Top 100 highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area are those of family medicine physician, with an average annual salary of $219,480. The second highest-paying jobs are those of general dentist, with an average salary of $137,000.

All of the shown salary and employment information for East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$219,480	$165,980	60
2	General Dentists	$137,000	$90,770	30
3	Physician Assistants	$131,600	$106,100	70
4	Nurse Practitioners	$131,120	$103,370	150
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,260	$80,710	30
6	Pharmacists	$124,500	$107,750	190
7	Natural Sciences Managers	$110,090	$79,010	40
8	Mining and Geological Engineers	$103,590	$82,600	80
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$98,520	$72,030	50
10	Chief Executives	$98,310	$48,840	80
11	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$97,660	$61,790	170
12	Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$95,220	$60,580	140
13	Medical and Health Services Managers	$95,130	$57,870	330
14	Commercial Pilots	$93,510	$51,030	40
15	Electrical Engineers	$93,330	$57,680	50
16	Power Plant Operators	$93,060	$62,260	100
17	Financial Managers	$92,260	$49,160	150
18	Human Resources Managers	$91,330	$41,790	40
19	Computer Network Architects	$86,530	$75,430	30
20	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$86,300	$49,010	40
21	Physical Therapists	$86,300	$77,420	110
22	Occupational Therapists	$85,150	$63,120	40
23	Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	$83,750	$53,980	300
24	Project Management Specialists	$83,130	$52,000	140
25	Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door	$82,900	$39,340	30
26	Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators	$82,850	$70,320	40
27	Dental Hygienists	$82,490	$79,840	70
28	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$82,210	$56,260	240
29	Geoscientists (Except Hydrologists and Geographers)	$82,180	$48,600	70
30	General and Operations Managers	$81,450	$41,380	950
31	Gas Plant Operators	$80,590	$48,510	40
32	Soil and Plant Scientists	$80,530	$61,310	80
33	Construction Managers	$79,870	$46,790	120
34	Lawyers	$79,820	$37,970	200
35	Management Analysts	$79,440	$51,150	80
36	Civil Engineers	$79,150	$59,440	150
37	Veterinarians	$78,220	$61,010	80
38	Continuous Mining Machine Operators	$78,210	$48,000	550
39	All Other Managers	$77,860	$45,510	380
40	Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining	$76,590	$52,810	50
41	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	$76,190	$50,810	610
42	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$75,560	$47,200	410
43	Registered Nurses	$75,290	$60,790	1,200
44	Speech-Language Pathologists	$75,100	$52,760	50
45	Other Biological Scientists	$75,030	$44,720	60
46	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$74,210	$48,120	130
47	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	$73,870	$57,890	140
48	Other Plant and System Operators	$73,610	$41,350	60
49	Surveyors	$73,510	$36,050	60
50	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$72,900	$39,690	250
51	Other Extraction Workers	$72,380	$65,530	40
52	Accountants and Auditors	$71,950	$49,200	440
53	School Psychologists	$71,520	$48,980	40
54	Service Unit Operators, Oil, Gas, and Mining	$71,460	$35,050	50
55	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$70,010	$49,340	100
56	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	$68,000	$40,530	170
57	Compliance Officers	$67,500	$40,910	220
58	Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	$67,490	$47,710	260
59	Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians	$67,230	$38,650	130
60	Cost Estimators	$66,920	$42,380	60
61	Petroleum Engineers	$66,700	$36,430	60
62	Conservation Scientists	$66,210	$44,720	140
63	First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers	$65,930	$43,220	40
64	Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	$65,820	$41,950	70
65	Mechanical Engineers	$64,590	$64,080	50
66	Training and Development Specialists	$64,070	$46,330	40
67	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$63,910	$41,230	80
68	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$63,830	$48,970	100
69	Electricians	$63,480	$41,600	460
70	Urban and Regional Planners	$62,760	$44,390	40
71	Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$62,440	$33,410	510
72	First-Line Supervisors of Transportation Workers, Except Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors	$62,400	$44,460	290
73	Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers	$62,170	$46,850	90
74	Radiologic Technologists	$62,150	$33,550	90
75	Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists	$62,130	$49,090	40
76	Computer Systems Analysts	$61,900	$52,190	40
77	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$61,010	$23,260	30
78	Loan Officers	$60,470	$44,550	250
79	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School	$60,470	$19,200	50
80	Social and Community Service Managers	$59,810	$37,510	80
81	Computer Occupations, All Other	$59,780	$23,390	50
82	Kindergarten and Elementary School Special Education Teachers	$59,310	$39,900	180
83	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$58,930	$46,440	40
84	Other Production Workers	$58,860	$26,470	40
85	Construction and Building Inspectors	$58,160	$37,160	30
86	Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors	$58,040	$36,940	150
87	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	$57,890	$38,590	180
88	Lodging Managers	$57,730	$33,430	40
89	Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers	$57,580	$44,510	610
90	First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers	$57,240	$49,230	50
91	Real Estate Sales Agents	$56,810	$25,490	110
92	Secondary School Special Education Teachers	$56,650	$30,610	100
93	Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel	$56,570	$28,510	100
94	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	$55,780	$39,190	850
95	Clergy	$55,690	$27,280	160
96	Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	$55,560	$40,430	60
97	Instructional Coordinators	$54,720	$38,940	80
98	Computer Network Support Specialists	$54,130	$40,530	80
99	First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	$54,010	$38,410	440
100	Other Business Operations Specialists	$54,000	$36,110	480

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Dentists	$165,490
2	Physician Assistants	$128,190
3	Nurse Practitioners	$128,190
4	Pharmacists	$126,980
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$120,230
6	Commercial Pilots	$104,770
7	Financial Managers	$102,580
8	Natural Sciences Managers	$102,550
9	Mining and Geological Engineers	$99,980
10	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$98,370

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Optometrists	$132,040
2	Physician Assistants	$125,730
3	Nurse Practitioners	$120,640
4	Pharmacists	$119,110
5	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$117,940
6	Industrial Production Managers	$107,320
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$104,790
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$102,200
9	Financial Managers	$95,020
10	Administrative Services and Facilities Managers	$93,750

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Physician Assistants	$120,840
2	Nurse Practitioners	$119,510
3	Pharmacists	$117,950
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$106,650
5	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$98,920
6	Industrial Production Managers	$93,950
7	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$92,340
8	Financial Managers	$90,760
9	Chief Executives	$89,300
10	Administrative Services and Facilities Managers	$89,270

Also see The most popular jobs in East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area.

Also see The most popular jobs in Montana, The top paying jobs in Montana.