The highest paying job in Missouri is Nurse Anesthetists, with a median salary of $221,550 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in MO 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 | $221,550 | $237,490 | 1,210 |
| 2 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $217,400 | $225,340 | 30 |
| 3 | Family Medicine Physicians | $216,990 | $228,690 | 2,470 |
| 4 | Pediatricians, General | $215,040 | $230,140 | 170 |
| 5 | Physicians, Pathologists | $213,430 | $255,000 | 660 |
| 6 | Physicists | $180,450 | $163,820 | 90 |
| 7 | Chief Executives | $158,930 | $197,780 | 4,050 |
| 8 | Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $156,210 | $147,790 | 550 |
| 9 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $153,670 | $155,640 | 1,960 |
| 10 | Natural Sciences Managers | $143,730 | $144,510 | 930 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $139,740 | $148,760 | 8,990 |
| 12 | Physician Assistants | $139,200 | $136,810 | 1,650 |
| 13 | Pharmacist | $137,910 | $136,170 | 7,070 |
| 14 | Nurse Midwives | $134,970 | $134,690 | 60 |
| 15 | Financial Manager | $133,560 | $152,020 | 12,710 |
| 16 | Purchasing Managers | $132,370 | $139,660 | 1,000 |
| 17 | Human Resources Manager | $131,210 | $136,320 | N/A |
| 18 | Podiatrists | $128,680 | $149,290 | 140 |
| 19 | Psychologists, All Other | $127,230 | $114,990 | 250 |
| 20 | Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers | $127,070 | $131,450 | 190 |
| 21 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $126,960 | $113,870 | N/A |
| 22 | Nurse Practitioners | $126,370 | $124,600 | 6,820 |
| 23 | Nuclear Engineers | $126,010 | $121,160 | 130 |
| 24 | Lawyer | $124,210 | $158,200 | 11,950 |
| 25 | Commercial Pilots | $124,060 | $126,560 | 810 |
Average Salary in Missouri · All Missouri Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Missouri are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Nurse Anesthetists, pays $155,293 more than the state average of $66,256 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $124,060, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Missouri'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.