Top 100 highest-paying jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area, 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 West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area are those of general pediatrician, with an average annual salary of $186,020. The second highest-paying jobs are those of family medicine physician, with an average salary of $168,390.

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

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	General Pediatricians	$186,020	$95,950	30
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$168,390	$63,660	140
3	General Dentists	$140,940	$53,050	120
4	Pharmacists	$130,460	$100,170	440
5	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$126,260	$126,260	60
6	Public Relations Managers	$120,990	$66,200	40
7	Chief Executives	$117,330	$85,660	370
8	Purchasing Managers	$109,450	$62,670	50
9	Marketing Managers	$108,840	$54,230	90
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$105,890	$76,560	150
11	Sales Managers	$104,310	$47,630	490
12	Human Resources Managers	$101,760	$66,660	150
13	Nurse Practitioners	$101,410	$65,160	400
14	Physician Assistants	$99,780	$61,900	170
15	Industrial Production Managers	$96,770	$60,750	520
16	Electrical Engineers	$96,410	$58,530	150
17	Financial Managers	$95,550	$50,170	520
18	Veterinarians	$93,790	$47,580	120
19	Information Security Analysts	$87,840	$54,580	80
20	Other Therapists	$87,520	$44,360	90
21	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$86,860	$58,510	190
22	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$86,550	$75,230	40
23	Data Scientists	$86,310	$49,010	90
24	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$85,110	$47,620	100
25	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$84,420	$42,950	130
26	Power Plant Operators	$83,300	$42,990	190
27	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$81,980	$61,980	550
28	Software Developers	$81,850	$57,310	380
29	Computer Occupations, All Other	$81,570	$36,570	210
30	All Other Managers	$81,230	$47,550	340
31	Administrative Services Managers	$81,180	$50,520	150
32	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$81,050	$54,030	40
33	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$79,930	$42,720	130
34	Physical Therapists	$79,640	$31,840	290
35	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$79,580	$46,910	130
36	Industrial Engineers	$79,160	$55,550	610
37	Financial Analysts	$78,920	$41,220	120
38	Mechanical Engineers	$78,760	$46,660	270
39	Medical and Health Services Managers	$78,510	$54,600	970
40	Civil Engineers	$78,400	$50,820	310
41	Chiropractors	$78,280	$47,030	60
42	Facilities Managers	$77,160	$43,870	120
43	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$76,980	$63,750	30
44	Occupational Therapists	$76,850	$54,340	160
45	Management Analysts	$74,670	$41,920	420
46	Credit Analysts	$73,930	$48,240	50
47	Computer Programmers	$72,980	$47,030	100
48	Personal Financial Advisors	$72,910	$50,660	120
49	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$72,820	$45,530	110
50	Engineers, All Other	$72,300	$47,500	70
51	Lawyers	$72,070	$51,770	620
52	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$70,800	$47,920	200
53	Speech-Language Pathologists	$70,640	$52,220	310
54	General and Operations Managers	$69,960	$35,520	4,740
55	Other Education Administrators	$69,650	$51,250	30
56	Natural Sciences Managers	$69,600	$60,400	60
57	Environmental Engineers	$69,600	$60,260	60
58	Database Administrators	$67,890	$47,530	80
59	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$66,920	$38,110	130
60	Operations Research Analysts	$66,860	$44,480	40
61	Economists	$66,530	$50,070	30
62	Other Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians	$66,290	$29,270	110
63	Other Postsecondary Teachers	$65,960	$30,580	330
64	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$65,540	$47,750	50
65	Construction Managers	$65,440	$39,630	110
66	Postsecondary Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers	$65,430	$40,390	60
67	Logisticians	$65,150	$42,710	170
68	Project Management Specialists	$64,920	$38,020	590
69	Dental Hygienists	$64,830	$49,140	240
70	Postsecondary Education Teachers	$64,500	$34,810	180
71	Instructional Coordinators	$64,200	$48,010	470
72	Registered Nurses	$64,110	$50,250	3,320
73	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$64,040	$47,360	70
74	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$63,980	$32,320	50
75	Computer Network Architects	$63,690	$43,160	80
76	Postsecondary Mathematical Science Teachers	$63,230	$40,580	70
77	Industrial Engineering Technicians	$62,740	$44,700	200
78	Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians	$62,640	$45,490	110
79	School Psychologists	$62,590	$50,900	80
80	Wholesale and Manufacturing (Except Technical and Scientific Products) Sales Representatives	$62,570	$31,200	900
81	Librarians and Media Collections Specialists	$62,510	$31,510	240
82	Postsecondary Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers	$62,450	$40,520	40
83	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$62,400	$42,680	240
84	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$62,190	$37,130	230
85	Computer Network Support Specialists	$62,110	$38,210	190
86	Other Business Operations Specialists	$62,000	$43,430	960
87	Postsecondary Art, Drama, and Music Teachers	$61,900	$40,180	120
88	Postsecondary Communications Teachers	$61,690	$40,680	30
89	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$61,630	$35,900	750
90	Web and Digital Interface Designers	$61,560	$27,700	40
91	Occupational Therapy Assistants	$61,470	$56,520	40
92	Structural Iron and Steel Workers	$61,260	$39,100	340
93	Accountants and Auditors	$60,990	$42,170	1,000
94	Loan Officers	$60,920	$40,130	300
95	Other Legal Support Workers	$60,810	$46,000	70
96	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	$60,550	$31,970	60
97	Physical Therapist Assistants	$59,930	$25,480	210
98	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	$59,770	$42,950	770
99	Financial Risk Specialists	$59,710	$43,720	30
100	Radiologic Technologists	$59,550	$41,300	230

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$181,560
2	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$139,650
3	General Dentists	$127,960
4	Pharmacists	$125,120
5	Public Relations Managers	$119,680
6	Marketing Managers	$117,160
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$101,630
8	Chief Executives	$101,090
9	Physician Assistants	$100,580
10	Nurse Practitioners	$99,510

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$195,110
2	General Pediatricians	$162,250
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$157,630
4	Pharmacists	$121,280
5	General Dentists	$113,340
6	Optometrists	$113,090
7	Sales Managers	$109,360
8	Engineers, All Other	$105,280
9	Nurse Practitioners	$103,400
10	Chief Executives	$102,570

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists	$198,750
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$181,870
3	General Pediatricians	$155,730
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$154,690
5	Pharmacists	$121,900
6	General Dentists	$119,090
7	Optometrists	$114,610
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$103,430
9	Chief Executives	$102,990
10	Postsecondary Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers	$102,760

Also see The most popular jobs in West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area.

Also see The most popular jobs in Kentucky, The top paying jobs in Kentucky.