Highest Paying Jobs in Kentucky

Top 100 occupations ranked by median annual salary, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025

Highest Occupation Median

$558,180

Cardiologists

Mean of Top 25 Medians

$237,150

each occupation weighted once

Medians ≥ $100K

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking is drawn from the BLS OEWS May 2025 release for Kentucky. The top occupation's state median is +13% above the national median of $496,010 for the same role. The equal-weighted mean of the top ten published occupation medians is $333,508. It is not a worker mean or median.

The "Difference" column subtracts or compares each state median with the corresponding national median for the same SOC code. In this list, 29 of 100 occupation medians are above the corresponding national median in Kentucky. These values do not identify why the state and national estimates differ.

This ranking orders published occupation medians; it does not identify career stages, individual earning potential, or the odds of obtaining a job. The employment column contains estimated jobs in covered establishments. Occupation profiles separately show BLS projection and typical-entry education assignments where available. OEWS includes tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. Employer benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, and nonproduction bonuses are outside the estimate, so review those separately for any specific offer. Open a linked profile to compare percentile boundaries, BLS education assignments, local-area estimates, and projected openings without treating one measure as a personal forecast.

#	Occupation	State Median	National	Difference	Estimated Jobs
1	Cardiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$558,180	$496,010	+13% above	N/A
2	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$350,950	$232,140	+51% above	6,260
3	Anesthesiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$347,960	$391,490	11% below	1,090
4	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$338,850	$248,560	+36% above	230
5	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$327,390	$265,930	+23% above	3,340
6	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$324,390	$312,400	+4% above	N/A
7	Obstetricians and Gynecologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$317,110	$292,910	+8% above	240
8	Radiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$279,990	$420,860	33% below	N/A
9	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$248,730	$244,180	+2% above	1,170
10	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$241,530	$256,560	6% below	1,060
11	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$237,770	$281,870	16% below	160
12	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$222,520	$236,590	6% below	1,640
13	Podiatrists Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 80 workers (fewer than 100). Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$201,260	$160,300	+26% above	80
14	Dermatologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$195,830	$328,730	40% below	N/A
15	Physicists Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 50 workers (fewer than 100). Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$180,910	$172,250	+5% above	50
16	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$179,530	$213,990	16% below	2,070
17	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$175,690	$210,040	16% below	380
18	Emergency Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$169,390	$335,550	50% below	620
19	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$162,160	$414,010	61% below	440
20	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Legal Occupations	$150,650	$153,990	2% below	370
21	Psychologists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$149,990	$110,840	+35% above	300
22	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$147,680	$171,270	14% below	1,800
23	Law Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$140,820	$128,500	+10% above	120
24	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$140,360	$175,140	20% below	3,130
25	Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$139,110	$94,980	+46% above	70
26	Sociologists Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 30 workers (fewer than 100). Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$136,870	$106,030	+29% above	30
27	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$136,530	$140,910	3% below	5,030
28	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$134,160	$170,950	22% below	790
29	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$130,650	$166,570	22% below	6,630
30	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$129,990	$123,220	+5% above	800
31	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$128,930	$166,790	23% below	1,930
32	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$128,860	$136,570	6% below	430
33	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$128,650	$148,270	13% below	6,650
34	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$127,800	$148,080	14% below	230
35	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$126,440	$167,220	24% below	400
36	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$126,130	$134,960	7% below	290
37	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$125,400	$139,500	10% below	350
38	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$124,770	$125,470	1% below	210
39	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$124,350	$148,080	16% below	920
40	Airfield Operations Specialists Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$123,290	$56,850	+117% above	290
41	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$122,930	$141,900	13% below	2,390
42	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$122,870	$132,300	7% below	4,770
43	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$121,460	$149,280	19% below	1,960
44	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$120,760	$135,880	11% below	1,360
45	Ship Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$120,550	$109,530	+10% above	N/A
46	Actuaries Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$120,400	$130,000	7% below	70
47	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$117,170	$125,040	6% below	190
48	Computer Hardware Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$116,200	$161,740	28% below	500
49	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$114,310	$104,590	+9% above	890
50	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$114,290	$149,230	23% below	110
