The highest paying job in Wisconsin is Dentists, All Other Specialists, with a median salary of $231,070 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in WI 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 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $231,070 | $234,770 | 50 |
| 2 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $214,690 | $295,720 | 280 |
| 3 | Chief Executives | $209,090 | $284,090 | 4,440 |
| 4 | Dentists, General | $206,650 | $209,830 | 2,160 |
| 5 | Physicists | $174,010 | $173,010 | 220 |
| 6 | Podiatrists | $170,090 | $189,370 | 190 |
| 7 | Computer and Information Research Scientists | $166,690 | $171,150 | 30 |
| 8 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $149,760 | $158,710 | 7,190 |
| 9 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | $142,360 | $161,900 | 450 |
| 10 | Pharmacist | $140,410 | $141,090 | 4,940 |
| 11 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $139,540 | $137,220 | 160 |
| 12 | Database Architects | $138,930 | $140,770 | 360 |
| 13 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $138,710 | $148,360 | 4,770 |
| 14 | Optometrists | $137,650 | $141,570 | 750 |
| 15 | Financial Manager | $137,530 | $154,510 | 13,750 |
| 16 | Education Administrators, Postsecondary | $137,400 | $142,290 | 1,000 |
| 17 | Nurse Midwives | $135,360 | $131,450 | 90 |
| 18 | Sales Manager | $134,560 | $152,420 | 8,360 |
| 19 | Human Resources Manager | $132,940 | $148,000 | 3,550 |
| 20 | Physician Assistants | $132,820 | $133,390 | 3,040 |
| 21 | Medical Dosimetrists | $131,410 | $135,940 | 100 |
| 22 | Marketing Manager | $131,110 | $144,300 | 3,650 |
| 23 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $130,530 | $148,770 | N/A |
| 24 | Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers | $129,750 | $139,610 | 50 |
| 25 | Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers | $129,440 | $125,210 | 220 |
Average Salary in Wisconsin · All Wisconsin Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in Wisconsin are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Dentists, All Other Specialists, pays $162,925 more than the state average of $68,144 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $129,440, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how Wisconsin'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.