Highest Paying Jobs in North Carolina

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

Highest Salary

$398,410

Surgeons, All Other

Top 25 Average

$237,596

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

100

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in North Carolina by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Surgeons, All Other pays a state median of $398,410, 4% below the national median of $414,010 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 100 pay above $100,000 per year in North Carolina — a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $309,362, 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, 35 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in North Carolina, 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina, 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	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$398,410	$414,010	4% below	480
2	Dermatologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$367,350	$328,730	+12% above	800
3	Emergency Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$339,350	$335,550	+1% above	710
4	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$325,550	$248,560	+31% above	180
5	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$323,630	$358,550	10% below	560
6	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$314,290	$213,990	+47% above	1,930
7	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$289,780	$256,560	+13% above	1,700
8	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$260,330	$265,930	2% below	14,080
9	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$248,940	$312,400	20% below	340
10	Dentists, All Other Specialists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$225,990	$224,990	same as	130
11	Orthodontists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$224,990	$289,140	22% below	160
12	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$224,610	$236,590	5% below	3,340
13	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$224,040	$352,220	36% below	N/A
14	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$215,420	$160,300	+34% above	240
15	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$215,230	$244,180	12% below	1,520
16	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$207,000	$170,950	+21% above	4,140
17	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$183,550	$210,040	13% below	740
18	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$174,180	$172,250	+1% above	150
19	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$173,870	$167,220	+4% above	6,010
20	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$172,860	$175,140	1% below	25,650
21	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$168,880	$281,870	40% below	620
22	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$167,840	$171,270	2% below	6,960
23	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$166,780	$166,570	same as	22,460
24	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$165,480	$166,790	1% below	10,790
25	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$161,560	$136,570	+18% above	1,140
26	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$151,540	$232,140	35% below	2,240
27	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$150,470	$148,270	+1% above	16,920
28	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$147,830	$147,470	same as	140
29	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$142,990	$149,280	4% below	6,480
30	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$141,160	$141,900	1% below	21,830
31	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$138,860	$140,910	1% below	11,430
32	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$138,710	$148,080	6% below	2,670
33	Economists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$136,150	$124,720	+9% above	290
34	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$135,240	$149,230	9% below	880
35	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$134,710	$135,980	1% below	58,470
36	Computer Hardware Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$134,670	$161,740	17% below	1,340
37	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$134,630	$139,500	3% below	4,070
38	Obstetricians and Gynecologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$134,540	$292,910	54% below	590
39	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$132,280	$146,910	10% below	1,510
40	Financial Risk Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$132,040	$117,330	+13% above	3,200
41	Nuclear Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$131,850	$133,970	2% below	460
42	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$131,540	$129,180	+2% above	8,670
43	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers Legal Occupations	$129,960	$117,860	+10% above	260
44	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$129,360	$135,880	5% below	7,490
45	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$129,240	$130,100	1% below	2,940
46	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$129,230	$148,080	13% below	410
47	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$128,990	$132,300	3% below	9,800
48	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$128,730	$130,000	1% below	610
49	Computer and Information Research Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$128,370	$140,300	9% below	600
50	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$127,710	$159,670	20% below	17,000
51	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$127,320	$134,050	5% below	8,350
52	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$127,310	$123,220	+3% above	1,520
53	Sociologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$126,760	$106,030	+20% above	170
54	Psychologists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$126,440	$110,840	+14% above	570
55	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$126,200	$133,000	5% below	2,020
56	Nurse Midwives Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$126,040	$134,040	6% below	240
57	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$125,940	$126,060	same as	9,640
58	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$125,870	$125,470	same as	1,030
59	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales and Related Occupations	$125,370	$104,920	+19% above	11,990
60	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$122,930	$134,960	9% below	650
61	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$121,730	$133,660	9% below	N/A
62	Sales Engineers Sales and Related Occupations	$121,530	$124,900	3% below	2,530
63	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$119,090	$120,230	1% below	11,430
64	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$117,410	$125,040	6% below	380
65	Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$117,210	$115,210	+2% above	800
66	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$115,920	$130,220	11% below	2,090
67	Statisticians Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$115,690	$105,650	+10% above	1,200
68	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$114,410	$123,860	8% below	14,820
69	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$114,200	$123,920	8% below	490
70	Database Administrators Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$113,900	$104,620	+9% above	1,920
71	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$112,450	$122,930	9% below	4,270
72	Nuclear Technicians Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$110,430	$110,240	same as	420
73	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$110,130	$120,630	9% below	7,090
74	Physical Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$110,030	$122,570	10% below	650
75	Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$108,430	$101,420	+7% above	90
76	Power Plant Operators Production Occupations	$108,300	$102,040	+6% above	420
77	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$108,130	$106,660	+1% above	4,810
78	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$107,700	$109,910	2% below	240
79	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$106,850	$105,850	+1% above	20,910
80	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$106,800	$115,160	7% below	480
81	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$106,640	$114,990	7% below	16,310
82	Materials Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$106,470	$117,790	10% below	490
83	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$106,100	$107,230	1% below	6,650
84	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$105,630	$114,130	7% below	7,360
85	Computer Occupations, All Other Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$104,850	$116,580	10% below	15,090
86	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$104,710	$103,020	+2% above	950
87	Materials Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$104,240	$112,860	8% below	640
88	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$103,220	$107,310	4% below	9,240
89	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$102,980	$103,410	same as	5,730
90	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$102,980	$103,170	same as	360
91	Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$102,560	$98,700	+4% above	500
92	Financial and Investment Analysts Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$102,390	$102,740	same as	12,710
93	General and Operations Managers Management Occupations	$101,950	$105,770	4% below	63,740
94	Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$101,850	$81,490	+25% above	N/A
95	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$101,060	$104,590	3% below	7,390
96	Project Management Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$100,820	$102,320	1% below	36,200
97	Financial Examiners Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$100,730	$94,160	+7% above	2,610
98	Civil Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$100,730	$100,840	same as	12,810
99	Mechanical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$100,720	$104,110	3% below	9,560
100	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$100,390	$104,300	4% below	8,890

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Surgeons, All Other

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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 North Carolina. The "Difference" column shows how North Carolina 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 4, 2026

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