State NE
Period May 2025
Price level 90.1
Data updated October 25, 2026

Highest-paying jobs in Nebraska

The highest published median in Nebraska is for cardiologists, at $646,300 a year. For one more occupation, 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 $48,980, against $50,980 nationally.

Nebraska · all occupationsMay 2025

Median / yr: $48,980
Mean / yr: $62,400
Price level (U.S.=100): 90.1
Median, price-adjusted: $54,360
Adjusted rank: 16 of 51
Jobs: 1,024,370

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

The 50 best-paid occupations in Nebraska

NE · Src BLS-OEWS · May 2025Top 50 of 661

Top 50 occupations in Nebraska by median annual wage
No.	Occupation	Median in NE	U.S. median	Employed in NE
1	Cardiologists	$646,300	$496,010	170
2	Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric	$507,770	$358,550	200
3	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$371,880	$335,550	390
4	Dermatologists	$359,580	$328,730	—
5	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$342,570	$292,910	180
6	Surgeons, All Other	$341,410	$414,010	180
7	Anesthesiologists	$334,210	$391,490	260
8	Physicians, All Other	$290,470	$265,930	1,170
9	Neurologists	$269,270	$248,560	80
10	Nurse Anesthetists	$246,730	$236,590	430
11	Physicians, Pathologists	$229,140	$312,400	90
12	Family Medicine Physicians	$228,590	$244,180	830
13	Dentists, All Other Specialists	$224,990	$224,990	—
14	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$221,360	$256,560	900
15	Chief Executives	$214,680	$213,990	2,510
16	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$208,180	$153,990	160
17	Dentists, General	$179,750	$170,950	790
18	Pediatricians, General	$175,990	$210,040	290
19	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$141,020	$171,270	1,510
20	Financial Managers	$140,360	$166,570	5,630
21	Pharmacists	$139,330	$140,910	2,450
22	Nurse Midwives	$138,880	$134,040	—
23	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$135,780	$175,140	5,070
24	Aerospace Engineers	$135,670	$134,960	130
25	Psychiatrists	$135,180	$281,870	180
26	Computer Hardware Engineers	$134,950	$161,740	80
27	Database Architects	$134,320	$139,500	610
28	Physician Assistants	$133,040	$135,880	1,330
29	Nurse Practitioners	$132,130	$132,300	2,340
30	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$131,650	$232,140	60
31	Psychologists, All Other	$131,640	$110,840	50
32	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary	$130,980	$123,920	90
33	Human Resources Managers	$129,460	$149,280	1,660
34	Law Teachers, Postsecondary	$127,690	$128,500	100
35	Sales Managers	$126,990	$148,270	3,000
36	Optometrists	$125,040	$136,570	340
37	Purchasing Managers	$124,010	$148,080	440
38	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$121,630	$149,230	140
39	Natural Sciences Managers	$120,620	$167,220	550
40	Environmental Engineers	$120,620	$107,110	270
41	Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers	$117,690	$109,910	140
42	Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers	$117,060	$117,860	30
43	Managers, All Other	$116,430	$141,900	2,640
44	Computer Network Architects	$116,420	$134,050	1,350
45	Air Traffic Controllers	$111,710	$148,080	70
46	Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	$111,460	$89,900	200
47	Software Developers	$110,900	$135,980	7,260
48	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	$110,580	$105,870	1,860
49	Marketing Managers	$110,570	$166,790	1,910
50	Lawyers	$109,170	$159,670	3,490

Median reported only as “$239,200 or more” in Nebraska: Orthodontists. 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 Nebraska

Physicians, All Other — $290,470 (1,170 jobs)
Chief Executives — $214,680 (2,510 jobs)
Architectural and Engineering Managers — $141,020 (1,510 jobs)
Financial Managers — $140,360 (5,630 jobs)
Pharmacists — $139,330 (2,450 jobs)
Computer and Information Systems Managers — $135,780 (5,070 jobs)
Physician Assistants — $133,040 (1,330 jobs)
Nurse Practitioners — $132,130 (2,340 jobs)
Human Resources Managers — $129,460 (1,660 jobs)
Sales Managers — $126,990 (3,000 jobs)

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state file.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state, 2024.