California
Highest-Paying Occupations in California
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025California
Figures describe the state of California as a whole. Occupations are ranked by published median annual wage; occupations where BLS suppressed the annual median or publishes only hourly wages are not ranked (14 such occupations here).
Top 25 of 793 occupations
| # | Occupation | Median annual | Median hourly | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $400,150 | $192.38 | 820 |
| 2 | Neurologists | $357,080 | $171.68 | 1,090 |
| 3 | Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $353,900 | Not published | 10,670 |
| 4 | Psychiatrists | $353,500 | $169.95 | 5,420 |
| 5 | General Internal Medicine Physicians | $313,890 | $150.91 | 6,370 |
| 6 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $301,240 | $144.83 | 1,610 |
| 7 | Nurse Anesthetists | $292,410 | $140.58 | 2,230 |
| 8 | Physicians, All Other | $281,590 | $135.38 | 25,530 |
| 9 | Radiologists | $270,560 | $130.08 | 690 |
| 10 | Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $253,430 | $121.84 | Not published |
| 11 | Family Medicine Physicians | $252,010 | $121.16 | Not published |
| 12 | Dentists, All Other Specialists | $230,730 | $110.93 | 340 |
| 13 | Chief Executives | $218,600 | $105.10 | 34,700 |
| 14 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $218,290 | $104.95 | 94,720 |
| 15 | Pediatricians, General | $214,140 | $102.95 | 6,680 |
| 16 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $210,280 | $101.10 | 29,630 |
| 17 | Natural Sciences Managers | $210,230 | $101.07 | 14,950 |
| 18 | Physicists | $207,490 | $99.75 | 5,930 |
| 19 | Nurse Midwives | $203,840 | $98.00 | 870 |
| 20 | Podiatrists | $201,300 | $96.78 | 1,000 |
| 21 | Lawyers | $195,080 | $93.79 | 95,770 |
| 22 | Marketing Managers | $193,620 | $93.09 | 54,660 |
| 23 | Physicians, Pathologists | $186,300 | $89.57 | 1,790 |
| 24 | Cardiologists | $185,610 | $89.24 | 630 |
| 25 | Computer Hardware Engineers | $185,180 | $89.03 | 19,820 |
The full list of every published occupation here is on the California overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.