Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Kentucky

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Kentucky, 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 Kentucky are those of family medicine physician, with an average annual salary of $215,210. The second highest-paying jobs are those of general pediatrician, with an average salary of $210,000.

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

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$215,210	$122,420	1,990
2	General Pediatricians	$210,000	$132,960	380
3	Anesthesiologists	$205,480	$95,950	340
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$195,250	$188,850	290
5	Nuclear Engineers	$192,380	$166,980	40
6	Other Specialists Dentists	$175,500	$62,050	140
7	Chief Executives	$157,790	$77,300	2,660
8	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$139,650	$126,260	270
9	General Dentists	$135,390	$60,230	1,280
10	Medical Dosimetrists	$133,420	$90,920	30
11	Podiatrists	$132,160	$29,420	60
12	Pharmacists	$129,690	$98,490	5,320
13	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$128,760	$82,410	1,290
14	Optometrists	$121,380	$65,390	430
15	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$121,170	$74,750	2,300
16	Aerospace Engineers	$120,150	$84,310	460
17	Marketing Managers	$117,980	$55,760	2,080
18	Financial Managers	$113,800	$61,900	5,940
19	Air Traffic Controllers	$112,470	$78,810	180
20	Other Psychologists	$110,090	$75,030	210
21	Purchasing Managers	$109,540	$67,410	530
22	Physicists	$108,390	$49,100	60
23	Human Resources Managers	$106,090	$69,330	1,980
24	Physician Assistants	$105,840	$74,570	1,150
25	Nurse Practitioners	$104,630	$74,270	4,520
26	Mining and Geological Engineers	$103,990	$60,400	190
27	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$103,380	$57,350	140
28	Sales Managers	$103,190	$52,570	7,830
29	Natural Sciences Managers	$103,170	$66,290	250
30	Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	$102,610	$231,140	110
31	Database Architects	$101,420	$59,190	750
32	All Other Managers	$100,880	$48,100	3,260
33	Veterinarians	$100,430	$47,670	1,160
34	Software Developers	$100,320	$64,500	6,400
35	Computer Network Architects	$99,910	$53,870	930
36	Industrial Production Managers	$99,400	$62,340	4,230
37	Chemical Engineers	$99,280	$81,700	180
38	Public Relations Managers	$99,010	$55,200	390
39	Materials Engineers	$98,700	$62,000	330
40	Administrative Services Managers	$97,360	$51,670	2,340
41	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$97,290	$60,990	150
42	Petroleum Engineers	$96,720	$68,520	50
43	Training and Development Managers	$94,230	$61,230	310
44	Medical and Health Services Managers	$94,180	$57,530	8,990
45	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$93,000	$36,210	490
46	Fundraising Managers	$92,710	$49,010	210
47	Commercial Pilots	$92,500	$53,990	440
48	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$90,190	$65,000	270
49	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$89,890	$51,010	2,680
50	Materials Scientists	$89,360	$66,710	40
51	Information Security Analysts	$88,820	$43,800	1,210
52	Orthodontists	$88,770	$164,240	50
53	Sales Engineers	$88,390	$51,020	290
54	Computer Hardware Engineers	$88,100	$56,290	200
55	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$86,290	$44,740	250
56	Electrical Engineers	$86,120	$61,150	1,420
57	Physical Therapists	$85,710	$54,840	3,420
58	Radiation Therapists	$85,280	$76,270	140
59	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$85,230	$48,980	120
60	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$85,130	$75,300	240
61	Other Education Administrators	$84,640	$52,230	570
62	Personal Financial Advisors	$84,070	$45,830	3,410
63	Orthotists and Prosthetists	$84,070	$65,130	150
64	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$84,060	$64,430	4,480
65	Biomedical Engineers	$83,930	$35,220	100
66	Power Plant Operators	$83,300	$44,920	510
67	Lawyers	$82,540	$48,010	6,070
68	Construction Managers	$82,240	$46,210	980
69	Industrial Engineers	$82,100	$56,480	5,500
70	Data Scientists	$81,990	$52,890	0
71	Management Analysts	$81,840	$48,010	3,380
72	Nuclear Medicine Technologists	$81,270	$67,280	200
73	Facilities Managers	$81,160	$44,030	1,070
74	Occupational Therapists	$81,130	$60,270	2,030
75	Computer Occupations, All Other	$81,120	$44,230	4,240
76	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$81,070	$48,220	1,350
77	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$80,710	$43,470	670
78	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$80,680	$42,720	2,210
79	Commercial and Industrial Designers	$80,560	$40,750	110
80	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$80,530	$36,870	100
81	Civil Engineers	$80,410	$53,050	2,680
82	Mechanical Engineers	$80,350	$55,730	2,730
83	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$80,190	$55,990	480
84	Engineers, All Other	$80,190	$49,490	1,180
85	Credit Analysts	$79,930	$42,440	1,010
86	Computer Systems Analysts	$79,630	$48,500	3,860
87	Elevator Installers and Repairers	$79,600	$39,430	360
88	Project Management Specialists	$79,450	$47,820	7,160
89	Transportation Inspectors	$79,350	$33,040	290
90	Financial Analysts	$79,320	$51,410	1,530
91	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$79,290	$43,250	1,300
92	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$79,230	$41,960	780
93	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$79,090	$49,380	1,260
94	Multimedia Artists and Animators	$78,750	$53,080	80
95	Speech-Language Pathologists	$78,490	$53,750	2,630
96	Environmental Engineers	$78,190	$54,250	400
97	All Other Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners	$77,230	$66,830	120
98	Postsecondary Sociology Teachers	$77,160	$51,640	120
99	Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	$77,040	$58,700	400
100	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$76,840	$46,730	2,590

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Anesthesiologists	$205,480
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$195,250
3	General Pediatricians	$182,500
4	Chief Executives	$162,770
5	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$139,650
6	Medical Dosimetrists	$131,950
7	General Dentists	$127,960
8	Pharmacists	$127,240
9	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,500
10	Marketing Managers	$125,690

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$180,770
2	Other Specialists Dentists	$175,500
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$173,360
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$160,400
5	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$141,070
6	Chief Executives	$135,720
7	Pharmacists	$125,310
8	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$119,600
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$119,300
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$117,230

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$193,720
2	General Pediatricians	$177,340
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$158,100
4	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$134,310
5	Pharmacists	$125,430
6	Chief Executives	$124,100
7	Petroleum Engineers	$118,350
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$115,780
9	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$115,250
10	Economists	$108,870

Also see The most popular jobs in Kentucky.