Highest Hourly Pay by Occupation

This ranking surfaces 50 distinct occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, each scored on the "Hourly Median" dimension. The top-ranked occupation is Pediatric Surgeons at $268.76, versus $65.38 at rank 50, a spread that shows how differently the American labor market values specialized skills, credential requirements, and location-specific demand. Every row on this page links to the occupation's full national profile with state and metro-level salary breakdowns, so the ranking doubles as a launch pad for deeper research rather than a static leaderboard.

Hourly wages provide a more granular comparison than annual salaries, especially for occupations with variable hours. Many top earners are salaried professionals whose hourly rate reflects a standard 2,080-hour work year, but actual hours worked may be significantly more. Some occupations (anesthesiologists, surgeons) have high per-hour rates but also work irregular or on-call schedules not fully captured in wage data.

The numbers here are not marketing estimates or job-board averages. They come from the OEWS survey of roughly 1.1 million establishments representing over 95% of U.S. wage and salary workers, collected over three-year rolling panels and published each May. When you compare occupations within this list, remember that annual median means the midpoint, half the workforce earns more and half earns less, and that percentile bands within each occupation often span 2-3x the median on either side. Use this ranking to shortlist careers that match your economic goals, then drill into each occupation's individual page to see the 10th-to-90th percentile pay range, state-by-state variation, metro premiums, education requirements, and BLS-projected openings through 2033 before making a long-term commitment. See our methodology for exactly how these figures are sourced, computed, and verified.