Highest Paying Jobs in Washington

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

Highest Occupation Median

$656,330

Cardiologists

Mean of Top 25 Medians

$326,273

each occupation weighted once

Medians ≥ $100K

100

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Washington by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Cardiologists pays a state median of $656,330, +32% above the national median of $496,010 for the same role. Of the 100 occupation medians shown, 100 are at least $100,000 per year in Washington. The equal-weighted mean of the top ten published occupation medians is $444,623. It is not a worker mean or median.

The "Difference" column subtracts or compares each state median with the corresponding national median for the same SOC code. In this list, 90 of 100 occupation medians are above the corresponding national median in Washington. These values do not identify why the state and national estimates differ.

This ranking orders published occupation medians; it does not identify career stages, individual earning potential, or the odds of obtaining a job. The employment column contains estimated jobs in covered establishments. Occupation profiles separately show BLS projection and typical-entry education assignments where available. OEWS includes tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. Employer benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, and nonproduction bonuses are outside the estimate, so review those separately for any specific offer. Open a linked profile to compare percentile boundaries, BLS education assignments, local-area estimates, and projected openings without treating one measure as a personal forecast.

#	Occupation	State Median	National	Difference	Estimated Jobs
1	Cardiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$656,330	$496,010	+32% above	200
2	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$553,310	$358,550	+54% above	290
3	Dermatologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$526,170	$328,730	+60% above	170
4	Anesthesiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$499,990	$391,490	+28% above	1,540
5	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$479,460	$414,010	+16% above	370
6	Emergency Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$380,870	$335,550	+14% above	N/A
7	Obstetricians and Gynecologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$343,140	$292,910	+17% above	270
8	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$340,010	$256,560	+33% above	1,100
9	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$339,810	$213,990	+59% above	3,170
10	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$327,140	$248,560	+32% above	180
11	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$307,170	$265,930	+16% above	6,300
12	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$304,920	$281,870	+8% above	360
13	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$304,830	$300,080	+2% above	180
14	Physicians, Pathologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$300,680	$312,400	4% below	200
15	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$292,900	$244,180	+20% above	1,270
16	Orthodontists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$290,430	$289,140	same as	290
17	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$274,390	$236,590	+16% above	760
18	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$232,970	$160,300	+45% above	140
19	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$229,900	$232,140	1% below	3,450
20	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$209,370	$175,140	+20% above	16,960
21	Computer and Information Research Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$202,400	$140,300	+44% above	2,050
22	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$199,190	$149,230	+33% above	460
23	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$189,680	$171,270	+11% above	6,060
24	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$189,280	$147,470	+28% above	60
25	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$182,480	$167,220	+9% above	2,490
26	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$174,840	$166,570	+5% above	12,930
27	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$174,000	$148,270	+17% above	10,030
28	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$172,270	$166,790	+3% above	8,880
29	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$169,730	$170,950	1% below	3,240
30	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$169,540	$210,040	19% below	480
31	Computer Hardware Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$169,120	$161,740	+5% above	1,800
32	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$168,070	$134,050	+25% above	4,730
33	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$166,590	$105,870	+57% above	6,470
34	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$166,540	$135,980	+22% above	107,030
35	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$165,530	$149,280	+11% above	4,560
36	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$164,360	$135,880	+21% above	3,540
37	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$164,160	$141,900	+16% above	10,490
38	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$163,380	$133,660	+22% above	530
39	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$163,360	$133,000	+23% above	720
40	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$163,350	$120,230	+36% above	9,600
41	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$162,730	$148,080	+10% above	1,770
42	Air Traffic Controllers Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$162,570	$148,080	+10% above	620
43	Mathematicians Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$162,280	$126,710	+28% above	100
44	Commercial Divers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$161,800	$72,990	+122% above	N/A
45	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$160,610	$140,910	+14% above	7,350
46	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$160,510	$130,100	+23% above	2,390
47	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$159,440	$146,910	+9% above	1,610
48	Nurse Midwives Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$158,970	$134,040	+19% above	170
49	Aerospace Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$158,370	$134,960	+17% above	5,760
50	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$157,560	$136,570	+15% above	760
51	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$156,100	$132,300	+18% above	6,700
52	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$155,070	$114,990	+35% above	6,010
53	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$154,940	$129,180	+20% above	6,030
54	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$154,130	$159,670	3% below	12,770
55	Sales Engineers Sales and Related Occupations	$147,620	$124,900	+18% above	760
56	Political Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$147,060	$142,080	+4% above	110
57	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$145,290	$123,860	+17% above	7,490
58	Industrial Production Managers Management Occupations	$145,210	$126,060	+15% above	4,760
59	Power Distributors and Dispatchers Production Occupations	$144,710	$106,730	+36% above	380
60	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$139,990	$106,660	+31% above	2,790
61	Materials Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$139,840	$112,860	+24% above	1,000
62	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$137,520	$107,310	+28% above	4,510
63	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$137,180	$109,910	+25% above	540
64	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$137,010	$125,470	+9% above	1,050
65	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$136,500	$107,230	+27% above	2,490
66	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Protective Service Occupations	$136,280	$106,040	+29% above	2,750
67	Petroleum Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$134,800	$144,910	7% below	190
68	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$134,790	$172,250	22% below	450
69	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$134,720	$130,000	+4% above	360
70	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$134,570	$122,930	+9% above	3,580
71	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Legal Occupations	$134,270	$153,990	13% below	1,040
72	Physical Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$133,980	$122,570	+9% above	450
73	General and Operations Managers Management Occupations	$133,750	$105,770	+26% above	50,630
74	Special Effects Artists and Animators Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$133,480	$102,030	+31% above	1,130
75	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$133,060	$95,320	+40% above	2,340
76	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$132,710	$120,630	+10% above	7,610
77	Power Plant Operators Production Occupations	$131,620	$102,040	+29% above	430
78	Dental Hygienists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$131,160	$98,100	+34% above	6,330
79	Emergency Management Directors Management Occupations	$130,780	$93,330	+40% above	180
80	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$130,630	$114,130	+14% above	3,490
81	Web and Digital Interface Designers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$130,480	$104,000	+25% above	11,580
82	Web Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$130,440	$92,650	+41% above	4,430
83	Electronics Engineers, Except Computer Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$130,270	$130,220	same as	1,950
84	Nuclear Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$129,480	$133,970	3% below	1,380
85	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$129,410	$105,850	+22% above	24,120
86	First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers Protective Service Occupations	$129,350	$93,530	+38% above	3,350
87	Industrial Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$129,050	$102,440	+26% above	6,130
88	Computer Occupations, All Other Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$128,940	$116,580	+11% above	14,360
89	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$128,760	$139,500	8% below	2,990
90	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$128,480	$104,300	+23% above	7,970
91	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$128,290	$125,040	+3% above	650
92	Psychologists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$128,230	$110,840	+16% above	370
93	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$127,630	$104,590	+22% above	2,140
94	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales and Related Occupations	$127,390	$104,920	+21% above	9,960
95	Materials Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$127,250	$117,790	+8% above	290
96	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$126,590	$115,160	+10% above	420
97	Nuclear Medicine Technologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$126,200	$101,370	+24% above	320
98	Lighting Technicians Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	$126,100	$68,060	+85% above	80
99	Radiation Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$125,880	$105,310	+20% above	540
100	Computer Programmers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$125,620	$100,390	+25% above	2,540

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

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. 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 · August 10, 2026

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