What this does
The Top-paying careers panel sits on each state's own page, inside the labor market at a glance card. It lists up to ten careers with the highest typical yearly pay in that state, and shows that pay next to each name.
"Typical pay" here means the statewide median: half the people in the career earned more, half earned less. The figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey, not from job ads.
- Students get a quick sense of which careers pay the most where they live, and a link into each one.
- Parents can see what the top of the pay range looks like in your state, from an official source.
- Counselors get a short, sourced list to start a conversation, with each career one click away.
Before you start
- Open your state's page. This panel is only on the state pages, one per state plus the District of Columbia. See State pages for how to reach them.
- Check "Showing data for". The menu at the top of the page names the state whose numbers you see. Picking another state there opens that state's own page. See Choosing a state.
- Do not confuse it with the home page list. The home page has its own top-paying lists: one for the whole country, and one that sets your state beside the U.S. once you pick a state. Those are described in National overview. This page covers the panel on the state page.
- Know what the number is. It is what people in the career earned across the whole state in May 2024. It is not a starting salary, and it is not what a job pays today.
Step by step
- Open your state's page. The <State> labor market at a glance card loads below the page links. The top-paying panel sits in the third row of the card, on the left (on a narrow screen the panels stack into one column).
- Find the heading Top-paying <State> careers. Under it, one grey line reads Statewide median annual wage (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). In the District of Columbia it reads District-wide median annual wage (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics), and on the Texas page Texas statewide median annual wage (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Read the list. Each row shows a rank number, the career name, and the median yearly pay in whole dollars on the right. The highest pay is first.
- Click a career name. The career's summary on Careers opens with that career already chosen, still showing your state. It shows the career's typical pay, its ten-year outlook, the education it usually needs and the paths into it.
- To see another state, choose it in Showing data for. The page reloads and the panel lists that state's careers.
Every control explained
The panel has no inputs of its own. These are the things you can click, and the one control near it that does not change it.
| Control | Where | What it changes | Default | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showing data for menu | Top of the page, under the menu bar | Opens the state page of the state you pick; its panel lists that state's careers. United States takes you to the home page instead. | The state the page belongs to | Your pick is remembered in your browser for other pages. |
| Career name in a row | Each row of the list | Opens that career's page on Careers with the career already chosen and your state kept. | — | Every row in this panel is a link. Careers without a name in the site's career list are never shown. |
| 5y / 10y buttons | Unemployment chart, in the row above | Only the unemployment chart. The top-paying list does not change. | 5y | The pay list always uses the newest wage year, whichever range you pick. |
Reading the results
| Item | Meaning | Unit | Source and year | How it is computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top-paying <State> careers | The panel heading, with your state's name | — | — | Filled in from the state shown in Showing data for. |
| Statewide median annual wage (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) | Says which number the list uses | — | BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | Fixed text. Shown only when the list itself is shown. When the list holds a top-coded career, it adds BLS doesn't publish medians above its top value, shown with +. |
| Rank number (1., 2., …) | The career's place in the list | Position | — | Careers are ordered by median pay, highest first. Ties go to the career with more jobs. |
| Career name | One career, named as on the rest of the site | — | Career names from O*NET | One row per career. Totals for whole occupation groups are left out. |
| Dollar figure, such as a "$" amount with no cents | The statewide median yearly pay for that career | U.S. dollars a year, rounded to the dollar | BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024, statewide rows | The state's own median for the newest wage year in its data, for careers with more than 500 jobs statewide. A figure with a +, such as $239,200+, means the median is at or above the BLS top value (see below). |
Which careers can appear
- Statewide figures only. Since version 1.9.1 the list uses the statewide median from one survey year. Before that, it could pick up a high figure from a single city area that crosses a state line, or from an older year. Both are gone.
- May 2024 in every state. The list uses the newest year of statewide wages in your state's data. Today that is May 2024 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The year is not printed on the panel; it is the year the wage survey describes.
