Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Alabama

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Alabama, 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 Alabama are those of all other physicians, with an average annual salary of $221,770. The second highest-paying jobs are those of all other surgeons, with an average salary of $220,900.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Alabama 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 Alabama in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Alabama (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	All Other Physicians	$221,770	$78,780	3,420
2	All Other Surgeons	$220,900	$109,880	530
3	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$215,490	$92,350	260
4	Physicians, Pathologists	$208,390	$98,130	100
5	Family Medicine Physicians	$204,960	$128,140	550
6	General Dentists	$204,130	$107,120	1,040
7	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$201,640	$99,930	160
8	Other Specialists Dentists	$198,970	$133,770	30
9	Nurse Anesthetists	$177,400	$140,470	1,320
10	Orthodontists	$147,110	$117,190	100
11	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$138,050	$88,650	2,740
12	Chief Executives	$136,930	$50,920	710
13	Sales Engineers	$130,970	$55,840	270
14	Nuclear Engineers	$130,850	$87,300	200
15	Engineers, All Other	$130,100	$80,240	3,550
16	Pharmacists	$129,200	$77,840	5,650
17	Financial Managers	$127,210	$77,960	5,490
18	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$127,150	$72,940	5,150
19	Aerospace Engineers	$127,150	$76,710	3,900
20	Computer Hardware Engineers	$127,150	$82,260	790
21	Lawyers	$126,310	$59,010	6,270
22	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators	$126,180	$93,760	420
23	Other Physical Scientists	$122,680	$79,350	140
24	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$122,540	$69,930	150
25	Petroleum Engineers	$119,990	$53,140	30
26	Computer Network Architects	$119,820	$68,860	3,260
27	Database Architects	$119,410	$68,770	310
28	Purchasing Managers	$118,050	$70,250	1,250
29	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$116,380	$100,650	290
30	Podiatrists	$115,630	$52,330	110
31	Marketing Managers	$114,910	$64,960	1,430
32	Chemical Engineers	$114,050	$75,090	720
33	Natural Sciences Managers	$113,840	$79,080	220
34	Economists	$113,240	$66,210	40
35	Operations Research Analysts	$110,860	$58,460	510
36	Optometrists	$110,830	$53,140	510
37	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$110,130	$80,080	260
38	Other Psychologists	$110,090	$27,480	130
39	Psychiatrists	$109,180	$71,310	200
40	Facilities Managers	$108,400	$66,850	700
41	Sales Managers	$107,990	$60,810	3,500
42	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$106,950	$39,240	30
43	Industrial Production Managers	$106,830	$66,130	2,710
44	Information Security Analysts	$105,180	$53,680	2,660
45	Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers	$104,410	$47,290	220
46	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$104,290	$76,400	1,940
47	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$103,640	$80,450	680
48	Software Developers	$103,520	$58,930	15,680
49	Electrical Engineers	$103,280	$66,630	3,720
50	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$103,060	$74,510	100
51	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$102,830	$52,270	210
52	Computer Systems Analysts	$102,120	$62,770	4,880
53	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$101,940	$63,090	690
54	Air Traffic Controllers	$101,940	$78,620	240
55	Postsecondary Architecture Teachers	$101,910	$66,770	90
56	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$101,890	$74,180	540
57	Nurse Practitioners	$101,150	$79,960	4,390
58	Nuclear Technicians	$100,610	$59,540	170
59	Power Plant Operators	$100,530	$64,360	710
60	Materials Engineers	$99,910	$63,560	670
61	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$99,760	$61,630	1,010
62	Human Resources Managers	$99,600	$56,430	1,980
63	Veterinarians	$99,580	$53,660	1,150
64	All Other Managers	$99,480	$47,790	3,750
65	Commercial Pilots	$99,300	$59,390	1,190
66	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$98,950	$78,770	70
67	Project Management Specialists	$98,810	$51,690	900
68	General and Operations Managers	$98,120	$44,530	36,550
69	All Other Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners	$98,010	$68,410	180
70	Mechanical Engineers	$97,780	$61,600	5,060
71	Training and Development Managers	$97,740	$49,020	130
72	Physical Therapists	$97,360	$61,160	2,470
73	Occupational Therapy Aides	$96,420	$36,290	50
74	Administrative Services Managers	$96,240	$69,070	480
75	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$95,190	$60,430	3,160
76	Financial Risk Specialists	$94,930	$60,010	150
77	Computer Programmers	$94,930	$59,280	2,390
78	Construction Managers	$94,470	$59,890	6,460
79	Physicists	$93,230	$68,660	160
80	Computer Occupations, All Other	$92,580	$50,280	2,100
81	Management Analysts	$92,560	$50,550	5,400
82	Soil and Plant Scientists	$92,210	$45,790	160
83	Budget Analysts	$91,710	$49,210	900
84	Physician Assistants	$91,580	$66,310	760
85	Logisticians	$90,480	$50,030	5,190
86	Other Business Operations Specialists	$89,940	$55,000	6,090
87	Transportation Inspectors	$89,940	$57,160	430
88	Financial Analysts	$89,790	$59,370	1,900
89	Environmental Engineers	$88,150	$57,560	770
90	Art Directors	$85,980	$48,960	120
91	Data Scientists	$85,870	$52,260	520
92	Social Scientists and Related Workers	$85,740	$56,720	290
93	Industrial Engineers	$85,680	$61,670	7,160
94	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$85,230	$39,920	380
95	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$84,930	$64,930	3,570
96	Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	$84,360	$68,040	130
97	Civil Engineers	$83,930	$56,430	5,130
98	Other Education Administrators	$83,780	$46,710	2,220
99	Occupational Therapists	$83,770	$60,630	1,180
100	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$83,620	$75,320	270

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Alabama – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$194,360
2	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$175,300
3	General Dentists	$166,640
4	General Pediatricians	$166,590
5	Nurse Anesthetists	$165,610
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$134,480
7	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$129,130
8	Pharmacists	$127,270
9	Chief Executives	$127,170
10	Natural Sciences Managers	$127,140

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Alabama – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$169,770
2	General Dentists	$168,840
3	Chief Executives	$161,290
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$159,970
5	Psychiatrists	$159,080
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$144,480
7	Pharmacists	$126,690
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$123,210
9	Engineers, All Other	$122,590
10	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$122,580

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Alabama – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$207,420
2	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$195,750
3	Chief Executives	$180,780
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$155,680
5	Psychiatrists	$152,430
6	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$145,820
7	General Dentists	$143,810
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$137,950
9	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$126,800
10	Pharmacists	$126,100

Also see The most popular jobs in Alabama.