Highest Paying Jobs in Pennsylvania

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

Highest Salary

$579,120

Cardiologists

Top 25 Average

$272,016

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

100

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Pennsylvania by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Cardiologists pays a state median of $579,120, +17% above the national median of $496,010 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 100 pay above $100,000 per year in Pennsylvania - a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $401,749, 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, 33 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania, 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	$579,120	$496,010	+17% above	640
2	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$553,740	$352,220	+57% above	N/A
3	Anesthesiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$461,390	$391,490	+18% above	410
4	Radiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$455,380	$420,860	+8% above	1,360
5	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$413,370	$312,400	+32% above	210
6	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$354,020	$358,550	1% below	240
7	Orthodontists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$311,180	$289,140	+8% above	N/A
8	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$306,030	$244,180	+25% above	4,190
9	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$304,290	$300,080	+1% above	310
10	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$278,970	$281,870	1% below	830
11	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$232,560	$213,990	+9% above	8,850
12	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$226,440	$210,040	+8% above	1,120
13	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$221,530	$236,590	6% below	2,500
14	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$217,310	$265,930	18% below	23,800
15	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$213,310	$256,560	17% below	990
16	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$210,990	$172,250	+22% above	230
17	Dentists, All Other Specialists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$195,150	$224,990	13% below	160
18	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$164,990	$232,140	29% below	2,270
19	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$164,690	$171,270	4% below	9,640
20	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$163,910	$175,140	6% below	27,060
21	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$163,390	$170,950	4% below	4,460
22	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$157,180	$159,670	2% below	27,170
23	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$155,050	$160,300	3% below	390
24	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$150,810	$166,790	10% below	13,840
25	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$145,610	$166,570	13% below	32,180
26	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$142,850	$147,470	3% below	160
27	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$141,790	$148,080	4% below	2,530
28	Political Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$140,020	$142,080	1% below	70
29	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$139,040	$149,230	7% below	770
30	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$138,160	$140,910	2% below	14,090
31	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$137,900	$167,220	18% below	7,980
32	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$135,400	$136,570	1% below	1,720
33	Physical Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$134,780	$122,570	+10% above	460
34	Biochemists and Biophysicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$134,090	$127,410	+5% above	2,750
35	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$134,030	$123,220	+9% above	530
36	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$133,940	$134,960	1% below	990
37	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$133,520	$130,100	+3% above	3,490
38	Nuclear Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$133,250	$133,970	1% below	340
39	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$133,060	$149,280	11% below	8,230
40	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$132,350	$148,080	11% below	460
41	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$131,840	$134,050	2% below	6,080
42	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$131,600	$141,900	7% below	20,170
43	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$130,610	$148,270	12% below	20,460
44	Computer and Information Research Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$130,300	$140,300	7% below	330
45	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$130,140	$132,300	2% below	10,670
46	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$127,070	$135,880	6% below	9,020
47	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$126,550	$135,980	7% below	55,920
48	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$125,040	$130,000	4% below	1,710
49	Nuclear Technicians Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$124,070	$110,240	+13% above	310
50	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$122,940	$133,660	8% below	1,540
51	Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$122,560	$109,370	+12% above	950
52	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$122,150	$133,000	8% below	1,480
53	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$121,730	$115,160	+6% above	490
54	Law Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$121,310	$128,500	6% below	710
55	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$121,260	$130,220	7% below	1,440
56	Nurse Midwives Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$119,990	$134,040	10% below	320
57	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$118,710	$105,870	+12% above	14,460
58	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$118,050	$146,910	20% below	2,210
59	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$117,970	$123,920	5% below	610
60	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$117,770	$129,180	9% below	4,660
61	Avionics Technicians Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$117,470	$82,280	+43% above	70
62	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$117,250	$109,910	+7% above	900
63	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$116,970	$125,040	6% below	810
64	Economists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$115,000	$124,720	8% below	560
65	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$111,280	$125,470	11% below	1,950
66	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$110,820	$120,630	8% below	6,970
67	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Legal Occupations	$110,580	$153,990	28% below	N/A
68	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$109,140	$126,060	13% below	10,200
69	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$108,950	$122,930	11% below	3,250
70	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$108,250	$114,990	6% below	6,840
71	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$107,920	$107,310	+1% above	14,890
72	Computer Occupations, All Other Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$107,230	$116,580	8% below	14,580
73	Materials Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$106,920	$117,790	9% below	100
74	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$106,850	$120,230	11% below	13,810
75	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$106,230	$95,320	+11% above	4,150
76	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$105,650	$103,170	+2% above	220
77	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$105,640	$114,130	7% below	4,880
78	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$105,240	$107,230	2% below	8,540
79	Personal Financial Advisors Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$105,200	$105,070	same as	12,200
80	Funeral Home Managers Management Occupations	$104,400	$78,790	+33% above	560
81	Web and Digital Interface Designers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$104,160	$104,000	same as	2,820
82	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales and Related Occupations	$103,790	$104,920	1% below	7,190
83	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$103,740	$104,590	1% below	8,000
84	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$103,670	$123,860	16% below	30,480
85	Environmental Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$103,330	$107,110	4% below	1,750
86	Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$103,150	$115,210	10% below	870
87	General and Operations Managers Management Occupations	$103,130	$105,770	2% below	172,010
88	Financial Risk Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$103,040	$117,330	12% below	2,370
89	Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$103,010	$63,520	+62% above	240
90	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Protective Service Occupations	$102,400	$106,040	3% below	5,690
91	Petroleum Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$101,880	$144,910	30% below	600
92	Business Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$101,760	$99,080	+3% above	4,630
93	Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$101,740	$96,870	+5% above	440
94	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$101,660	$103,020	1% below	1,110
95	Physical Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$101,380	$102,760	1% below	11,710
96	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers Protective Service Occupations	$101,050	$93,530	+8% above	1,340
97	Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$100,880	$99,650	+1% above	140
98	Biological Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$100,780	$98,920	+2% above	1,810
99	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$100,540	$105,310	5% below	560
100	Project Management Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$100,150	$102,320	2% below	36,150

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

Pennsylvania Overview

Full state salary data

Fastest Growing in Pennsylvania

Top 50 by growth rate

National Rankings

Highest paying jobs nationwide

Cardiologists

National profile & state breakdown

All 50 States

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 Pennsylvania. The "Difference" column shows how Pennsylvania 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