- More than 500 jobs. A career needs more than 500 people employed statewide. Very small careers, where one or two employers can move the median, are left out.
- One row per career. When the data holds a career both as a detailed job and as part of a broader group, the detailed row is used once. Totals for whole occupation groups never appear.
- Named careers only. A row needs a career name the site can show and link to.
Top-coded pay: "$239,200+"
BLS does not publish a median above a top value. For May 2024 that value is $239,200 a year. When a career's median is at or above it, BLS prints a symbol instead of a number. The list still shows such a career: it comes first, with $239,200+, meaning "at least this much", and the grey line adds BLS doesn't publish medians above its top value, shown with +. The home page's U.S. list does the same. Several doctor specialties and airline pilots are often in this group.
When several careers are top-coded, they are listed by how many people work in them, most first, because their exact medians are not known. Only the top value of the newest wage year is used; the panel never borrows a figure from another state or from the U.S.
Messages instead of a list
- Wage data not loaded. No careers qualified, or the wage data could not be read.
- Too few occupations with wage data in <State> to rank. Only one or two named careers qualified. The panel needs at least three to draw a list.
To learn more, read how the figures are produced.
Worked example
A school counselor in Ohio is preparing a talk on well-paid careers in the state.
- She opens the Ohio page. Showing data for reads Ohio, and the card heading reads Ohio labor market at a glance.
- In the third row she finds Top-paying Ohio careers with the line Statewide median annual wage (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) under it.
- The list shows ten rows. Each has a rank, a career name and a yearly dollar figure, falling from the top row to the tenth. Several are medical and management careers.
- The first rows read $239,200+, and the grey line says BLS doesn't publish medians above its top value. She checks this guide and learns that those careers' medians are at least $239,200, with the exact figure unpublished.
- She clicks the third career name. Its summary on Careers opens for Ohio, with typical pay, the ten-year outlook and the paths into the career.
- She goes back and picks Pennsylvania in Showing data for. The page reloads, the panel now reads Top-paying Pennsylvania careers, and the order and amounts change.
Common questions
- Why do several careers show "$239,200+"?
- Their medians are at or above the BLS top value ($239,200 for May 2024), so BLS publishes no exact median for them. They are listed first, ordered by how many people work in them.
- Is this what I would earn starting out?
- No. It is the middle of what everyone in the career earned in May 2024, from beginners to people with decades of experience. Starting pay is usually lower. A career's detail page shows the range from low to high earners.
- Why does a career rank differently in another state?
- Each state has its own wage survey figures, and each state has a different mix of employers. The same career can pay more in one state and less in another.
- Why does this list differ from the home page's list for my state?
- Both use the same statewide May 2024 medians and the same 500-job rule, so the careers should usually match. The home page view also sets each career beside its U.S. figure, and shows a top-coded state or U.S. figure as "$239,200+".
- Why does the panel say "Too few occupations with wage data" for my state?
- Fewer than three named careers met the rules. As of November 2026 no state's panel shows this, but the message is there in case a state's data is thin.
- Why don't I see the panel at all?
- On the Texas page, the whole card stays hidden if the data service does not answer. On other state pages, a yellow note says the state's data is still warming up, and this panel shows Wage data not loaded. Try again later, or use Report a problem at the bottom of the page.
What this does NOT do
- It is not a job board. It lists careers, not job openings, and has no applications.
- It is not advice. A high median does not mean a career is right for you.
- It shows past pay, not a promise. The figures describe May 2024, not what a job pays today or what you will earn.
- It does not show pay by metro area inside the state. A career's own pages can show metro figures.
- It stores nothing about you. You do not need an account; signing in is only for saving reports.
Related
- State pages: the whole card and how to reach it
- Headline numbers
- Most-hired careers right now
- Real-wage winners and losers
- National overview, with the U.S. top-paying list
- A career's detail page
- Choosing a state
- Privacy and limits
- Live page: Careers