Highest-paying Cities for Chief Executives

The top 100 highest paying cities for chief executives (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of chief executives in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $236,740, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina is the highest paying city for chief executives. It is followed by Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas (average annual salary $234,430). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of chief executives in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Chief Executives

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina	$236,740	$136,010	40
2	Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas	$234,430	$96,740	40
3	Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Michigan	$233,090	$78,940	50
4	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$232,860	$99,610	2,830
5	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	$232,640	$155,340	210
6	Lubbock, Texas	$232,010	$100,760	30
7	Lansing-East Lansing, Michigan	$231,350	$68,020	140
8	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$228,560	$137,530	70
9	Longview, Texas	$227,200	$62,380	30
10	Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin	$227,100	$75,140	110
11	Battle Creek, Michigan	$227,040	$134,500	40
12	Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, South Carolina	$225,720	$105,420	430
13	Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York	$224,910	$78,860	220
14	Eau Claire, Wisconsin	$224,740	$89,670	90
15	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$224,390	$116,570	5,160
16	Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina	$222,300	$127,900	260
17	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$222,240	$95,990	12,390
18	Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska	$221,540	$100,940	1,230
19	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$220,960	$89,980	2,300
20	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$220,560	$96,140	300
21	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$219,980	$98,650	510
22	South Bend-Mishawaka, Michigan	$219,290	$110,340	50
23	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$217,740	$98,470	2,660
24	Richmond, Virginia	$217,070	$106,720	910
25	Spokane, Washington	$216,240	$131,540	210
26	Boulder, Colorado	$215,440	$147,670	100
27	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$214,960	$93,490	80
28	Lynchburg, Virginia	$214,490	$44,390	120
29	Champaign-Urbana, Illinois	$214,400	$108,970	80
30	Green Bay, Wisconsin	$213,580	$80,650	180
31	Lafayette, Louisiana	$213,550	$62,170	30
32	El Paso, Texas	$213,060	$45,540	60
33	Spartanburg, South Carolina	$212,700	$100,260	150
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$212,660	$110,990	3,200
35	Northwestern Virginia nonmetropolitan area, Virginia	$212,090	$99,980	90
36	Rockford, Illinois	$211,260	$94,220	80
37	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$210,440	$85,500	1,940
38	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$210,380	$83,800	4,660
39	Napa, California	$209,720	$103,670	140
40	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$209,330	$94,630	210
41	Danbury, Connecticut	$208,880	$80,490	40
42	Lincoln, Nebraska	$208,740	$100,460	490
43	Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, South Carolina	$207,640	$100,800	470
44	Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio	$207,600	$78,000	880
45	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$207,380	$111,330	90
46	Northeastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area, North Carolina	$207,290	$128,600	60
47	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$207,060	$109,340	1,340
48	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$206,960	$111,070	520
49	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$206,920	$121,400	40
50	The Villages, Florida	$206,900	$45,350	60
51	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$206,840	$103,910	320
52	Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan	$206,330	$124,680	110
53	Madera-Chowchilla, California	$206,240	$91,360	60
54	Wilmington, North Carolina	$206,220	$98,840	30
55	Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$206,210	$78,270	90
56	Morgantown, West Virginia	$206,000	$79,250	130
57	Stockton, California	$205,110	$90,550	350
58	Columbus, Ohio	$205,040	$92,940	1,160
59	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$204,990	$89,160	340
60	Pittsfield, Massachusetts	$204,780	$78,600	40
61	Bellingham, Washington	$204,590	$123,220	40
62	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$204,390	$109,400	3,110
63	Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Virginia	$204,280	$118,870	950
64	Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Florida	$203,930	$53,210	1,720
65	Worcester, Massachusetts	$203,230	$126,730	290
66	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$202,890	$94,380	40
67	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$202,120	$91,670	400
68	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL Metropolitan Division), Illinois	$202,010	$80,290	9,430
69	New Haven, Connecticut	$201,670	$89,860	90
70	Peabody, Massachusetts	$201,590	$81,660	210
71	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$200,820	$167,360	2,110
72	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$200,750	$91,260	250
73	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$200,550	$22,900	40
74	Amarillo, Texas	$200,270	$92,350	30
75	Florence, South Carolina	$199,840	$106,240	90
76	Tyler, Texas	$199,840	$44,450	40
77	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	$199,330	$66,030	80
78	Nashua, New Hampshire	$199,240	$105,200	150
79	Fayetteville, North Carolina	$199,000	$127,170	30
80	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$198,730	$127,380	1,280
81	Lake County-Kenosha County, Wisconsin	$198,360	$64,050	930
82	Carbondale-Marion, Illinois	$198,100	$74,180	30
83	Bloomington, Illinois	$197,960	$94,400	50
84	Modesto, California	$197,860	$85,040	260
85	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$197,660	$78,000	230
86	West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Florida	$197,650	$87,530	1,410
87	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$196,790	$88,730	140
88	Western South Dakota nonmetropolitan area, South Dakota	$196,750	$103,570	40
89	Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area, Michigan	$196,730	$101,910	220
90	Southern Oregon and Linn County nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$196,220	$72,720	40
91	Corpus Christi, Texas	$196,200	$44,210	60
92	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$196,180	$89,480	4,940
93	Salinas, California	$195,890	$90,340	240
94	Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas	$195,710	$104,340	40
95	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$195,550	$113,480	400
96	Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan	$194,990	$129,310	40
97	Salisbury, Maryland	$194,750	$64,630	90
98	Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida	$194,610	$74,800	430
99	Peoria, Illinois	$194,070	$101,360	120
100	Charleston, West Virginia	$194,000	$82,130	220

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for chief executives.