: 100
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: None

Idaho: Architectural and Engineering Managers

• Salary: $142,490
• Total employment: 1,290
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Illinois: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $204,200
• Total employment: 1,070
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

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Indiana: Petroleum Engineers

• Salary: $185,440
• Total employment: N/A
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Iowa: Sales Engineers

• Salary: $135,370
• Total employment: 170
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Kansas: Physicists

• Salary: $179,690
• Total employment: 30
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: None

Kentucky: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $134,310
• Total employment: 300
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Louisiana: Architectural and Engineering Managers

• Salary: $150,180
• Total employment: 1,390
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Maine: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $130,860
• Total employment: 90
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Maryland: Computer and Information Systems Managers

• Salary: $151,370
• Total employment: 11,730
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Massachusetts: Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary

• Salary: $174,300
• Total employment: 340
• Education requirement: Doctoral
• Work experience requirement: Less than 5 years

Michigan: Sales Managers

• Salary: $133,730
• Total employment: 9,440
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: Less than 5 years

Minnesota: Law Teachers, Postsecondary

• Salary: $164,050
• Total employment: N/A
• Education requirement: Doctoral
• Work experience requirement: 6 years or more

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Mississippi: Architectural and Engineering Managers

• Salary: $123,720
• Total employment: 920
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Missouri: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $145,310
• Total employment: 560
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Montana: Petroleum Engineers

• Salary: $126,760
• Total employment: 190
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Nebraska: Law Teachers, Postsecondary

• Salary: $155,190
• Total employment: 100
• Education requirement: Doctoral
• Work experience requirement: 7 years or more

Nevada: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $168,180
• Total employment: 230
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

New Hampshire: Architectural and Engineering Managers

• Salary: $152,840
• Total employment: 1,550
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

New Jersey: Compensation and Benefits Managers

• Salary: $175,250
• Total employment: 430
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

New Mexico: Physicists

• Salary: $167,200
• Total employment: 1,740
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: None

New York: Financial Managers

• Salary: $197,080
• Total employment: 46,100
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

North Carolina: Natural Sciences Managers

• Salary: $142,140
• Total employment: 3,390
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

North Dakota: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $145,470
• Total employment: 120
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Ohio: Air Traffic Controllers

• Salary: $137,760
• Total employment: 720
• Education requirement: Associate’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Oklahoma: Physicists

• Salary: $181,380
• Total employment: 40
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: None

Oregon: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $143,740
• Total employment: 360
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

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Pennsylvania: Architectural and Engineering Managers

• Salary: $145,200
• Total employment: 7,070
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Rhode Island: Compensation and Benefits Managers

• Salary: $162,170
• Total employment: 50
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

South Carolina: Physical Scientists

• Salary: $128,770
• Total employment: 50
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

South Dakota: Marketing Managers

• Salary: $139,360
• Total employment: 70
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Tennessee: Nuclear Engineers

• Salary: $128,990
• Total employment: 460
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: None

Texas: Airline Pilots, Copilots and Flight Engineers

• Salary: $161,250
• Total employment: N/A
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s and non-degree award
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Utah: Law Teachers, Postsecondary

• Salary: $167,230
• Total employment: 110
• Education requirement: Doctoral
• Work experience requirement: 8 years or more

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Vermont: Judges, Magistrate Judges and Magistrates

• Salary: $140,280
• Total employment: 60
• Education requirement: Doctoral or professional degree
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Virginia: Marketing Managers

• Salary: $166,530
• Total employment: 5,150
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Washington: Commercial Divers

• Salary: $171,010
• Total employment: 90
• Education requirement: Postsecondary non-degree award
• Work experience requirement: None

West Virginia: Architectural and Engineering Managers

• Salary: $134,040
• Total employment: 510
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

Wisconsin: Sales Managers

• Salary: $126,350
• Total employment: 4,570
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: Less than 5 years

Wyoming: Industrial Production Managers

• Salary: $127,980
• Total employment: 440
• Education requirement: Bachelor’s
• Work experience requirement: 5 years or more

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Methodology: GOBankingRates used the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) May 2019 employment and wage data to find the highest-paying job in every state in terms of annual median wage, excluding healthcare professionals and chief executive officers. Supplemental information on each job’s total employment in the state and median hourly wage from the same source and on each job’s education and experience requirements from the BLS’ Occupational Outlook Handbook was also provided. All data was collected on and up to date as of July 17, 2020.

About the Author

Joel Anderson

Joel Anderson is a business and finance writer with over a decade of experience writing about the wide world of finance. Based in Los Angeles, he specializes in writing about the financial markets, stocks, macroeconomic concepts and focuses on helping make complex financial concepts digestible for the retail investor.

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