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Rankings of the 825 US occupations for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics published an annual median wage in its May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. All industries, national figures, annual wages in US dollars. Every number comes from the BLS release; the full table is on US Wage Data.
Most occupations pay above the median job
530 of 825 occupations have a median above the all-occupations median of $50,980. That is not a contradiction: the overall median counts workers, and the largest occupations are low-paid.
Six-figure medians are a minority of jobs
138 occupations have a median of $100,000 or more. Together they account for 15.0% of the 155,495,730 jobs in the survey.
The top of the list is medicine
15 of the 15 highest medians belong to healthcare practitioners, mostly physician and surgeon specialties. Several of them employ only a few thousand people.
The 25 occupations with the highest median wage. A high median with low employment means few people do the job; the 10th percentile is the threshold below which a tenth of workers earn. It is not a measure of starting salaries or experience, neither of which this table separates.
| # | Occupation (SOC) | Employment | 10th pct. | Median | 90th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pediatric Surgeons29-1243 | 1,190 | $215,410 | $559,030 | $726,660 |
| 2 | Cardiologists29-1212 | 17,290 | $107,190 | $496,010 | $712,130 |
| 3 | Radiologists29-1224 | 26,770 | $89,010 | $420,860 | $594,410 |
| 4 | Surgeons, All Other29-1249 | 25,140 | $80,320 | $414,010 | $655,320 |
| 5 | Anesthesiologists29-1211 | 38,760 | $101,460 | $391,490 | $557,130 |
| 6 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric29-1242 | 14,100 | $84,170 | $358,550 | $659,290 |
| 7 | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons29-1022 | 4,910 | $86,250 | $352,220 | $622,640 |
| 8 | Emergency Medicine Physicians29-1214 | 32,880 | $103,610 | $335,550 | $495,910 |
| 9 | Dermatologists29-1213 | 11,370 | $102,810 | $328,730 | $578,560 |
| 10 | Physicians, Pathologists29-1222 | 11,110 | $92,540 | $312,400 | $449,970 |
| 11 | Prosthodontists29-1024 | 870 | $103,510 | $311,180 | $344,750 |
| 12 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric29-1241 | 8,950 | $100,180 | $300,080 | $489,710 |
| 13 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists29-1218 | 21,260 | $94,680 | $292,910 | $437,300 |
| 14 | Orthodontists29-1023 | 6,210 | $99,850 | $289,140 | $416,000 |
| 15 | Psychiatrists29-1223 | 27,980 | $84,060 | $281,870 | $446,520 |
| 16 | Physicians, All Other29-1229 | 342,720 | $69,170 | $265,930 | $452,360 |
| 17 | General Internal Medicine Physicians29-1216 | 67,150 | $73,570 | $256,560 | $475,430 |
| 18 | Neurologists29-1217 | 10,590 | $83,370 | $248,560 | $450,780 |
| 19 | Family Medicine Physicians29-1215 | 107,510 | $76,830 | $244,180 | $428,550 |
| 20 | Nurse Anesthetists29-1151 | 51,840 | $155,250 | $236,590 | $339,500 |
| 21 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers53-2011 | 103,560 | $106,710 | $232,140 | $463,830 |
| 22 | Dentists, All Other Specialists29-1029 | 5,230 | $104,120 | $224,990 | $402,700 |
| 23 | Chief Executives11-1011 | 204,350 | $75,700 | $213,990 | $507,730 |
| 24 | Pediatricians, General29-1221 | 39,390 | $91,470 | $210,040 | $338,500 |
| 25 | Industrial-Organizational Psychologists19-3032 | 790 | $79,010 | $193,950 | $247,220 |
The 15 occupations with the lowest medians are mostly food service, recreation and retail roles. For hourly-paid jobs BLS calculates the annual figure as the hourly wage multiplied by 2,080 hours, so anyone in these jobs who works part-time or part of the year earns less in a year than the figure shown.
| # | Occupation (SOC) | Employment | 10th pct. | Median | 90th pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooks, Fast Food35-2011 | 641,070 | $22,580 | $30,890 | $42,910 |
| 2 | Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop35-9031 | 432,690 | $22,340 | $31,200 | $43,990 |
| 3 | Fast Food and Counter Workers35-3023 | 3,854,050 | $22,840 | $31,200 | $42,650 |
| 4 | Amusement and Recreation Attendants39-3091 | 397,830 | $22,350 | $32,150 | $42,490 |
| 5 | Shampooers39-5093 | 8,070 | $23,110 | $32,600 | $38,240 |
| 6 | Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers, All Other39-3099 | 7,060 | $23,310 | $32,640 | $48,440 |
| 7 | Cashiers41-2011 | 3,089,410 | $24,530 | $32,880 | $40,410 |
| 8 | Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers39-3031 | 121,770 | $23,560 | $32,910 | $42,470 |
| 9 | Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers33-9092 | 157,550 | $25,780 | $33,580 | $43,970 |
| 10 | Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers35-9011 | 542,750 | $21,300 | $33,980 | $46,570 |
| 11 | Gambling Dealers39-3011 | 83,910 | $24,040 | $34,320 | $77,090 |
| 12 | Bartenders35-3011 | 756,390 | $20,110 | $34,340 | $73,770 |
| 13 | Dishwashers35-9021 | 477,450 | $26,200 | $34,810 | $42,860 |
| 14 | Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers51-6011 | 198,040 | $27,440 | $34,890 | $43,190 |
| 15 | Childcare Workers39-9011 | 518,910 | $24,260 | $34,980 | $46,010 |