Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Western Central North Carolina 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 Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area are those of family medicine physician, with an average annual salary of $228,660. The second highest-paying jobs are those of psychiatrist, with an average salary of $213,660.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Western Central North Carolina 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 Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$228,660	$134,290	130
2	Psychiatrists	$213,660	$99,740	50
3	Podiatrists	$210,320	$76,700	40
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$209,290	$135,200	80
5	Chief Executives	$172,470	$94,690	110
6	General Pediatricians	$168,770	$93,240	40
7	General Dentists	$167,470	$82,030	140
8	Optometrists	$157,410	$74,610	50
9	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$133,940	$96,480	150
10	Pharmacists	$129,620	$107,320	560
11	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$124,610	$78,290	270
12	Physician Assistants	$114,330	$87,820	380
13	Marketing Managers	$108,700	$71,740	160
14	Financial Managers	$108,040	$60,660	450
15	Nurse Practitioners	$107,160	$83,790	280
16	Human Resources Managers	$102,980	$69,760	170
17	Database Administrators	$101,910	$55,040	60
18	Purchasing Managers	$101,880	$65,000	120
19	Industrial Production Managers	$99,900	$61,810	610
20	Construction Managers	$99,820	$52,010	1,010
21	Software Developers	$99,810	$59,460	610
22	Personal Financial Advisors	$98,390	$36,080	250
23	Management Analysts	$98,120	$44,770	280
24	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$97,510	$50,380	100
25	Medical and Health Services Managers	$95,730	$65,160	620
26	Computer Network Architects	$94,930	$59,370	110
27	Data Scientists	$94,840	$46,030	30
28	Sales Managers	$94,740	$44,340	370
29	Information Security Analysts	$94,440	$62,960	50
30	Veterinarians	$94,430	$45,940	160
31	Civil Engineers	$94,080	$60,050	280
32	Electrical Engineers	$93,750	$63,180	150
33	Training and Development Managers	$93,100	$61,330	50
34	Administrative Services Managers	$92,190	$56,780	150
35	Computer Programmers	$91,300	$50,750	40
36	General and Operations Managers	$90,550	$38,570	3,890
37	Physical Therapists	$88,600	$69,750	370
38	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$86,690	$58,680	160
39	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$84,280	$75,230	70
40	Facilities Managers	$83,200	$56,960	100
41	All Other Managers	$82,990	$51,710	460
42	Industrial Engineers	$82,780	$60,320	500
43	Project Management Specialists	$82,390	$45,440	560
44	Engineers, All Other	$82,290	$42,040	70
45	Occupational Therapists	$82,280	$42,570	200
46	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$82,210	$62,370	160
47	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$81,790	$65,290	30
48	Chiropractors	$81,680	$43,130	30
49	Fundraising Managers	$81,540	$63,090	30
50	Lawyers	$81,040	$50,640	350
51	Other Education Administrators	$78,970	$34,200	30
52	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$78,110	$42,880	30
53	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$77,400	$40,040	250
54	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$77,360	$51,200	80
55	Mechanical Engineers	$77,110	$59,440	340
56	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$76,770	$60,560	690
57	Power Plant Operators	$76,630	$48,350	50
58	Dental Hygienists	$76,340	$50,920	340
59	Computer Systems Analysts	$76,260	$48,550	290
60	Funeral Home Managers	$76,240	$43,030	60
61	Nuclear Medicine Technologists	$76,170	$60,300	30
62	Social Scientists and Related Workers	$75,800	$58,840	50
63	Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	$75,610	$62,960	50
64	Chemists	$74,930	$48,030	100
65	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$74,000	$38,320	60
66	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$73,060	$45,450	170
67	Computer Occupations, All Other	$73,060	$36,870	120
68	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$72,700	$49,310	280
69	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$71,510	$44,620	180
70	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$71,070	$43,070	1,420
71	Registered Nurses	$70,660	$55,470	5,630
72	Commercial and Industrial Designers	$70,360	$41,280	30
73	Credit Analysts	$69,480	$46,810	30
74	Speech-Language Pathologists	$68,040	$54,120	280
75	Financial Analysts	$67,450	$43,440	90
76	Other Engineering Technicians	$66,960	$40,380	70
77	Postsecondary History Teachers	$66,920	$49,740	30
78	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$66,500	$51,480	40
79	Accountants and Auditors	$66,430	$44,650	1,310
80	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$65,670	$50,040	240
81	Massage Therapists	$65,550	$21,960	80
82	Occupational Therapy Assistants	$65,520	$46,560	90
83	Logisticians	$65,380	$36,090	140
84	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$65,150	$49,560	100
85	Postsecondary Art, Drama, and Music Teachers	$65,070	$45,480	160
86	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	$65,030	$37,950	210
87	Postsecondary Psychology Teachers	$64,830	$47,640	50
88	Loan Officers	$64,760	$43,490	360
89	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$64,420	$47,790	1,090
90	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$64,260	$51,260	210
91	Other Teachers and Instructors	$63,340	$31,440	120
92	Environmental Scientists and Health Specialists	$63,300	$37,940	100
93	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	$63,140	$42,000	50
94	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$63,040	$49,140	170
95	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$62,120	$46,930	70
96	Physical Therapist Assistants	$61,960	$48,950	200
97	Skincare Specialists	$61,930	$26,670	50
98	Respiratory Therapists	$61,680	$49,700	230
99	Other Postsecondary Teachers	$61,380	$46,210	60
100	Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay	$61,370	$47,130	180

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$195,380
2	Chief Executives	$168,240
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$164,860
4	Optometrists	$161,620
5	General Dentists	$153,190
6	Pharmacists	$127,380
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$126,870
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$126,120
9	Computer Network Architects	$119,560
10	Marketing Managers	$118,390

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	General Dentists	$168,850
2	Chief Executives	$159,010
3	Pharmacists	$135,600
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$135,130
5	Physician Assistants	$132,920
6	Purchasing Managers	$111,170
7	Other Psychologists	$110,610
8	Industrial Production Managers	$109,850
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$108,780
10	Personal Financial Advisors	$107,080

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Psychiatrists	$201,130
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$197,750
3	General Dentists	$167,100
4	Chief Executives	$161,390
5	General Pediatricians	$155,890
6	Optometrists	$139,330
7	Pharmacists	$137,530
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$131,600
9	Physician Assistants	$128,610
10	Purchasing Managers	$116,310

Also see The most popular jobs in Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area.

Also see The most popular jobs in North Carolina, The top paying jobs in North Carolina.