The highest paying job in North Carolina is Physicians, All Other, with a median salary of $236,970 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in NC 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, All Other | $236,970 | $243,130 | 14,510 |
| 2 | Family Medicine Physicians | $227,310 | $226,820 | 1,940 |
| 3 | Nurse Anesthetists | $226,460 | $226,030 | 2,820 |
| 4 | Podiatrists | $221,370 | $233,250 | 270 |
| 5 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $213,380 | $197,390 | 100 |
| 6 | Pediatricians, General | $201,400 | $201,610 | 1,110 |
| 7 | Dentists, General | $191,280 | $205,990 | 4,410 |
| 8 | Physicists | $170,690 | $152,640 | 170 |
| 9 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $167,550 | $174,970 | 24,230 |
| 10 | Natural Sciences Managers | $167,430 | $182,560 | 6,750 |
| 11 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,430 | $166,960 | 6,050 |
| 12 | Financial Manager | $160,340 | $176,900 | 21,170 |
| 13 | Marketing Manager | $156,650 | $162,740 | 11,020 |
| 14 | Airline Pilot | $154,360 | $149,350 | 4,310 |
| 15 | Optometrists | $153,750 | $159,420 | 1,400 |
| 16 | Medical Dosimetrists | $141,090 | $141,840 | 130 |
| 17 | Psychologists, All Other | $137,130 | $122,490 | 480 |
| 18 | Pharmacist | $136,000 | $134,030 | 11,440 |
| 19 | Sales Manager | $134,860 | $157,770 | 18,020 |
| 20 | Human Resources Manager | $134,170 | $150,520 | 6,520 |
| 21 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $132,410 | $142,040 | 130 |
| 22 | Managers, All Other | $131,990 | $143,010 | 21,150 |
| 23 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $131,600 | $137,020 | 1,250 |
| 24 | Software Developer | $131,000 | $131,780 | 57,590 |
| 25 | Database Architects | $130,560 | $129,750 | 4,060 |
Average Salary in North Carolina · All North Carolina Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in North Carolina are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Physicians, All Other, pays $171,355 more than the state average of $65,614 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $130,560, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how North Carolina'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.