Highest Paying Jobs in Wisconsin

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

Highest Salary

$636,580

Cardiologists

Top 25 Average

$295,769

median salary

$100K+ Jobs

occupations

Occupations

100

with wage data

This ranking surfaces the 100 highest-paying occupations in Wisconsin by BLS OEWS state median salary, drawn from the May 2025 release. At the top, Cardiologists pays a state median of $636,580, +28% above the national median of $496,010 for the same role. Of the 100 tracked positions, 78 pay above $100,000 per year in Wisconsin - a useful threshold for separating specialist professional roles from mid-tier employment. The top-10 average sits at $433,444, 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, 44 of 100 occupations pay above the national median in Wisconsin, 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin, 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	$636,580	$496,010	+28% above	200
2	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$572,060	$358,550	+60% above	290
3	Anesthesiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$443,990	$391,490	+13% above	790
4	Dermatologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$440,710	$328,730	+34% above	160
5	Surgeons, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$416,000	$414,010	same as	550
6	Radiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$392,610	$420,860	7% below	980
7	Physicians, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$391,740	$265,930	+47% above	6,350
8	General Internal Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$367,160	$256,560	+43% above	1,450
9	Neurologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$342,520	$248,560	+38% above	130
10	Psychiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$331,070	$281,870	+17% above	550
11	Obstetricians and Gynecologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$304,990	$292,910	+4% above	450
12	Family Medicine Physicians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$290,640	$244,180	+19% above	1,470
13	Nurse Anesthetists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$273,170	$236,590	+15% above	990
14	Pediatricians, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$269,790	$210,040	+28% above	350
15	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$213,890	$300,080	29% below	250
16	Orthodontists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$212,860	$289,140	26% below	90
17	Chief Executives Management Occupations	$208,350	$213,990	3% below	N/A
18	Dentists, General Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$193,690	$170,950	+13% above	2,560
19	Podiatrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$185,100	$160,300	+15% above	120
20	Physicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$173,120	$172,250	+1% above	180
21	Computer and Information Systems Managers Management Occupations	$160,140	$175,140	9% below	8,880
22	Pharmacists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$148,740	$140,910	+6% above	5,730
23	Medical Dosimetrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$142,300	$147,470	4% below	80
24	Architectural and Engineering Managers Management Occupations	$142,060	$171,270	17% below	4,550
25	Law Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$140,940	$128,500	+10% above	150
26	Financial Managers Management Occupations	$139,720	$166,570	16% below	15,530
27	Optometrists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$139,720	$136,570	+2% above	790
28	Database Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$137,810	$139,500	1% below	520
29	Materials Scientists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$137,700	$117,790	+17% above	70
30	Sales Managers Management Occupations	$134,870	$148,270	9% below	10,480
31	Physician Assistants Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$133,950	$135,880	1% below	3,580
32	Marketing Managers Management Occupations	$133,600	$166,790	20% below	4,890
33	Human Resources Managers Management Occupations	$133,490	$149,280	11% below	3,730
34	Nurse Midwives Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$133,070	$134,040	1% below	200
35	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers Legal Occupations	$132,250	$117,860	+12% above	60
36	Nurse Practitioners Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$131,980	$132,300	same as	5,160
37	Computer Network Architects Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$131,720	$134,050	2% below	2,170
38	Actuaries Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$131,640	$130,000	+1% above	890
39	Advertising and Promotions Managers Management Occupations	$131,530	$133,660	2% below	110
40	Commercial Pilots Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	$129,860	$123,220	+5% above	1,090
41	Natural Sciences Managers Management Occupations	$128,890	$167,220	23% below	1,070
42	Medical and Health Services Managers Management Occupations	$128,320	$123,860	+4% above	7,230
43	Compensation and Benefits Managers Management Occupations	$127,920	$149,230	14% below	N/A
44	Lawyers Legal Occupations	$126,760	$159,670	21% below	9,160
45	Purchasing Managers Management Occupations	$124,990	$148,080	16% below	1,610
46	Education Administrators, Postsecondary Management Occupations	$124,960	$104,590	+19% above	1,190
47	Training and Development Managers Management Occupations	$123,640	$133,000	7% below	600
48	Fundraising Managers Management Occupations	$123,090	$125,470	2% below	400
49	Software Developers Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$122,660	$135,980	10% below	21,730
