Top 10 US Occupations with Widest 10th-90th Percentile Wage Gap
WageDex ranks all 800+ US occupations by the difference between the 90th and 10th percentile annual wage. Updated automatically as new BLS wage data is published.
Research period:
Research question
Among 800+ US occupations in the BLS OEWS dataset, which have the widest within-occupation wage dispersion (90th percentile minus 10th percentile annual wage), and how does dispersion correlate with the headline median?
Methodology
This ranking is compiled directly from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage-percentile records, no figure is typed in by hand, and the numbers update whenever the underlying dataset is refreshed. Occupations with no recorded wage-percentile data are excluded from this ranking rather than shown with a zero, since a true zero and "no data reported" are different facts.
Where BLS suppresses a value (for confidentiality, small sample size, or quality control), that record is left out of this ranking rather than displayed as zero. If BLS later revises a figure, the revision appears here automatically the next time WageDex refreshes its data, no manual edit to this page is needed.
A named editor reviews this page before publication, and disputed figures can be corrected through the contact channels in the footer, corrections are reconciled against the official source record before anything changes here.
See the methodology page for the complete data-update process, source vintage, and field definitions.
Top 10 US Occupations with Widest 10th-90th Percentile Wage Gap
Compiled directly from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
- Athletes and Sports Competitors
Athletes and Sports Competitors
$715,810 P90–P10 gap
- Cardiologists
Cardiologists
$604,940 P90–P10 gap
- Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
$575,120 P90–P10 gap
- Surgeons, All Other
Surgeons, All Other
$575,000 P90–P10 gap
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
$536,390 P90–P10 gap
- Pediatric Surgeons
Pediatric Surgeons
$511,250 P90–P10 gap
- Radiologists
Radiologists
$505,400 P90–P10 gap
- Dermatologists
Dermatologists
$475,750 P90–P10 gap
- Anesthesiologists
Anesthesiologists
$455,670 P90–P10 gap
- Chief Executives
Chief Executives
$432,030 P90–P10 gap
The ranked top 10
Every row below reflects the current 10-record ranking. Refresh the page after WageDex's next data update to see the latest values.
| # | Occupation | 10th pct wage | Median wage | 90th pct wage | P90 - P10 gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletes and Sports Competitors | 26500 | 66710 | 742310 | 715810 |
| 2 | Cardiologists | 107190 | 496010 | 712130 | 604940 |
| 3 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | 84170 | 358550 | 659290 | 575120 |
| 4 | Surgeons, All Other | 80320 | 414010 | 655320 | 575000 |
| 5 | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons | 86250 | 352220 | 622640 | 536390 |
| 6 | Pediatric Surgeons | 215410 | 559030 | 726660 | 511250 |
| 7 | Radiologists | 89010 | 420860 | 594410 | 505400 |
| 8 | Dermatologists | 102810 | 328730 | 578560 | 475750 |
| 9 | Anesthesiologists | 101460 | 391490 | 557130 | 455670 |
| 10 | Chief Executives | 75700 | 213990 | 507730 | 432030 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS OEWS National Wage Estimates. Values reflect WageDex's current data snapshot and update whenever the underlying dataset is refreshed. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS OEWS National Wage Estimates. Values reflect WageDex's current data snapshot and update whenever the underlying dataset is refreshed.
Findings
Top entity in the ranking
The top-ranked record in this dataset is Athletes and Sports Competitors, with a value of 715810 on the P90 - P10 gap column. The full top-10 set is shown in the table above; no number here is typed in by hand. When U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a revision, the ranking and this text update automatically the next time WageDex refreshes its data.
Distribution shape
The gap between the top-ranked record (715810) and the 10th-ranked record (432030) characterizes how concentrated the top of the distribution is. Where the top value is many multiples of the median value of the visible set, the population is highly concentrated, a small number of entities accumulate the bulk of the measured quantity. Where the top and bottom of the visible set are close together, the distribution is relatively flat across the top end. The full distribution beyond this top-10 cut is summarized in the aggregate context section below and explored in the linked entity profiles.
Aggregate context
Across the full population behind this ranking, here are the summary statistics: how many records exist in total, the sum of the ranking metric across all qualifying records, and the mean per-record value. The methodology page documents the exact filter applied (records with null or zero values on the ranking metric are excluded). This aggregate row is computed from the same dataset that powers the ranking above.
Source provenance
The records in this ranking originate from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, specifically the BLS OEWS National Wage Estimates. WageDex compiles this data directly from the agency's published release; there is no static export carrying stale numbers, and an updated dataset propagates to this page within hours. The methodology page documents the source URL, the data vintage, and how the figures are derived.
Why this ranking matters
Rankings like this one let a reader scan a population quickly and identify outliers, concentrations, and patterns that warrant deeper investigation. The detail pages linked from each entity in the table above give the full per-entity context: time-series history where available, related metrics from adjacent tables, and links onward to the underlying source records. The methodology page explains how an entity earns inclusion in the dataset and how the ranking column is computed at the source.
What this analysis cannot tell us
The P90-P10 wage gap is a simple dispersion measure that does not adjust for selection into the occupation, high-skill occupations with both entry-level and senior tiers naturally show wide gaps that reflect career-ladder structure rather than within-job wage compression problems. The OEWS top-coded ceiling at $239,200 censors P90 values for the highest-paid occupations (physicians, executives, surgeons), which artificially compresses the apparent P90-P10 gap for those occupations and understates true dispersion. Self-employed practitioners, business owners, and gig-economy workers are excluded from OEWS, occupations with high self-employment shares show distributions that reflect only the employee population. Wage estimates exclude tips, overtime premiums, and stock-based compensation, which can materially affect occupation-level dispersion in industries where these forms vary widely between workers. The dispersion measure does not adjust for hours worked, so part-time and full-time workers contribute different annualized wage rates within the same occupation.
Secondary cut from the same source
Widest P90-P10 gap among occupations with at least 100,000 workers
- Chief Executives
Chief Executives
$432,030 annual wage
- Physicians, All Other
Physicians, All Other
$383,190 annual wage
- Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
$357,120 annual wage
- Family Medicine Physicians
Family Medicine Physicians
$351,720 annual wage
- Personal Financial Advisors
Personal Financial Advisors
$306,830 annual wage
- Lawyers
Lawyers
$273,240 annual wage
- Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary
$262,750 annual wage
- Natural Sciences Managers
Natural Sciences Managers
$237,140 annual wage
- Dentists, General
Dentists, General
$233,380 annual wage
- Financial Managers
Financial Managers
$228,960 annual wage
Sources
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Program - https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- BLS OEWS Percentile Wage Definitions and Methodology - https://www.bls.gov/oes/methods.htm
- BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System - https://www.bls.gov/soc/