Highest Paying Jobs in Kentucky

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

Highest Salary

$558,180

Cardiologists

Top 25 Average

$237,150

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Kentucky by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Cardiologists pays a state median of $558,180, +13% above the national median of $496,010 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 79 pay above $100,000 per year in Kentucky — a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $333,508, giving a sense of what elite specialists inside this state actually clear.

The "Difference" column compares each state median to the corresponding national median for the same SOC code, making pay premiums and discounts immediately visible. In this list, 29 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in Kentucky, which usually signals one of three things: a local concentration of specialized employers (finance hubs, tech clusters, research universities, federal agencies), a cost-of-living adjustment baked into state-wide wage scales, or scarce in-state talent supply bidding up competitive roles. Occupations paying below the national median are not necessarily bad news — they often reflect lower cost of living in the state or industries where Kentucky is not a concentrated employer.

Rankings like this show ceiling-potential by specialty, but they don't tell you the odds of landing one of those roles. Pair this table with the employment column (how many workers the state actually employs in each occupation) and the growth projections on each occupation's national page to see whether the field is expanding or contracting. BLS wages exclude benefits, bonuses, and overtime — especially distorting for top-paying roles where equity and performance compensation can represent 30-50% of total pay. Use this leaderboard to shortlist careers worth exploring in Kentucky, then drill into each row's linked profile to check percentile spread, typical education, metro-level variation, and whether projected openings match your timeline.

#	Occupation	State Median	National	Difference	Employment
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 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 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 Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$139,110	$94,980	+46% above	70
26	Sociologists 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 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 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 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 Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$102,140	$99,650	+2% above	60
71	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric 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 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 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 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 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

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

Kentucky Overview

Full state salary data

Fastest Growing in Kentucky

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Highest paying jobs nationwide

Cardiologists

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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.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Reviewed byWageDex Editorial, Occupational Wages Editorial Team · June 3, 2026

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