Highest Paying Jobs in Mississippi

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

Highest Salary

$544,130

Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric

Top 25 Average

$183,849

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Mississippi by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric pays a state median of $544,130, +52% above the national median of $358,550 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 49 pay above $100,000 per year in Mississippi - a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $262,419, 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, 16 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in Mississippi, 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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi, 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	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$544,130	$358,550	+52% above	N/A
2	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$325,610	$256,560	+27% above	390
3	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$261,570	$312,400	16% below	50
4	Emergency Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$252,960	$335,550	25% below	450
5	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$235,630	$244,180	4% below	570
6	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$228,130	$265,930	14% below	N/A
7	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$213,680	$281,870	24% below	110
8	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$198,410	$236,590	16% below	480
9	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$183,650	$210,040	13% below	40
10	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$180,420	$414,010	56% below	120
11	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$164,410	$160,300	+3% above	30
12	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$143,660	$170,950	16% below	740
13	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$143,580	$232,140	38% below	360
14	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$142,790	$171,270	17% below	860
15	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$139,250	$213,990	35% below	310
16	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$137,220	$107,310	+28% above	1,890
17	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$133,230	$140,910	5% below	3,050
18	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$129,970	$172,250	25% below	80
19	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$124,730	$132,300	6% below	4,690
20	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$124,280	$175,140	29% below	1,710
21	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$122,940	$148,080	17% below	320
22	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$119,430	$167,220	29% below	210
23	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$118,660	$126,060	6% below	2,290
24	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$115,490	$147,470	22% below	40
25	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$112,400	$130,220	14% below	160
26	Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$112,400	$101,920	+10% above	250
27	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$111,390	$166,570	33% below	3,470
28	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$111,030	$122,930	10% below	480
29	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$109,200	$134,960	19% below	90
30	Computer and Information Research Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$109,050	$140,300	22% below	300
31	Physical Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$108,890	$122,570	11% below	380
32	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$108,750	$148,270	27% below	1,870
33	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$108,070	$136,570	21% below	240
34	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$106,740	$125,040	15% below	150
35	General and Operations Managers Management Occupations	$106,680	$105,770	+1% above	10,630
36	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$106,210	$130,000	18% below	40
37	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$106,100	$149,280	29% below	720
38	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$105,920	$135,880	22% below	320
39	Boilermakers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$105,910	$76,410	+39% above	280
40	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$105,370	$130,100	19% below	480
41	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$104,990	$120,630	13% below	1,130
42	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$104,220	$92,460	+13% above	570
43	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$103,640	$123,220	16% below	240
44	Psychologists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$103,380	$110,840	7% below	70
45	Power Plant Operators Production Occupations	$102,400	$102,040	same as	450
46	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$101,570	$141,900	28% below	960
47	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$100,940	$166,790	39% below	770
48	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$100,440	$109,270	8% below	330
49	Civil Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$100,170	$100,840	1% below	1,770
50	Physical Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$99,990	$102,760	3% below	1,980
51	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$99,520	$114,990	13% below	1,640
52	Power Distributors and Dispatchers Production Occupations	$98,960	$106,730	7% below	90
53	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$98,420	$139,500	29% below	100
54	Ship Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$98,380	$109,530	10% below	140
55	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$98,160	$123,860	21% below	4,280
56	Mechanical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$98,000	$104,110	6% below	1,570
57	Gambling Managers Management Occupations	$97,170	$93,220	+4% above	160
58	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$97,160	$146,910	34% below	170
59	Marine Engineers and Naval Architects Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$97,060	$112,230	14% below	70
60	Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$96,710	$109,370	12% below	N/A
61	Locomotive Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$96,710	$81,410	+19% above	300
62	Financial Risk Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$96,100	$117,330	18% below	230
63	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$96,030	$114,130	16% below	1,700
64	Industrial Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$95,830	$102,440	6% below	2,450
65	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$95,330	$135,980	30% below	1,880
66	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents Management Occupations	$95,270	$96,660	1% below	190
67	Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers Management Occupations	$95,210	$89,900	+6% above	80
68	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$94,970	$103,020	8% below	160
69	Occupational Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$94,930	$100,330	5% below	1,340
70	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$93,640	$106,660	12% below	930
71	Operations Research Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$92,310	$88,940	+4% above	120
72	Print Binding and Finishing Workers Production Occupations	$91,850	$42,290	+117% above	110
73	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$91,690	$159,670	43% below	3,100
74	Agricultural Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$91,560	$98,590	7% below	40
75	Social Workers, All Other Community and Social Service Occupations	$91,560	$71,900	+27% above	280
76	Biological Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$91,170	$98,920	8% below	320
77	Environmental Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$91,100	$107,110	15% below	260
78	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$90,990	$134,050	32% below	N/A
79	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$89,250	$149,230	40% below	70
80	Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$88,710	$76,780	+16% above	110
81	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$88,290	$123,920	29% below	70
82	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$88,110	$148,080	40% below	160
83	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$88,100	$105,310	16% below	70
84	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$88,030	$133,000	34% below	200
85	Database Administrators Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$87,790	$104,620	16% below	200
86	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$87,690	$129,180	32% below	480
87	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$87,180	$115,160	24% below	120
88	Computer Occupations, All Other Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$86,940	$116,580	25% below	1,450
89	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$86,590	$104,590	17% below	2,230
90	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$86,280	$105,850	18% below	1,990
91	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$85,770	$107,230	20% below	2,410
92	Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$85,550	$101,110	15% below	170
93	Financial Examiners Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$85,430	$94,160	9% below	420
94	Computer Programmers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$85,120	$100,390	15% below	1,170
95	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$84,490	$90,150	6% below	1,140
96	Education Administrators, All Other Management Occupations	$83,890	$95,200	12% below	170
97	Nuclear Medicine Technologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$83,340	$101,370	18% below	160
98	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$82,800	$105,870	22% below	3,170
99	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$82,620	$125,470	34% below	70
100	Gas Plant Operators Production Occupations	$81,600	$87,820	7% below	340

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

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Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric

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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 Mississippi. The "Difference" column shows how Mississippi pay compares to the national median for that occupation.

Every figure on WageDex is rendered directly from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, no number is typed in by an editor. 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 Editorial, Occupational Wages Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

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