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

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Western 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 North Carolina nonmetropolitan area are those of all other physicians, with an average annual salary of $230,840. The second highest-paying jobs are those of family medicine physician, with an average salary of $230,290.

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

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	All Other Physicians	$230,840	$140,000	120
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$230,290	$103,240	60
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$219,830	$182,980	30
4	General Dentists	$172,480	$74,980	80
5	Chief Executives	$158,570	$102,460	30
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$136,690	$88,230	60
7	Pharmacists	$128,520	$100,280	300
8	Data Scientists	$116,590	$46,030	30
9	Physician Assistants	$111,390	$87,850	100
10	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$110,390	$49,990	50
11	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$109,430	$50,380	170
12	Marketing Managers	$107,950	$66,400	60
13	Nurse Practitioners	$104,570	$77,430	220
14	Software Developers	$103,910	$58,520	310
15	Industrial Production Managers	$103,550	$64,950	160
16	Purchasing Managers	$101,880	$74,060	30
17	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$101,750	$75,490	160
18	Financial Managers	$100,760	$68,550	230
19	Computer Network Architects	$100,730	$59,050	30
20	Human Resources Managers	$98,310	$65,720	80
21	Construction Managers	$98,310	$54,580	470
22	Medical and Health Services Managers	$95,830	$67,580	290
23	Veterinarians	$94,840	$44,990	90
24	Information Security Analysts	$94,440	$60,850	40
25	Lawyers	$91,370	$63,350	320
26	Management Analysts	$88,370	$67,770	210
27	Occupational Therapists	$87,950	$46,880	100
28	Physical Therapists	$85,690	$70,250	210
29	Civil Engineers	$84,330	$56,010	220
30	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$83,940	$39,300	50
31	Postsecondary Psychology Teachers	$83,660	$45,660	100
32	Industrial Engineers	$82,470	$59,840	150
33	All Other Managers	$82,090	$49,380	280
34	Personal Financial Advisors	$81,650	$37,230	90
35	Facilities Managers	$80,560	$57,910	80
36	Administrative Services Managers	$80,110	$52,830	90
37	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$79,860	$60,890	390
38	Sales Managers	$79,110	$46,520	200
39	Loan Officers	$78,840	$45,600	240
40	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$78,060	$67,250	50
41	General and Operations Managers	$77,880	$38,950	2,220
42	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$77,750	$49,410	130
43	Electrical Engineers	$77,660	$57,800	70
44	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$77,100	$61,450	330
45	Dental Hygienists	$76,890	$63,030	170
46	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$76,520	$47,200	70
47	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$76,270	$47,120	50
48	Fundraising Managers	$76,220	$54,730	30
49	Financial Analysts	$76,040	$50,760	50
50	Producers and Directors	$75,110	$22,950	40
51	Real Estate Brokers	$74,630	$20,420	80
52	Mechanical Engineers	$74,480	$52,810	140
53	Engineers, All Other	$72,760	$39,940	40
54	Speech-Language Pathologists	$69,840	$48,200	120
55	Web Developers	$69,610	$53,040	30
56	Project Management Specialists	$69,380	$38,650	240
57	Registered Nurses	$67,350	$53,130	2,100
58	Computer Programmers	$67,030	$52,470	110
59	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$66,890	$40,530	190
60	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$66,570	$55,200	70
61	Postsecondary History Teachers	$66,530	$49,860	50
62	Postsecondary Biological Science Teachers	$66,290	$42,320	100
63	Postsecondary Social Work Teachers	$66,030	$40,340	80
64	Postsecondary Education Teachers	$65,870	$41,100	260
65	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$65,540	$50,760	50
66	Postsecondary Communications Teachers	$65,390	$39,540	100
67	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$65,130	$47,180	150
68	Postsecondary Mathematical Science Teachers	$64,930	$40,360	110
69	Postsecondary Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers	$64,750	$51,200	110
70	Postsecondary Chemistry Teachers	$64,640	$44,320	70
71	Postsecondary Art, Drama, and Music Teachers	$64,120	$37,970	320
72	Postsecondary Philosophy and Religion Teachers	$64,110	$48,740	30
73	Computer Systems Analysts	$63,570	$50,160	160
74	Accountants and Auditors	$63,480	$40,440	800
75	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$63,440	$50,520	30
76	Occupational Therapy Assistants	$62,930	$53,990	50
77	Radiologic Technologists	$62,460	$45,160	210
78	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$62,400	$53,010	50
79	Chemists	$62,260	$45,880	40
80	Physical Therapist Assistants	$61,820	$49,300	140
81	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	$61,420	$29,250	80
82	Computer Occupations, All Other	$61,210	$32,460	70
83	Industrial Machinery Mechanics	$61,200	$38,910	420
84	First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	$60,860	$38,040	920
85	Food Service Managers	$60,690	$40,040	260
86	Respiratory Therapists	$60,490	$51,110	130
87	Massage Therapists	$59,670	$24,630	80
88	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	$59,630	$37,020	520
89	Chefs and Head Cooks	$59,600	$39,100	170
90	Environmental Scientists and Health Specialists	$59,030	$39,980	90
91	Social and Community Service Managers	$58,880	$38,320	120
92	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$58,240	$48,180	40
93	Other Business Operations Specialists	$57,770	$39,350	420
94	Postal Service Clerks	$57,640	$39,770	140
95	Postsecondary Vocational Education Teachers	$57,600	$40,200	390
96	Logisticians	$57,470	$40,110	40
97	Interior Designers	$57,440	$35,160	50
98	Instructional Coordinators	$57,100	$35,980	210
99	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$56,920	$38,720	230
100	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$56,590	$40,640	670

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Chief Executives	$152,800
2	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$127,960
3	General Dentists	$127,880
4	Pharmacists	$126,990
5	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$103,610
6	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$103,610
7	Physician Assistants	$102,270
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$100,110
9	Management Analysts	$99,760
10	Financial Managers	$99,160

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$192,980
2	Chief Executives	$132,360
3	General Dentists	$131,810
4	Pharmacists	$126,100
5	Chiropractors	$114,480
6	Management Analysts	$103,830
7	Industrial Production Managers	$101,600
8	Nurse Practitioners	$100,620
9	Physician Assistants	$99,320
10	Construction Managers	$98,200

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$165,270
2	General Pediatricians	$158,860
3	Chief Executives	$131,590
4	Sales Managers	$129,570
5	Pharmacists	$122,760
6	General Dentists	$116,800
7	Industrial Production Managers	$101,050
8	Construction Managers	$100,910
9	Nurse Practitioners	$98,320
10	Purchasing Managers	$97,900

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

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