Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Wilmington, NC

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Wilmington, NC, 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 Wilmington, NC are those of general pediatrician, with an average annual salary of $170,580. The second highest-paying jobs are those of optometrists, with an average salary of $161,890.

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

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Wilmington, NC (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	General Pediatricians	$170,580	$69,290	60
2	Optometrists	$161,890	$98,320	70
3	Natural Sciences Managers	$160,730	$96,870	290
4	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$153,400	$97,830	340
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$136,950	$99,360	100
6	Financial Managers	$130,970	$79,790	400
7	Database Architects	$129,790	$74,980	60
8	General Dentists	$129,380	$56,640	150
9	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$127,770	$62,420	110
10	Marketing Managers	$127,410	$73,630	180
11	Pharmacists	$126,530	$74,890	310
12	Statisticians	$125,700	$74,590	60
13	Family Medicine Physicians	$125,400	$55,470	70
14	Human Resources Managers	$120,130	$80,340	100
15	Data Scientists	$119,160	$63,820	100
16	Purchasing Managers	$117,050	$79,080	40
17	Physician Assistants	$115,030	$96,920	230
18	Information Security Analysts	$114,630	$64,790	80
19	Computer Programmers	$107,150	$60,280	70
20	Training and Development Managers	$105,400	$57,670	30
21	Industrial Production Managers	$105,310	$66,240	120
22	Software Developers	$103,680	$67,750	960
23	Lawyers	$103,470	$49,980	370
24	All Other Managers	$102,800	$58,410	370
25	Nurse Practitioners	$102,720	$82,800	270
26	Computer Network Architects	$100,460	$68,680	80
27	Soil and Plant Scientists	$100,260	$76,020	110
28	Medical and Health Services Managers	$99,070	$73,870	380
29	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$97,810	$46,550	340
30	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$97,350	$52,490	130
31	Personal Financial Advisors	$96,690	$37,770	210
32	Engineers, All Other	$94,370	$61,820	70
33	Electrical Engineers	$94,200	$64,980	80
34	Sales Managers	$93,470	$45,760	320
35	Administrative Services Managers	$91,890	$55,530	140
36	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$90,540	$49,240	100
37	Civil Engineers	$90,270	$60,700	290
38	General and Operations Managers	$88,960	$40,350	2,700
39	Microbiologists	$84,820	$41,070	30
40	Other Postsecondary Teachers	$84,630	$29,780	90
41	Compliance Officers	$84,380	$36,650	230
42	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$84,270	$47,810	50
43	Facilities Managers	$84,060	$55,050	70
44	Loan Officers	$84,060	$35,740	470
45	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$84,060	$39,740	120
46	Industrial Engineers	$84,050	$48,250	180
47	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$83,600	$46,090	270
48	Postsecondary Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers	$83,580	$54,230	60
49	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$83,390	$76,100	40
50	Computer Systems Analysts	$82,950	$49,880	360
51	Sales Engineers	$82,930	$67,250	30
52	Construction Managers	$82,800	$61,160	960
53	Physical Therapists	$81,220	$64,450	240
54	Occupational Therapists	$80,570	$62,010	140
55	Mechanical Engineers	$80,090	$52,620	130
56	Web Developers	$79,440	$47,090	150
57	Dental Hygienists	$78,550	$74,300	310
58	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$78,210	$46,820	90
59	Registered Nurses	$77,620	$59,990	3,290
60	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$77,460	$51,520	240
61	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$76,070	$50,070	230
62	Project Management Specialists	$75,800	$51,740	620
63	Management Analysts	$74,430	$39,190	440
64	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$74,420	$47,690	120
65	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$74,400	$59,110	160
66	Technical Writers	$74,370	$50,360	70
67	First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$73,940	$50,650	90
68	First-Line Supervisors of Fire Fighting and Prevention Workers	$73,820	$45,690	100
69	Financial Analysts	$73,320	$48,760	140
70	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$72,830	$45,010	110
71	Logisticians	$72,420	$44,880	90
72	Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	$72,340	$47,510	70
73	Speech-Language Pathologists	$72,190	$52,360	170
74	Computer Occupations, All Other	$71,190	$33,180	130
75	Writers and Authors	$70,990	$36,180	60
76	Accountants and Auditors	$69,570	$45,300	1,010
77	Other Engineering Technicians	$69,080	$40,480	40
78	Crane and Tower Operators	$68,350	$45,170	60
79	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$68,160	$52,420	130
80	Other Business Operations Specialists	$67,070	$38,810	780
81	Postsecondary Education Teachers	$66,830	$50,710	100
82	Editors	$66,450	$42,660	50
83	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$65,540	$29,700	160
84	Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	$65,510	$44,280	40
85	Web and Digital Interface Designers	$65,480	$48,600	70
86	Occupational Therapy Assistants	$65,330	$62,920	110
87	Postsecondary English Language and Literature Teachers	$64,910	$30,320	100
88	First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers	$64,480	$44,500	730
89	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$64,470	$48,530	400
90	Health Educators	$64,250	$37,920	50
91	Insurance Underwriters	$63,560	$49,830	100
92	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers	$63,370	$37,010	120
93	Postsecondary Chemistry Teachers	$62,520	$31,260	30
94	Surveyors	$62,360	$49,920	50
95	Skincare Specialists	$62,250	$33,280	90
96	Social and Community Service Managers	$62,200	$37,150	110
97	Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	$61,950	$43,360	190
98	Food Service Managers	$61,800	$42,320	230
99	Computer Network Support Specialists	$61,620	$40,260	80
100	Training and Development Specialists	$61,340	$31,850	290

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Wilmington, NC – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Chief Executives	$206,220
2	General Dentists	$164,090
3	Optometrists	$158,000
4	Natural Sciences Managers	$153,870
5	Family Medicine Physicians	$132,930
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$130,130
7	Purchasing Managers	$127,980
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$126,500
9	Financial Managers	$126,040
10	Human Resources Managers	$125,340

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Wilmington, NC – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$189,450
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$154,490
3	General Dentists	$150,730
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$137,810
5	Financial Managers	$128,640
6	Marketing Managers	$128,640
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$128,390
8	Pharmacists	$124,390
9	Commercial Pilots	$122,110
10	Natural Sciences Managers	$121,820

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Wilmington, NC – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Chief Executives	$205,490
2	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$159,970
3	Family Medicine Physicians	$153,290
4	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$142,950
5	Natural Sciences Managers	$133,400
6	General Dentists	$131,700
7	Industrial Production Managers	$125,320
8	Marketing Managers	$124,680
9	Pharmacists	$124,380
10	Purchasing Managers	$122,760

Also see The most popular jobs in Wilmington, NC.

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