Top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Central Kentucky 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 South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area are those of general internal medicine physician, with an average annual salary of $232,680. The second highest-paying jobs are those of general pediatrician, with an average salary of $209,990.

All of the shown salary and employment information for South Central Kentucky 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 South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$232,680	$134,030	40
2	General Pediatricians	$209,990	$132,960	40
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$209,660	$80,720	180
4	All Other Physicians	$191,590	$187,350	60
5	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$139,650	$126,260	30
6	Chief Executives	$128,980	$75,870	200
7	Pharmacists	$127,240	$94,650	540
8	Optometrists	$118,890	$85,080	40
9	General Dentists	$106,240	$53,050	120
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$104,750	$77,960	60
11	Engineers, All Other	$103,170	$54,140	60
12	Nurse Practitioners	$103,060	$64,300	450
13	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$99,990	$67,620	90
14	Physician Assistants	$99,800	$62,390	120
15	Financial Managers	$97,990	$56,230	300
16	Human Resources Managers	$97,450	$58,380	90
17	Sales Managers	$97,100	$49,270	390
18	Financial Analysts	$96,280	$63,240	70
19	Purchasing Managers	$96,020	$59,200	30
20	Industrial Production Managers	$94,890	$59,670	460
21	Software Developers	$92,800	$60,710	110
22	Marketing Managers	$89,330	$39,770	50
23	Construction Managers	$89,190	$54,790	40
24	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers	$89,000	$44,990	60
25	Electrical Engineers	$87,720	$65,920	80
26	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$86,880	$78,190	30
27	Computer Programmers	$85,680	$47,270	70
28	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$82,780	$55,990	40
29	Management Analysts	$82,070	$47,990	140
30	Computer Network Architects	$82,020	$50,680	40
31	Veterinarians	$81,880	$40,670	80
32	Medical and Health Services Managers	$81,870	$51,510	780
33	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$81,630	$64,270	540
34	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$80,720	$40,100	120
35	Physical Therapists	$79,960	$31,830	330
36	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$79,150	$47,930	140
37	Mechanical Engineers	$78,200	$48,780	230
38	Credit Analysts	$78,180	$46,530	50
39	Other Education Administrators	$77,990	$52,230	30
40	Facilities Managers	$77,620	$44,030	50
41	Industrial Engineers	$76,990	$51,560	480
42	Civil Engineers	$76,540	$52,280	70
43	Occupational Therapists	$75,950	$55,270	150
44	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$75,030	$46,760	90
45	Project Management Specialists	$74,600	$44,500	290
46	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$73,530	$46,440	140
47	Other Therapists	$73,120	$53,000	50
48	Computer Systems Analysts	$71,040	$44,760	80
49	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$70,120	$41,900	210
50	Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians	$69,480	$36,440	40
51	Lawyers	$68,910	$50,400	240
52	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$68,640	$46,580	80
53	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$68,380	$31,800	240
54	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$66,370	$36,660	180
55	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$65,860	$32,720	160
56	Registered Nurses	$65,150	$51,970	3,700
57	Mechanical Drafters	$64,930	$39,080	30
58	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$64,850	$36,620	630
59	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$64,520	$37,370	70
60	Postsecondary Art, Drama, and Music Teachers	$64,050	$38,870	70
61	Industrial Engineering Technicians	$63,750	$43,010	150
62	Speech-Language Pathologists	$63,540	$52,190	240
63	Postsecondary Philosophy and Religion Teachers	$62,960	$48,640	40
64	Educational, Guidance, School, and Vocational Counselors	$62,840	$33,920	430
65	Administrative Services Managers	$62,670	$46,490	130
66	School Psychologists	$62,600	$46,560	50
67	Other Postsecondary Teachers	$62,350	$22,290	190
68	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$62,240	$50,330	110
69	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	$61,790	$34,960	50
70	Librarians and Media Collections Specialists	$61,780	$45,910	200
71	Information Security Analysts	$61,710	$48,190	80
72	General and Operations Managers	$61,410	$32,070	3,820
73	Surgical Assistants	$61,250	$32,680	60
74	Postsecondary Psychology Teachers	$61,190	$48,990	70
75	Loan Officers	$60,880	$37,170	320
76	Other Business Operations Specialists	$60,750	$41,210	290
77	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$60,640	$48,870	60
78	Accountants and Auditors	$60,570	$37,480	690
79	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	$60,200	$38,010	1,010
80	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$59,850	$40,250	40
81	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	$59,800	$40,570	450
82	Food Service Managers	$59,730	$38,830	80
83	Physical Therapist Assistants	$59,650	$21,590	220
84	Social and Community Service Managers	$59,430	$43,660	90
85	Radiologic Technologists	$58,800	$39,490	310
86	All Other Managers	$58,650	$41,440	160
87	Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	$58,150	$47,930	40
88	Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$57,810	$39,400	1,410
89	Logisticians	$57,800	$35,350	100
90	All Other Special Education Teachers	$57,700	$38,030	40
91	Respiratory Therapists	$57,480	$42,860	290
92	Postal Service Clerks	$56,600	$39,770	150
93	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$56,210	$35,370	1,710
94	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	$55,900	$28,220	170
95	Instructional Coordinators	$55,770	$32,230	210
96	Compliance Officers	$54,450	$32,090	260
97	Dietitians and Nutritionists	$54,210	$32,920	70
98	Secondary School Special Education Teachers	$54,160	$40,180	270
99	Human Resources Specialists	$54,100	$32,520	500
100	Buyers and Purchasing Agents	$53,500	$34,410	360

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$195,250
2	All Other Physicians	$191,590
3	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$139,650
4	Pharmacists	$127,050
5	Chief Executives	$126,800
6	Optometrists	$123,890
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$99,520
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$99,070
9	Marketing Managers	$99,070
10	Nurse Practitioners	$99,020

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$195,210
2	Chief Executives	$141,410
3	Pharmacists	$134,090
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$114,220
5	Engineers, All Other	$113,800
6	Nurse Practitioners	$95,440
7	Financial Managers	$93,010
8	Industrial Production Managers	$90,930
9	Computer Occupations, All Other	$90,080
10	Construction Managers	$87,150

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$198,350
2	Chief Executives	$136,840
3	Pharmacists	$135,430
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$102,340
5	Purchasing Managers	$100,570
6	Nurse Practitioners	$92,290
7	Medical and Health Services Managers	$91,370
8	Industrial Production Managers	$89,160
9	Computer Occupations, All Other	$85,640
10	Physical Therapists	$82,790

Also see The most popular jobs in South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area.

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