The typical American working a full time job at the end of 2020 earned $984 per week, equivalent to $51,168 a year. There are a handful of highly specialized occupations in which workers can expect to earn double that amount, if not more. 

24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on median weekly wage for 240 occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey program to identify the highest paying jobs in America.

Nearly all of the highest paying jobs in America are in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering, and math. These jobs typically require workers to have years of training and education. For every job on this list for which there is data, the vast majority of workers hold at least a bachelor’s degree, and many have high attainment rates of master’s degree and even doctorate degree. These are the college majors that pay off the most. Jobs sorted into miscellaneous categories were not considered. For some jobs, the BLS either did not collect data or opted not to publish data that did not meet their collection criteria.

People working the highest paying jobs have largely been able to keep working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as health care and engineering jobs were considered essential and those with high-paying tech jobs can often work from home. It was lower-paying jobs, like those in the service and hospitality industries, that were largely lost as businesses closed as a safety precaution.

Click here to see the 25 highest paying jobs in America.
Click here to see our methodology.