Being a doctor is one way to make more than six figures. Financial managers, pilots, and computer hardware engineers also earn a lot on average.
Almost all of the 13 highest-paying jobs in the US are healthcare roles. For instance, Bureau of Labor Statistics data for May 2025 showed pediatric surgeons made an average annual wage of about $500,000.
Because, on average, so many top-paying roles were doctors, and not everyone dreams of becoming a cardiologist or dermatologist, we decided to rank the jobs that pay the best outside healthcare. The BLS data showed airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers ranked No. 1, with an average of $288,650. Many of the jobs were managerial, so they may require working your way up before entering those roles.
Below are the 20 highest-paying jobs outside healthcare, along with employment estimates for each.
20. Advertising and promotions managers
Average annual wage: $154,280
Employment: 21,470
19. Purchasing managers
Average annual wage: $156,360
Employment: 84,320
18. Personal financial advisors
Average annual wage: $156,670
Employment: 266,800
17. Petroleum engineers
Average annual wage: $157,150
Employment: 18,060
16. Compensation and benefits managers
Average annual wage: $162,640
Employment: 22,940
15. Computer hardware engineers
Average annual wage: $162,670
Employment: 76,660
14. Human resources managers
Average annual wage: $164,230
Employment: 220,660
13. Sales managers
Average annual wage: $164,350
Employment: 637,080
12. Public relations managers
Average annual wage: $164,760
Employment: 74,850
11. Industrial-organizational psychologists
Average annual wage: $170,230
Employment: 790
10. Physicists
Average annual wage: $171,180
Employment: 20,430
9. Marketing managers
Average annual wage: $177,770
Employment: 395,240
8. Natural sciences managers
Average annual wage: $180,250
Employment: 108,690
7. Architectural and engineering managers
Average annual wage: $181,540
Employment: 220,260
6. Lawyers
Average annual wage: $185,840
Employment: 754,500
5. Financial managers
Average annual wage: $186,910
Employment: 841,710
4. Computer and information systems managers
Average annual wage: $192,160
Employment: 670,570
3. Athletes and sports competitors
Average annual wage: $206,180
Employment: 15,070
2. Chief executives
Average annual wage: $269,630
Employment: 204,350
1. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
Average annual wage: $288,650
Employment: 103,560
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Madison Hoff is a reporter on Business Insider’s economy team. She covers the labor market, inflation, spending, and other data. In addition to covering new estimates and trends, her workforce reporting includes career pivots, job searching, and side hustles.She also covers downsizing, particularly people selling their houses to pursue RV living. She has also reported on how much teachers spend out of pocket and what it’s like being a caregiver.Her stories often cover the state of the economy, what experts are saying, and how people are navigating the workplace or their careers.Previously, she was a junior reporter and data editorial fellow on the Strategy team.A few of her stories:
- Job-market trend: Welcome to the 'Great Freeze': Why companies aren't firing, workers can't grow, and the unemployed can't get jobs
- Job-market trend: Everyone's focused on AI — but it's aging Americans who are quietly rewiring the job market
- Career pivot: I retired early from my federal job and took a part-time job at TJ Maxx. I'm happier and less stressed.
- Downsizing/RV living: An empty-nester couple who traded in a $400K house for an $80K RV explain their favorite parts of retirement on the road
- Job searching: People who haven't had steady work for at least a year are networking, doing temporary jobs, and soul-searching
- Side hustles: A millennial who used side hustles to pay off debt explains the lucrative and easy ones she recommends
- Teacher spending: A teacher who spent more than $5,000 of her own money to make a cozy classroom explains why it helps kids learn
