HighestPaidProfession

Highest-paying jobs in Alabama

The highest published median in Alabama is for cardiologists, at $519,480 a year. For 3 more occupations, BLS reports the median only as “$239,200 or more”; they are listed below the table. The median for all occupations in the state is $45,670, against $50,980 nationally.

Alabama · all occupationsMay 2025
Median / yr
$45,670
Mean / yr
$57,500
Price level (U.S.=100)
88.8
Median, price-adjusted
$51,417
Adjusted rank
34 of 51
Jobs
2,113,660

Price-adjusted = median ÷ (BEA 2024 regional price parity ÷ 100). Compare all states.

The 50 best-paid occupations in Alabama

AL · Src BLS-OEWS · May 2025Top 50 of 687
Top 50 occupations in Alabama by median annual wage
No.OccupationMedian in ALU.S. medianEmployed in AL
1Cardiologists$519,480$496,010130
2Dermatologists$394,550$328,730—
3Anesthesiologists$392,350$391,490—
4Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric$324,570$358,550380
5General Internal Medicine Physicians$311,180$256,560310
6Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric$305,200$300,080—
7Physicians, All Other$272,610$265,9303,980
8Orthodontists$253,670$289,140—
9Obstetricians and Gynecologists$210,380$292,910120
10Pediatricians, General$209,490$210,040—
11Nurse Anesthetists$190,300$236,5901,810
12Chief Executives$166,420$213,990810
13Architectural and Engineering Managers$162,350$171,2703,790
14Podiatrists$161,820$160,30090
15Engineers, All Other$152,550$122,9303,460
16Optometrists$145,090$136,570460
17Financial Managers$140,500$166,5707,200
18Physicists$139,330$172,250280
19Computer and Information Systems Managers$138,670$175,1407,670
20Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers$136,990$232,140360
21Computer Hardware Engineers$136,990$161,740680
22Actuaries$136,950$130,000190
23Psychologists, All Other$136,070$110,840110
24Managers, All Other$135,890$141,9001,970
25Physical Scientists, All Other$135,350$122,570140
26Law Teachers, Postsecondary$135,340$128,50040
27Chemical Engineers$135,030$125,040600
28Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers$134,810$117,86070
29Pharmacists$134,630$140,9105,400
30Family Medicine Physicians$134,550$244,180—
31Natural Sciences Managers$133,470$167,220370
32Nuclear Engineers$132,570$133,970290
33Lawyers$131,970$159,6706,730
34Computer Network Architects$130,810$134,0504,200
35Purchasing Managers$130,710$148,0801,520
36Economists$129,960$124,72040
37Training and Development Managers$128,750$133,000150
38Aerospace Engineers$127,540$134,9605,820
39Electrical Engineers$125,630$120,6304,600
40Sales Managers$124,040$148,2704,670
41Information Security Analysts$122,730$129,1804,010
42Software Developers$122,540$135,98017,450
43Industrial Production Managers$122,520$126,0603,620
44Facilities Managers$121,010$106,660940
45Electronics Engineers, Except Computer$120,720$130,2201,940
46Marketing Managers$120,160$166,7901,540
47Nuclear Power Reactor Operators$119,000$122,890360
48Compensation and Benefits Managers$118,470$149,23090
49Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers$118,320$107,2301,250
50Computer and Information Research Scientists$117,870$140,300570

Median reported only as “$239,200 or more” in Alabama: Surgeons, All Other, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Emergency Medicine Physicians. The exact figures are not published, so these are not ranked.

Dashes mean the employment estimate was not published.

Best-paid occupations with at least 1,000 jobs in Alabama

  1. Physicians, All Other — $272,610 (3,980 jobs)
  2. Nurse Anesthetists — $190,300 (1,810 jobs)
  3. Architectural and Engineering Managers — $162,350 (3,790 jobs)
  4. Engineers, All Other — $152,550 (3,460 jobs)
  5. Financial Managers — $140,500 (7,200 jobs)
  6. Computer and Information Systems Managers — $138,670 (7,670 jobs)
  7. Managers, All Other — $135,890 (1,970 jobs)
  8. Pharmacists — $134,630 (5,400 jobs)
  9. Lawyers — $131,970 (6,730 jobs)
  10. Computer Network Architects — $130,810 (4,200 jobs)

Sources