The average salary in California is $75,601 per year (median, 2024). The highest-paying job in CA is Chief Executives at $231,080. This page covers all 786 occupations tracked by BLS in California.
Data: BLS OEWS, May 2024 | Last updated: 2026-04-02
Ranked by median annual salary. Click any job for the full breakdown.
| # | Occupation | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chief Executives | $231,080 | $281,030 | 38,920 |
| 2 | Family Medicine Physicians | $228,970 | $251,640 | 15,480 |
| 3 | Dermatologists | $226,050 | $313,330 | 700 |
| 4 | Emergency Medicine Physicians | $224,540 | $212,300 | 7,130 |
| 5 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $219,790 | $249,610 | 910 |
| 6 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $210,490 | $217,030 | 98,430 |
| 7 | Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons | $205,390 | $221,820 | 380 |
| 8 | Pediatricians, General | $204,400 | $208,670 | 4,350 |
| 9 | Natural Sciences Managers | $198,580 | $208,330 | 14,080 |
| 10 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $197,420 | $201,480 | 35,630 |
| 11 | Nurse Midwives | $189,770 | $183,740 | 890 |
| 12 | Podiatrists | $186,040 | $187,750 | 850 |
| 13 | Lawyers | $185,050 | $213,860 | 94,300 |
| 14 | Physicists | $178,700 | $176,610 | 5,080 |
| 15 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $175,530 | $187,420 | 7,560 |
| 16 | Marketing Managers | $174,480 | $192,730 | 59,830 |
| 17 | Financial Managers | $169,780 | $196,670 | 97,400 |
| 18 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $169,700 | $173,270 | 29,930 |
| 19 | Software Developers | $168,660 | $173,780 | 304,390 |
| 20 | Managers, All Other | $168,600 | $181,760 | 101,230 |
| 21 | Dentists, General | $167,010 | $181,720 | 18,820 |
| 22 | Human Resources Managers | $166,920 | $182,460 | 27,980 |
| 23 | First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives | $165,370 | $161,180 | 8,890 |
| 24 | Nurse Practitioners | $164,050 | $161,540 | 21,740 |
| 25 | Radiologists | $163,440 | $261,020 | 2,400 |
| 26 | Database Architects | $162,250 | $162,660 | 6,120 |
| 27 | Pharmacists | $160,950 | $157,280 | 35,980 |
| 28 | Air Traffic Controllers | $160,490 | $150,060 | 2,490 |
| 29 | Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $159,450 | $168,700 | 300 |
| 30 | Physician Assistants | $157,490 | $153,960 | 12,880 |
The average salary in California ($75,601) exceeds the national average.
The highest-paying job, Chief Executives, pays $155,479 more than the CA average.
This page is part of our comprehensive Salary Statistics data collection.
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All salary figures for California from BLS OEWS, May 2024.
For full methodology details, see our Methodology page. View all Data Sources.