Highest Paying Jobs in New Jersey

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

Highest Salary

$482,700

Radiologists

Top 25 Average

$262,649

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

100

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in New Jersey by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Radiologists pays a state median of $482,700, +15% above the national median of $420,860 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 100 pay above $100,000 per year in New Jersey - a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $340,276, 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, 82 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in New Jersey, 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey, 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	Radiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$482,700	$420,860	+15% above	N/A
2	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$437,890	$414,010	+6% above	680
3	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$355,970	$312,400	+14% above	230
4	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$341,430	$358,550	5% below	420
5	Emergency Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$315,340	$335,550	6% below	500
6	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$310,440	$213,990	+45% above	2,430
7	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$292,170	$244,180	+20% above	3,050
8	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$291,350	$236,590	+23% above	N/A
9	Pediatric Surgeons Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$288,930	$559,030	48% below	N/A
10	Cardiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$286,540	$496,010	42% below	N/A
11	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$285,010	$265,930	+7% above	9,730
12	Athletes and Sports Competitors Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$253,870	$66,710	+281% above	390
13	Obstetricians and Gynecologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$228,870	$292,910	22% below	740
14	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$226,710	$123,220	+84% above	670
15	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$222,120	$248,560	11% below	140
16	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$207,030	$167,220	+24% above	10,040
17	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Legal Occupations	$204,160	$153,990	+33% above	920
18	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$203,460	$175,140	+16% above	34,470
19	Dentists, All Other Specialists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$201,840	$224,990	10% below	290
20	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$201,560	$210,040	4% below	1,280
21	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$199,110	$166,570	+20% above	32,510
22	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$194,070	$281,870	31% below	1,290
23	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$180,640	$171,270	+5% above	4,540
24	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$180,040	$166,790	+8% above	13,510
25	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$174,980	$146,910	+19% above	2,420
26	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$174,520	$148,080	+18% above	3,430
27	General and Operations Managers Management Occupations	$173,690	$105,770	+64% above	53,000
28	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$173,020	$148,270	+17% above	20,090
29	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$172,440	$149,280	+16% above	6,400
30	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$171,330	$170,950	same as	2,980
31	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$170,650	$147,470	+16% above	90
32	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$168,370	$149,230	+13% above	950
33	Economists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$167,550	$124,720	+34% above	280
34	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$165,690	$135,880	+22% above	4,790
35	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$165,390	$133,660	+24% above	470
36	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$163,270	$172,250	5% below	470
37	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$162,350	$134,050	+21% above	5,660
38	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$161,510	$141,900	+14% above	30,270
39	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$161,430	$159,670	+1% above	23,160
40	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$160,540	$133,000	+21% above	1,540
41	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$160,300	$160,300	same as	260
42	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$160,140	$130,100	+23% above	1,910
43	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$159,310	$132,300	+20% above	9,950
44	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$159,040	$136,570	+16% above	1,380
45	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$158,730	$130,220	+22% above	1,820
46	Personal Financial Advisors Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$158,570	$105,070	+51% above	9,300
47	Nurse Midwives Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$153,970	$134,040	+15% above	120
48	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$147,260	$126,060	+17% above	6,780
49	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$145,650	$123,860	+18% above	16,900
50	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$144,460	$114,130	+27% above	10,910
51	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Protective Service Occupations	$142,990	$106,040	+35% above	7,650
52	Computer Hardware Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$142,880	$161,740	12% below	580
53	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$142,800	$130,000	+10% above	1,260
54	Computer and Information Research Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$140,840	$140,300	same as	1,580
55	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$140,500	$125,470	+12% above	750
56	Sales Engineers Sales and Related Occupations	$139,010	$124,900	+11% above	1,760
57	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$138,230	$114,990	+20% above	6,910
58	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$137,920	$109,910	+25% above	800
59	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$137,620	$140,910	2% below	9,420
60	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$137,440	$105,870	+30% above	11,450
61	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$135,940	$135,980	same as	51,570
62	Law Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$135,760	$128,500	+6% above	470
63	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$135,280	$120,230	+13% above	6,430
64	Chiropractors Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$134,990	$79,200	+70% above	1,370
65	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$134,820	$129,180	+4% above	4,860
66	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers Protective Service Occupations	$133,210	$93,530	+42% above	2,210
67	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$132,450	$122,930	+8% above	4,540
68	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$132,230	$148,080	11% below	190
69	Psychologists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$132,220	$110,840	+19% above	370
70	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$131,930	$103,170	+28% above	270
71	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$131,570	$104,590	+26% above	4,100
72	Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$131,380	$98,700	+33% above	50
73	Power Plant Operators Production Occupations	$131,370	$102,040	+29% above	300
74	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales and Related Occupations	$131,360	$104,920	+25% above	5,600
75	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$130,610	$107,230	+22% above	9,120
76	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$129,460	$105,310	+23% above	600
77	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$129,280	$103,410	+25% above	6,120
78	Financial Risk Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$129,220	$117,330	+10% above	2,760
79	Art Directors Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$129,200	$114,850	+12% above	1,840
80	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers Legal Occupations	$128,320	$117,860	+9% above	330
81	Power Distributors and Dispatchers Production Occupations	$128,220	$106,730	+20% above	330
82	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$127,090	$100,580	+26% above	2,700
83	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$126,760	$125,040	+1% above	440
84	Hydrologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$126,680	$96,600	+31% above	N/A
85	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$126,430	$134,960	6% below	3,400
86	Database Administrators Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$125,860	$104,620	+20% above	1,810
87	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$125,370	$120,630	+4% above	2,940
88	Acupuncturists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$125,260	$76,040	+65% above	240
89	Nuclear Medicine Technologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$124,280	$101,370	+23% above	540
90	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$124,110	$106,660	+16% above	5,690
91	Project Management Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$122,980	$102,320	+20% above	28,300
92	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$122,890	$105,850	+16% above	16,520
93	Music Directors and Composers Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$122,750	$73,710	+67% above	210
94	Biochemists and Biophysicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$122,620	$127,410	4% below	2,570
95	Technical Writers Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$122,320	$90,390	+35% above	1,550
96	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$121,580	$95,320	+28% above	1,310
97	Emergency Management Directors Management Occupations	$120,990	$93,330	+30% above	490
98	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$120,790	$139,500	13% below	3,090
99	Atmospheric and Space Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$120,180	$99,070	+21% above	60
100	Producers and Directors Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$119,840	$90,360	+33% above	2,970

More ways to explore New Jersey pay and compare with national data.

New Jersey Overview

Full state salary data

Fastest Growing in New Jersey

Top 50 by growth rate

National Rankings

Highest paying jobs nationwide

Radiologists

National profile & state breakdown

All 50 States

Compare across states

Compare Radiologists 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 New Jersey. The "Difference" column shows how New Jersey 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

Nearby & Related Pages

About This Data