51	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$112,750	$133,000	15% below	460
52	Statisticians Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 80 workers (fewer than 100). Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$112,520	$105,650	+7% above	80
53	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$112,320	$146,910	24% below	510
54	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$112,250	$126,060	11% below	6,430
55	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$110,810	$109,270	+1% above	340
56	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$109,010	$135,980	20% below	7,660
57	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$107,760	$115,160	6% below	300
58	Environmental Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$107,520	$107,110	same as	350
59	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$107,030	$133,660	20% below	230
60	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$106,250	$123,920	14% below	120
61	Power Distributors and Dispatchers Production Occupations	$105,600	$106,730	1% below	140
62	Gambling Managers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 30 workers (fewer than 100). Management Occupations	$105,340	$93,220	+13% above	30
63	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$104,100	$130,100	20% below	1,190
64	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$103,740	$134,050	23% below	1,710
65	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$103,630	$129,180	20% below	1,680
66	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$103,450	$123,860	16% below	8,600
67	Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$103,300	$106,220	3% below	230
68	Atmospheric and Space Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$103,240	$99,070	+4% above	100
69	Education Administrators, All Other Management Occupations	$102,610	$95,200	+8% above	530
70	Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 60 workers (fewer than 100). Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$102,140	$99,650	+2% above	60
71	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 70 workers (fewer than 100). Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$101,940	$300,080	66% below	70
72	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$101,860	$130,220	22% below	860
73	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$101,550	$159,670	36% below	5,770
74	Mechanical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$101,050	$104,110	3% below	4,170
75	Civil Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$100,930	$100,840	same as	2,690
76	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$100,720	$106,660	6% below	1,070
77	Physical Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$100,710	$102,760	2% below	3,390
78	Materials Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$100,620	$112,860	11% below	280
79	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$100,340	$107,230	6% below	2,340
80	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$99,920	$105,870	6% below	4,940
81	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$99,830	$122,930	19% below	500
82	Genetic Counselors Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 50 workers (fewer than 100). Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$99,770	$100,040	same as	50
83	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$99,140	$100,580	1% below	710
84	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$98,860	$103,020	4% below	130
85	Food Scientists and Technologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$98,710	$88,720	+11% above	170
86	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents Management Occupations	$98,570	$96,660	+2% above	240
87	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$98,550	$120,630	18% below	1,540
88	Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$97,950	$78,240	+25% above	N/A
89	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$97,760	$105,310	7% below	170
90	Architects, Except Landscape and Naval Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$97,680	$99,280	2% below	630
91	Occupational Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$97,650	$100,330	3% below	2,190
92	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales and Related Occupations	$97,640	$104,920	7% below	4,170
93	Chemical Plant and System Operators Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). Production Occupations	$97,550	$78,120	+25% above	40
94	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$97,020	$114,990	16% below	2,990
95	Industrial Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$96,820	$102,440	5% below	6,070
96	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 40 workers (fewer than 100). Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$95,830	$103,170	7% below	40
97	Management Analysts Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$95,630	$101,860	6% below	4,550
98	Nuclear Medicine Technologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$95,470	$101,370	6% below	270
99	Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers Small sample: Small sample: this BLS estimate rests on 80 workers (fewer than 100). Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$95,360	$109,370	13% below	80
100	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$95,090	$105,850	10% below	5,930

Small sample marks a row whose BLS estimate rests on fewer than 100 workers. It is still a published figure, but BLS reports more sampling error for cells this small: the median relative standard error of the mean wage is 3.9% under 100 workers against 2.3% at 100 or more (May 2025 state estimates). Small gaps in rank between neighbouring rows may not be meaningful.

More ways to explore Kentucky pay and compare with national data.

Kentucky Overview

Full state salary data

Fastest Growing in Kentucky

Top 50 by growth rate

National Rankings

Highest paying jobs nationwide

Cardiologists

National profile & state breakdown

All State-Area Jurisdictions

Compare across states

Compare Cardiologists side-by-side with another occupation →

About This Data

All salary data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. State-level data reflects wages for workers employed in Kentucky. The "Difference" column shows how Kentucky pay compares to the national median for that occupation.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. These figures are computed directly from BLS OEWS state-level wage data. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2025.

Compiled by WageDex · August 10, 2026

Nearby & Related Pages

About This Data