The Highest Paying Job in Each State (and Lowest)

The Highest Paying Jobs Research Summary

The most common highest paying job in the U.S. is the Surgeon, which is the top job in 20 states.
The most common lowest paying job in the U.S. is the restaurant worker, who are the bottom of the barrel in 11 states.
Surgeons get paid the most in Oklahoma, with an average salary of $286,320 per year.

Everyone is just trying to make a living.

Whether that means taking 3 low-paying jobs just to pay the bills or being lucky enough to find 1 job that will get the job done, most people are just trying to get by.

What if, instead of just getting by, you were able to secure a high paying job that allowed you to pay the bills, purchase a home, save for retirement and have a little extra money for buying a new couch or going out for a couple of games of putt-putt? Sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we were able to find the highest paying jobs in each state. So now you don’t have to wonder where the money is. All you have to do is apply.

Show Me the Money

In our search to find the highest paying jobs in the U.S., we found a total of 10.

Here’s some noteworthy information we discovered from this data.

Surgeon is the top paid career in the entire U.S. However, that doesn’t mean that surgeons make the same salary across the board. In fact, if you want to make the most as a surgeon you’ll want to get a job in Oklahoma. That’s where surgeons make an average salary of $286,320 a year. That kind of makes all of those years in college seem worth it.
While surgeons are the most paid in 20 states, oral surgeons aren’t so lucky. The highest-paid oral surgeons reside in Florida making $282,650 and in North Carolina making $280,940. Still not a bad salary to fall back on.
Psychiatrists, Dentists, and Airline Pilots are the least common highest paid jobs. All four professions only showed up as the highest-paid job in 1 state a piece.
Airline pilots are the only non-medical job on this list. As the highest-paid job in Michigan, you can make $238,270 as a pilot.
While surgeons are the highest paid on our list in Oklahoma, we thought it was interesting that in New York they only average $230,890. That’s quite a big difference in salary. Not only is that the lowest surgeon salary on the list, but it’s also the lowest salary overall.

How did we figure this out?

This one was fairly simple: by looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, we were able to compile a list of the jobs in each state that had the highest annual salaries based on information from 2019 (The most recently available data set.). That was all it took for the highest paying jobs list.

For the lowest, certain jobs did not have hourly salary ranges, and so were excluded from the ranking; besides that, the list was compiled in the same way as the highest-paid list.

Jobs to Stay Away From if You’re in it For the Money

Now that we know what the highest paying jobs are in each state, let’s look into the jobs you’ll probably want to avoid if you’re really wanting to make some dough.

Mississippi offers the lowest paying job in the U.S. A fast-food cook only averages a salary of $18,420. You would have to stick to a very tight budget in this case.
Washington is the highest paying state on the lowest paying job scale with shoe workers making $27,190 a year.
There are 11 states where restaurant workers are the lowest paying jobs. From cooks to wait staff to counter workers, it’s clear why tips are so important in the restaurant industry.
Gambling dealers make up the lowest salary in 8 eights. Nevada is where the lowest gambling dealers reside, averaging a salary of $18,750. No wonder the state is famous for the “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” slogan. None of the dealers make enough to move across the country.
If you’re a model, you might want to stay away from Tennessee because that’s the lowest paying job there. At $19,880, it’s clear Tennessee does not appreciate it’s models.

State	Highest Paying Job	Salary	Lowest Paying Job	Salary.1
Alabama	Anesthesiologists	$274,260	Cooks	$18,640
Alaska	Physicians	$258,550	Bellhops	$23,800
Arizona	Surgeons	$280,860	Crossing Guards	$24,520
Arkansas	Surgeons	$248,380	Amusement Attendants	$20,500
California	Surgeons	$248,100	Shampooers	$26,490
Colorado	Obstetricians	$274,680	Bellhops	$24,410
Connecticut	Obstetricians	$259,810	Attendants	$23,060
Delaware	Surgeons	$275,720	Shampooers	$20,490
Florida	Oral Surgeons	$282,650	Counter Workers	$21,640
Georgia	Surgeons	$247,390	Counter Workers	$19,780
Hawaii	Surgeons	$250,180	Pressers	$24,580
Idaho	Anesthesiologists	$267,700	Ushers	$19,350
Illinois	Anesthesiologists	$262,890	Gambling Dealers	$21,280
Indiana	Anesthesiologists	$272,630	Ushers	$20,030
Iowa	Obstetricians	$283,280	Locker Room Attendants	$18,490
Kansas	Anesthesiologists	$276,800	Gambling Dealers	$19,200
Kentucky	Surgeons	$270,580	Food Prep Workers	$19,020
Louisiana	Anesthesiologists	$269,520	Shampooers	$18,670
Maine	Surgeons	$281,470	Locker Room Attendants	$23,840
Maryland	Surgeons	$278,720	Gambling Dealers	$22,340
Massachusetts	Obstetricians	$254,780	Gambling Dealers	$26,670
Michigan	Airline Pilots	$238,270	Hosts	$22,670
Minnesota	Orthodontists	$274,490	Projectionists	$23,130
Mississippi	Surgeons	$276,170	Cooks	$18,420
Missouri	Anesthesiologists	$263,990	Lifeguards	$19,830
Montana	Obstetricians	$256,200	Teaching Assistants	$19,460
Nebraska	Psychiatrists	$262,570	Locker Room Attendants	$22,100
Nevada	Surgeons	$258,890	Gambling Dealers	$18,750
New Hampshire	Physicians	$262,620	Attendants	$24,910
New Jersey	Surgeons	$279,660	Shampooers	$22,540
New Mexico	Physicians	$280,620	Gambling Dealers	$19,870
New York	Surgeons	$230,890	Shampooers	$25,430
North Carolina	Oral Surgeons	$280,940	Ushers	$19,970
North Dakota	Physicians	$266,540	Ushers	$22,070
Ohio	Surgeons	$280,030	Lifeguards	$20,760
Oklahoma	Surgeons	$286,320	Ushers	$18,790
Oregon	Physicians	$237,910	Lifeguards	$25,670
Pennsylvania	Orthodontists	$265,990	Shampooers	$19,710
Rhode Island	Surgeons	$278,020	Ushers	$24,970
South Carolina	Orthodontists	$269,180	Counter Workers	$19,500
South Dakota	Surgeons	$285,320	Locker Room Attendants	$20,970
Tennessee	Surgeons	$270,180	Models	$19,880
Texas	Anesthesiologists	$241,090	Dining Room Helpers	$20,790
Utah	Surgeons	$270,260	Counter Workers	$21,210
Vermont	Dentists	$261,790	Pharmacy Aides	$25,270
Virginia	Surgeons	$261,220	Cooks	$20,630
Washington	Orthodontists	$285,780	Shoe Workers	$27,190
West Virginia	Obstetricians	$276,990	Gambling Dealers	$19,950
Wisconsin	Obstetricians	$274,410	Gambling Dealers	$18,940
Wyoming	Anesthesiologists	$281,070	Cooks	$19,550

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Amanda Postma

Amanda Postma is a writer for the Zippia Career Advice blog with a focus on creating entertaining content to help you through your job search. She received her BA from the University Of Missouri-Columbia.

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