50	Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$121,620	$58,970	+106% above	50
51	Personal Financial Advisors Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$119,430	$105,070	+14% above	5,200
52	General and Operations Managers Management Occupations	$118,730	$105,770	+12% above	36,910
53	Sales Engineers Sales and Related Occupations	$117,970	$124,900	6% below	1,300
54	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Management Occupations	$117,010	$105,870	+11% above	4,030
55	Construction Managers Management Occupations	$114,190	$114,990	1% below	6,080
56	Public Relations Managers Management Occupations	$113,980	$146,910	22% below	1,010
57	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$113,360	$100,580	+13% above	1,150
58	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$112,830	$109,270	+3% above	720
59	Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$110,430	$109,370	+1% above	180
60	Engineers, All Other Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$110,360	$122,930	10% below	690
61	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$108,980	$103,020	+6% above	150
62	Veterinarians Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$108,780	$130,100	16% below	1,830
63	Administrative Services Managers Management Occupations	$108,450	$114,130	5% below	5,220
64	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$107,370	$103,170	+4% above	130
65	Statisticians Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$107,150	$105,650	+1% above	250
66	Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$107,050	$141,900	25% below	14,240
67	Data Scientists Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$106,680	$120,230	11% below	4,370
68	Biochemists and Biophysicists Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$106,480	$127,410	16% below	170
69	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	$105,820	$95,320	+11% above	2,520
70	Personal Service Managers, All Other Management Occupations	$104,860	$69,770	+50% above	60
71	Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$104,330	$115,210	9% below	290
72	Facilities Managers Management Occupations	$103,620	$106,660	3% below	2,010
73	Audiologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$102,840	$95,780	+7% above	280
74	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$102,090	$96,590	+6% above	1,530
75	Physical Therapists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$101,840	$102,760	1% below	5,580
76	Information Security Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$101,550	$129,180	21% below	2,130
77	Computer Systems Analysts Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$100,440	$105,850	5% below	8,340
78	Database Administrators Computer and Mathematical Occupations	$100,020	$104,620	4% below	1,220
79	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$99,970	$123,920	19% below	310
80	Electrical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$99,700	$120,630	17% below	3,550
81	Management Analysts Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$98,780	$101,860	3% below	11,670
82	Architects, Except Landscape and Naval Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$98,510	$99,280	1% below	1,230
83	Nuclear Medicine Technologists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$98,450	$101,370	3% below	390
84	Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$98,410	$101,420	3% below	40
85	Financial Risk Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$97,820	$117,330	17% below	610
86	Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$97,730	$96,980	+1% above	510
87	Chemical Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$97,660	$125,040	22% below	110
88	Boilermakers Construction and Extraction Occupations	$97,590	$76,410	+28% above	170
89	Project Management Specialists Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$97,580	$102,320	5% below	21,610
90	Physical Scientists, All Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	$97,470	$122,570	20% below	70
91	Insurance Underwriters Business and Financial Operations Occupations	$97,370	$81,370	+20% above	3,110
92	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives Protective Service Occupations	$97,120	$106,040	8% below	2,080
93	Industrial Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$96,980	$102,440	5% below	13,070
94	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents Management Occupations	$96,810	$96,660	same as	340
95	Business Teachers, Postsecondary Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	$96,680	$99,080	2% below	1,940
96	Dental Hygienists Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	$96,540	$98,100	2% below	5,080
97	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers Protective Service Occupations	$96,260	$77,970	+23% above	800
98	Materials Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$96,210	$112,860	15% below	280
99	Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers Architecture and Engineering Occupations	$95,950	$106,220	10% below	40
100	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers Management Occupations	$95,900	$107,230	11% below	5,410

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

Wisconsin Overview

Full state salary data

Fastest Growing in Wisconsin

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Highest paying jobs nationwide

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 Wisconsin. The "Difference" column shows how Wisconsin 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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