Top 100 highest-paying jobs in North Dakota

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in North Dakota, 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 North Dakota are those of nurse anesthetists, with an average annual salary of $227,010. The second highest-paying jobs are those of all other physicians, with an average salary of $177,750.

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

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$227,010	$217,030	150
2	All Other Physicians	$177,750	$141,330	460
3	General Dentists	$162,940	$102,810	200
4	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$152,170	$152,170	90
5	Pharmacists	$134,620	$35,690	1,010
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$129,670	$97,420	270
7	Chemical Engineers	$127,830	$74,220	80
8	Chief Executives	$127,450	$17,800	240
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$126,930	$85,990	540
10	Physician Assistants	$125,750	$88,370	310
11	Financial Managers	$123,040	$78,300	1,730
12	Natural Sciences Managers	$122,660	$94,370	90
13	Optometrists	$120,000	$72,300	190
14	Sales Managers	$119,580	$64,020	370
15	Marketing Managers	$118,960	$77,580	170
16	Human Resources Managers	$112,980	$75,220	200
17	Gas Plant Operators	$110,660	$64,210	610
18	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$109,730	$66,350	450
19	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$108,570	$99,900	40
20	Nurse Practitioners	$107,680	$91,990	570
21	Labor Relations Specialists	$107,140	$53,240	110
22	Medical and Health Services Managers	$106,210	$74,490	590
23	Air Traffic Controllers	$106,180	$76,810	90
24	Power Plant Operators	$105,990	$75,030	290
25	Industrial Production Managers	$104,980	$63,390	350
26	Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	$104,670	$57,460	40
27	Public Relations Managers	$104,560	$69,200	70
28	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$104,310	$85,560	120
29	Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers	$104,130	$49,690	150
30	All Other Managers	$103,790	$63,280	1,310
31	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$103,280	$59,300	540
32	Petroleum Engineers	$103,120	$80,850	210
33	Computer Hardware Engineers	$102,550	$67,610	150
34	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$102,430	$62,260	150
35	Administrative Services Managers	$102,170	$71,680	160
36	Computer Network Architects	$101,720	$66,940	170
37	Veterinarians	$101,720	$79,920	310
38	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$101,440	$61,930	580
39	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$101,190	$73,850	800
40	Lawyers	$100,890	$64,350	1,120
41	Electrical Engineers	$100,850	$72,280	330
42	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$100,040	$60,080	430
43	Transportation Inspectors	$99,710	$66,210	50
44	Database Architects	$98,420	$71,240	50
45	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$98,220	$68,580	210
46	Commercial Pilots	$96,550	$66,680	200
47	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$95,700	$71,210	140
48	Engineers, All Other	$95,620	$68,720	170
49	Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door	$95,320	$75,100	150
50	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	$95,180	$52,310	350
51	Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	$95,030	$74,470	480
52	Construction Managers	$93,950	$51,100	820
53	Data Scientists	$91,050	$63,740	150
54	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$90,570	$66,290	120
55	Other Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers	$90,510	$51,580	80
56	Environmental Engineers	$89,520	$64,540	100
57	Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators	$88,910	$68,490	80
58	Training and Development Managers	$88,790	$66,190	80
59	Operations Research Analysts	$87,870	$50,380	170
60	Geoscientists (Except Hydrologists and Geographers)	$87,100	$71,080	80
61	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$86,330	$64,670	80
62	General and Operations Managers	$86,200	$46,610	10,170
63	Judicial Law Clerks	$85,900	$68,850	30
64	Nuclear Medicine Technologists	$85,550	$65,370	40
65	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$85,360	$62,790	100
66	Postsecondary Chemistry Teachers	$85,120	$49,380	50
67	Computer Systems Analysts	$84,980	$63,820	200
68	Information Security Analysts	$84,900	$50,220	250
69	Software Developers	$84,860	$41,920	2,070
70	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$84,640	$44,720	40
71	Hydrologists	$84,640	$67,970	30
72	Other Therapists	$83,550	$57,300	80
73	Chemists	$82,750	$55,810	140
74	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$82,220	$51,490	190
75	Industrial Engineers	$82,050	$61,810	480
76	Other Biological Scientists	$81,990	$53,890	150
77	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$81,200	$54,280	1,630
78	Personal Financial Advisors	$81,160	$37,520	570
79	Civil Engineers	$81,130	$60,480	1,110
80	Computer Programmers	$80,490	$59,380	310
81	Environmental Engineering Technicians	$80,360	$53,910	50
82	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$80,030	$54,720	520
83	Physical Therapists	$79,860	$66,990	850
84	Postsecondary Psychology Teachers	$79,700	$50,350	60
85	Locomotive Engineers	$79,610	$78,870	320
86	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$79,580	$62,280	630
87	Dental Hygienists	$79,350	$63,230	890
88	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$79,220	$62,510	550
89	Loan Officers	$79,110	$46,290	1,350
90	Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$79,060	$48,030	370
91	Chiropractors	$78,650	$37,620	210
92	Compliance Officers	$78,590	$48,330	810
93	Project Management Specialists	$78,570	$48,880	1,600
94	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$78,560	$47,660	250
95	Mechanical Engineers	$78,050	$52,500	600
96	Financial Analysts	$77,940	$52,060	240
97	Postsecondary Education Teachers	$77,740	$50,180	140
98	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$77,710	$48,110	90
99	Management Analysts	$77,470	$50,790	520
100	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$77,310	$62,650	240

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Podiatrists	$166,220
2	General Dentists	$162,910
3	All Other Physicians	$132,660
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$131,770
5	Chemical Engineers	$131,390
6	Pharmacists	$128,600
7	Optometrists	$127,610
8	Chief Executives	$127,450
9	Financial Managers	$125,730
10	Physician Assistants	$125,230

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$195,920
2	General Dentists	$181,490
3	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$147,780
4	Optometrists	$139,410
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$134,340
6	Chief Executives	$129,040
7	Financial Managers	$127,320
8	Sales Managers	$118,230
9	Pharmacists	$117,990
10	Physician Assistants	$116,890

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$190,190
2	Optometrists	$145,890
3	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$145,470
4	Chief Executives	$127,170
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$122,440
6	Financial Managers	$121,980
7	Purchasing Managers	$116,840
8	Petroleum Engineers	$116,170
9	Marketing Managers	$115,340
10	Pharmacists	$115,080

Also see The most popular jobs in North Dakota.