The highest paying job in Washington is Podiatrists, with a median salary of $228,170 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in WA 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 | Podiatrists | $228,170 | $212,950 | 200 |
| 2 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $221,990 | $204,290 | 2,590 |
| 3 | Pediatricians, General | $209,780 | $190,030 | 640 |
| 4 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $206,420 | $231,000 | 18,310 |
| 5 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $206,320 | $211,930 | 510 |
| 6 | Dentists, General | $197,950 | $203,780 | 3,100 |
| 7 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $181,080 | $195,150 | 6,140 |
| 8 | Medical Dosimetrists | $179,640 | $185,080 | 70 |
| 9 | Natural Sciences Managers | $178,270 | $204,820 | 3,070 |
| 10 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $174,070 | $156,770 | 1,370 |
| 11 | Financial Manager | $171,300 | $190,600 | 13,890 |
| 12 | Human Resources Manager | $169,410 | $190,520 | 5,030 |
| 13 | Marketing Manager | $168,800 | $184,580 | 9,770 |
| 14 | Sales Manager | $167,210 | $186,810 | 10,010 |
| 15 | Software Developer | $166,910 | $175,600 | 91,470 |
| 16 | Purchasing Managers | $165,170 | $169,580 | 2,150 |
| 17 | Managers, All Other | $165,080 | $178,870 | 10,740 |
| 18 | Air Traffic Controllers | $164,070 | $150,020 | 600 |
| 19 | Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $161,090 | $154,210 | 6,310 |
| 20 | Public Relations Managers | $159,510 | $172,600 | 1,780 |
| 21 | Computer Programmers | $158,820 | $159,090 | 3,220 |
| 22 | Data Scientist | $158,760 | $162,730 | 7,930 |
| 23 | Aerospace Engineers | $158,600 | $159,790 | 5,700 |
| 24 | Optometrists | $157,650 | $159,450 | 930 |
| 25 | Pharmacist | $157,020 | $154,860 | 7,940 |
Average Salary in Washington · All Washington Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Washington are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Podiatrists, pays $147,332 more than the state average of $80,837 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $157,020, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Washington'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.