Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Virginia

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Virginia, 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 Virginia are those of chief executive, with an average annual salary of $235,060. The second highest-paying jobs are those of orthopedic surgeon except pediatric, with an average salary of $234,640.

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

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Chief Executives	$235,060	$102,360	6,480
2	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$234,640	$167,000	750
3	Anesthesiologists	$228,230	$141,560	250
4	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$225,950	$99,990	790
5	Podiatrists	$223,920	$59,990	560
6	Family Medicine Physicians	$215,000	$124,040	4,550
7	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$204,370	$176,540	500
8	Physicians, Pathologists	$199,990	$115,950	120
9	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$199,680	$91,400	2,950
10	Dermatologists	$199,140	$91,310	0
11	Psychiatrists	$193,790	$106,120	540
12	Other Specialists Dentists	$184,930	$127,740	130
13	Nurse Anesthetists	$181,690	$173,740	530
14	General Pediatricians	$175,780	$114,770	710
15	General Dentists	$173,290	$98,970	5,200
16	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$172,760	$107,290	14,210
17	All Other Physicians	$170,820	$63,090	6,860
18	Air Traffic Controllers	$169,940	$92,910	1,060
19	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$169,200	$102,010	150
20	Sales Managers	$165,160	$73,080	7,250
21	Marketing Managers	$163,350	$96,340	5,580
22	Financial Managers	$161,710	$96,210	17,080
23	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$155,670	$98,610	410
24	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$151,470	$105,530	3,500
25	Public Relations Managers	$149,400	$78,740	2,270
26	Purchasing Managers	$148,820	$99,990	3,440
27	All Other Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners	$147,260	$71,680	570
28	Human Resources Managers	$145,720	$87,370	5,030
29	Other Mathematical Science Occupations	$145,280	$47,490	340
30	Medical Dosimetrists	$144,300	$113,730	160
31	All Other Managers	$143,060	$93,260	18,580
32	Lawyers	$141,430	$72,440	17,120
33	Other Legal Support Workers	$140,400	$72,900	6,300
34	Other Physical Scientists	$140,130	$79,930	1,240
35	Political Scientists	$138,990	$66,250	700
36	Sales Engineers	$137,940	$88,690	1,530
37	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$137,240	$87,550	2,550
38	Computer Hardware Engineers	$136,350	$81,620	2,410
39	Natural Sciences Managers	$134,790	$79,250	1,330
40	Pharmacists	$134,070	$89,480	7,250
41	Data Scientists	$132,400	$73,910	4,500
42	Biochemists and Biophysicists	$131,920	$73,820	460
43	Aerospace Engineers	$131,830	$82,700	2,430
44	Engineers, All Other	$131,190	$60,150	5,390
45	Software Developers	$130,980	$74,460	84,220
46	Computer Network Architects	$130,350	$75,790	9,880
47	Information Security Analysts	$130,130	$80,170	17,960
48	Commercial Pilots	$127,390	$62,100	670
49	Operations Research Analysts	$125,520	$63,850	6,890
50	Mathematicians	$124,490	$79,890	410
51	Orthodontists	$121,940	$121,940	150
52	Optometrists	$120,740	$48,230	1,210
53	Training and Development Managers	$120,690	$79,730	1,030
54	Computer Occupations, All Other	$120,330	$61,940	13,400
55	Economists	$119,920	$64,300	760
56	Physician Assistants	$119,440	$86,310	4,230
57	Social Scientists and Related Workers	$117,500	$71,140	3,960
58	General and Operations Managers	$117,120	$50,650	89,710
59	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$116,770	$61,520	140
60	Hydrologists	$116,770	$58,360	140
61	Physicists	$115,090	$78,140	830
62	Actuaries	$114,230	$67,300	270
63	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$114,180	$74,210	3,150
64	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$112,070	$37,220	230
65	Administrative Services Managers	$111,990	$64,210	2,440
66	Fundraising Managers	$111,370	$77,460	450
67	Nurse Practitioners	$110,860	$89,340	7,040
68	Industrial Production Managers	$110,790	$76,190	2,450
69	Financial Risk Specialists	$110,500	$65,770	1,460
70	Other Education Administrators	$110,360	$62,230	1,280
71	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$110,150	$54,150	1,260
72	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators	$110,140	$82,900	180
73	Other Psychologists	$109,640	$78,680	580
74	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$109,490	$55,550	5,450
75	Computer Programmers	$108,420	$58,470	2,900
76	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$107,900	$61,380	400
77	Geographers	$107,140	$60,090	90
78	Medical and Health Services Managers	$107,020	$66,980	9,120
79	Facilities Managers	$106,590	$64,290	2,030
80	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$106,200	$62,370	2,710
81	Postsecondary Architecture Teachers	$106,160	$66,030	240
82	Computer Systems Analysts	$105,870	$65,060	24,080
83	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$105,570	$63,890	8,160
84	Nuclear Engineers	$104,670	$77,380	1,480
85	Other Media and Communication Equipment Workers	$104,040	$66,770	430
86	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$103,860	$59,550	15,860
87	Management Analysts	$103,480	$60,740	65,200
88	Database Architects	$103,110	$61,710	6,860
89	Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	$102,920	$64,060	330
90	Construction Managers	$102,870	$67,330	5,940
91	Project Management Specialists	$102,800	$60,460	30,420
92	Electrical Engineers	$102,360	$66,150	5,170
93	Transit and Railroad Police	$101,690	$62,790	300
94	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$101,630	$50,550	320
95	Mining and Geological Engineers	$101,550	$81,700	140
96	Web Developers	$101,060	$42,680	4,750
97	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$100,860	$59,490	2,670
98	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$100,740	$72,810	7,640
99	Veterinarians	$100,640	$51,510	2,820
100	Nuclear Technicians	$100,420	$69,660	360

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$200,040
2	Physicians, Pathologists	$199,990
3	Other Specialists Dentists	$184,930
4	General Pediatricians	$169,660
5	Nurse Anesthetists	$168,450
6	Air Traffic Controllers	$164,940
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$164,920
8	Public Relations Managers	$162,720
9	Marketing Managers	$162,640
10	Political Scientists	$158,510

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$204,370
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$197,860
3	Psychiatrists	$193,790
4	General Pediatricians	$178,870
5	Nurse Anesthetists	$175,170
6	General Dentists	$170,130
7	Other Specialists Dentists	$169,410
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$166,500
9	Sales Managers	$166,430
10	Marketing Managers	$165,370

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$195,680
2	Psychiatrists	$185,360
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$182,800
4	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$182,300
5	General Pediatricians	$180,810
6	Marketing Managers	$166,530
7	Sales Managers	$165,140
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$163,180
9	General Dentists	$161,200
10	Financial Managers	$149,760

Also see The most popular jobs in Virginia.