The highest paying job in Alabama is Physicians, Pathologists, with a median salary of $238,020 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in AL based on 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024
Ranked by median annual salary. Click any job to see the full salary breakdown including percentile data and state-by-state comparisons.
| Rank | Occupation | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physicians, Pathologists | $238,020 | $249,030 | 60 |
| 2 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $229,820 | $230,260 | 30 |
| 3 | Orthodontists | $222,010 | $231,680 | 130 |
| 4 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $204,570 | $206,010 | 80 |
| 5 | Pediatricians, General | $202,330 | $234,790 | 330 |
| 6 | Family Medicine Physicians | $198,930 | $212,590 | 380 |
| 7 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $181,490 | $218,730 | N/A |
| 8 | Nurse Anesthetists | $179,160 | $176,970 | 1,410 |
| 9 | Chief Executives | $164,400 | $207,190 | 830 |
| 10 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $157,520 | $160,920 | 3,480 |
| 11 | Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers | $149,760 | $152,420 | 80 |
| 12 | Engineers, All Other | $146,480 | $143,060 | 3,370 |
| 13 | Nuclear Engineers | $144,410 | $136,480 | 270 |
| 14 | Actuaries | $143,230 | $133,320 | N/A |
| 15 | Podiatrists | $140,580 | $146,160 | 100 |
| 16 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $139,880 | $148,160 | 70 |
| 17 | Financial Manager | $138,040 | $153,650 | 6,390 |
| 18 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $136,660 | $133,770 | 800 |
| 19 | Airline Pilot | $134,430 | $145,930 | 340 |
| 20 | Psychologists, All Other | $134,370 | $126,770 | 100 |
| 21 | Pharmacist | $133,930 | $129,100 | 5,880 |
| 22 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $133,570 | $130,180 | 50 |
| 23 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $133,500 | $142,610 | 6,480 |
| 24 | Aerospace Engineers | $133,080 | $136,210 | 5,570 |
| 25 | Physical Scientists, All Other | $131,560 | $130,920 | 150 |
Average Salary in Alabama · All Alabama Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Alabama are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Physicians, Pathologists, pays $175,416 more than the state average of $62,603 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $131,560, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Alabama's top salaries compare to other states.
Rankings are based on median annual salary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 estimates. We use median rather than mean salary because it better represents typical earnings and is less affected by outliers.
Only occupations with state-level data published by BLS are included. Some specialized or rare occupations may not have data for every state. For full methodology details, see our Methodology page.