The highest paying job in Michigan is Nurse Anesthetists, with a median salary of $234,520 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in MI 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 | Nurse Anesthetists | $234,520 | $230,360 | 2,960 |
| 2 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $227,270 | $233,870 | 1,810 |
| 3 | Family Medicine Physicians | $219,990 | $222,500 | 4,400 |
| 4 | Chief Executives | $219,230 | $285,020 | 3,940 |
| 5 | Physicians, All Other | $197,950 | $201,520 | 14,570 |
| 6 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $193,500 | $230,120 | 560 |
| 7 | Pediatricians, General | $182,040 | $192,150 | 770 |
| 8 | Dentists, General | $177,080 | $202,390 | 3,920 |
| 9 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $167,560 | $173,710 | 350 |
| 10 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,000 | $160,860 | 14,030 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $159,290 | $162,100 | 15,840 |
| 12 | Acupuncturists | $153,350 | $160,470 | N/A |
| 13 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $139,670 | $161,150 | 470 |
| 14 | Nuclear Engineers | $137,890 | $133,580 | 180 |
| 15 | Purchasing Managers | $137,630 | $149,110 | 2,830 |
| 16 | Sales Manager | $136,480 | $152,150 | 16,690 |
| 17 | Pharmacist | $136,070 | $129,620 | 9,640 |
| 18 | Marketing Manager | $135,610 | $146,830 | 6,220 |
| 19 | Financial Manager | $135,290 | $153,860 | 19,690 |
| 20 | Natural Sciences Managers | $135,180 | $155,020 | 1,700 |
| 21 | Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $133,540 | $130,720 | 60 |
| 22 | Managers, All Other | $133,040 | $140,190 | 8,900 |
| 23 | Physician Assistants | $131,980 | $129,290 | 5,490 |
| 24 | Human Resources Manager | $131,810 | $146,330 | 5,620 |
| 25 | Optometrists | $131,700 | $133,610 | 1,330 |
Average Salary in Michigan · All Michigan Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Michigan are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Nurse Anesthetists, pays $166,478 more than the state average of $68,041 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $131,700, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Michigan'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.