Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Washington

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Washington, 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 Washington are those of orthopedic surgeon except pediatric, with an average annual salary of $233,670. The second highest-paying jobs are those of psychiatrist, with an average salary of $215,730.

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

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$233,670	$65,470	160
2	Psychiatrists	$215,730	$65,010	400
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$214,800	$177,930	430
4	Chief Executives	$206,560	$134,070	3,210
5	Podiatrists	$186,120	$99,990	130
6	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$182,650	$79,020	1,180
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$174,680	$121,510	14,970
8	Orthodontists	$174,480	$192,960	90
9	Commercial Divers	$171,640	$59,160	300
10	Database Architects	$169,580	$101,570	3,220
11	General Dentists	$167,030	$62,060	2,780
12	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$167,020	$128,950	5,640
13	Natural Sciences Managers	$166,200	$104,580	2,130
14	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$162,280	$65,350	16,030
15	Sales Managers	$157,820	$94,310	9,270
16	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$156,150	$94,040	240
17	Financial Managers	$155,600	$99,250	11,850
18	Software Developers	$151,930	$83,800	91,200
19	Air Traffic Controllers	$147,620	$82,160	560
20	Marketing Managers	$147,320	$70,440	8,400
21	Human Resources Managers	$147,300	$103,220	4,180
22	Medical Dosimetrists	$145,160	$60,890	150
23	Computer Network Architects	$141,870	$89,960	4,010
24	Purchasing Managers	$140,790	$105,770	1,910
25	All Other Managers	$139,310	$86,620	12,560
26	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$139,250	$103,270	6,100
27	Neurologists	$139,110	$66,920	140
28	Physician Assistants	$139,030	$111,810	3,040
29	Web Developers	$138,780	$57,460	5,890
30	Pharmacists	$138,250	$104,640	7,150
31	Public Relations Managers	$135,990	$87,600	1,360
32	Data Scientists	$135,850	$66,300	4,160
33	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$135,200	$99,820	940
34	Aerospace Engineers	$134,850	$85,250	3,890
35	Nurse Midwives	$134,770	$108,940	150
36	Nurse Practitioners	$134,200	$105,690	4,150
37	Materials Engineers	$134,030	$81,120	890
38	Power Distributors and Dispatchers	$133,180	$107,540	390
39	Information Security Analysts	$133,120	$82,420	5,050
40	Optometrists	$132,370	$74,060	800
41	Political Scientists	$131,710	$67,710	250
42	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$131,510	$76,440	270
43	Lawyers	$131,230	$75,780	11,930
44	Industrial Production Managers	$130,360	$97,830	4,310
45	General Pediatricians	$130,210	$65,480	380
46	Training and Development Managers	$130,090	$84,640	650
47	Medical and Health Services Managers	$129,870	$77,220	6,480
48	Administrative Services Managers	$128,510	$82,370	1,840
49	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$127,660	$62,750	3,830
50	Computer Programmers	$127,600	$73,810	2,500
51	Mathematicians	$126,040	$76,380	160
52	Sales Engineers	$125,910	$63,320	740
53	Computer Hardware Engineers	$125,680	$73,750	870
54	Actuaries	$124,910	$80,220	270
55	Veterinarians	$124,670	$78,820	2,050
56	Elevator Installers and Repairers	$124,380	$63,710	1,340
57	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$124,160	$80,960	2,350
58	Facilities Managers	$123,590	$74,990	2,110
59	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$123,090	$94,080	2,700
60	Electrical Engineers	$121,770	$79,420	7,530
61	Construction Managers	$120,990	$72,710	8,830
62	Other Physical Scientists	$119,520	$79,350	340
63	Fundraising Managers	$118,960	$84,590	700
64	General and Operations Managers	$118,460	$62,400	53,980
65	Computer Systems Analysts	$115,010	$77,070	16,810
66	Chemical Engineers	$114,120	$81,200	580
67	Power Plant Operators	$112,420	$78,310	370
68	Biomedical Engineers	$112,160	$70,420	880
69	Transportation Inspectors	$111,880	$51,540	510
70	Other Psychologists	$111,110	$53,500	380
71	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$110,560	$74,720	2,810
72	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$110,310	$81,090	3,230
73	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$110,120	$66,640	2,490
74	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$109,860	$84,700	360
75	Radiation Therapists	$109,750	$88,000	280
76	Materials Scientists	$109,750	$71,450	420
77	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$109,470	$54,080	11,440
78	Dental Hygienists	$109,230	$93,330	7,140
79	Art Directors	$108,780	$69,990	1,010
80	Nuclear Engineers	$108,480	$73,090	980
81	Nuclear Medicine Technologists	$108,180	$87,760	250
82	Physicists	$108,060	$63,530	480
83	Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	$107,950	$80,390	590
84	Web and Digital Interface Designers	$107,730	$61,430	7,170
85	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$105,910	$59,680	1,050
86	Project Management Specialists	$105,880	$65,010	18,450
87	Emergency Management Directors	$105,760	$78,860	140
88	Database Administrators	$105,730	$60,630	1,840
89	Engineers, All Other	$105,580	$64,600	2,580
90	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$105,370	$63,910	1,030
91	Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$105,120	$74,590	1,560
92	Computer Occupations, All Other	$105,120	$48,470	13,470
93	Statisticians	$104,920	$71,220	1,410
94	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$104,810	$82,060	1,430
95	All Other Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners	$104,730	$50,070	1,100
96	Industrial Engineers	$104,610	$75,210	6,810
97	Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	$104,370	$57,830	130
98	Fire Inspectors and Investigators	$103,800	$76,400	250
99	Management Analysts	$103,680	$63,670	25,100
100	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$102,970	$55,460	110

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Podiatrists	$181,780
2	Other Specialists Dentists	$180,020
3	Orthotists and Prosthetists	$179,140
4	Computer Programmers	$167,920
5	General Dentists	$167,030
6	Database Architects	$164,840
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$164,510
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$163,240
9	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$158,990
10	Natural Sciences Managers	$157,960

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Other Specialists Dentists	$201,340
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$192,690
3	General Pediatricians	$192,280
4	Computer Hardware Engineers	$164,970
5	General Dentists	$164,920
6	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$162,410
7	Marketing Managers	$155,560
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$154,730
9	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$148,800
10	Podiatrists	$148,030

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Pediatricians	$192,140
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$189,100
3	Commercial Divers	$171,010
4	General Dentists	$164,820
5	Computer Hardware Engineers	$155,080
6	Marketing Managers	$154,630
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$153,620
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$152,400
9	Natural Sciences Managers	$143,970
10	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$142,630

Also see The most popular jobs in Washington.