Jobs and pay in Florida

The highest-paying occupations in Florida

Sorted by median annual wage — the midpoint of what people in the occupation are paid in this state, not what a newcomer earns. Occupations BLS did not release a wage for are absent rather than shown as zero.

1. Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric$473,750
2. Anesthesiologists$465,370
3. Surgeons, all other$429,990
4. Radiologists$417,690
5. Cardiologists$414,910
6. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric$399,440
7. Neurologists$322,750
8. Psychiatrists$316,200
9. Physicians, pathologists$313,510
10. Physicians, all other$262,180
11. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons$233,050
12. Family medicine physicians$227,700
13. Physicists$225,390
14. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers$225,020
15. General internal medicine physicians$222,600
16. Nurse anesthetists$210,570
17. Emergency medicine physicians$204,990
18. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates$186,040
19. Pediatricians, general$182,010
20. Dentists, general$174,900
21. Architectural and engineering managers$170,740
22. Computer and information systems managers$168,470
23. Biochemists and biophysicists$157,390
24. Medical dosimetrists$153,490
25. Financial managers$153,280

Where the jobs actually are in Florida

The same list sorted by how many people are employed in each occupation, which is a different question from what it pays and usually a more useful one. High pay in an occupation employing 400 people statewide is a narrower opportunity than it looks.

1. Retail salespersons333,460 employed
2. General and operations managers236,290 employed
3. Fast food and counter workers235,400 employed
4. Registered nurses229,940 employed
5. Customer service representatives228,000 employed
6. Waiters and waitresses207,180 employed
7. Cashiers201,370 employed
8. Office clerks, general189,700 employed
9. Stockers and order fillers171,380 employed
10. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand164,400 employed
11. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners131,900 employed
12. Cooks, restaurant124,040 employed
13. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers112,920 employed
14. Maintenance and repair workers, general111,530 employed
15. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel107,650 employed
16. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive104,000 employed
17. Nursing assistants96,960 employed
18. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants96,000 employed
19. Security guards95,370 employed
20. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers93,850 employed
21. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products92,920 employed
22. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers91,500 employed
23. Accountants and auditors91,000 employed
24. Home health and personal care aides90,170 employed
25. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks88,670 employed

The best-paid Florida work that typically needs no bachelor's degree

Occupations BLS reports as typically entered with an associate's degree, a postsecondary certificate, some college, a high-school diploma, or no formal credential — sorted by what they pay here. Typical is not a requirement, individual employers set their own, and many of these carry state licensing that the national figure does not capture.

1. Air traffic controllers$147,530 · Associate's degree
2. Nuclear technicians$135,550 · Associate's degree
3. Ship engineers$130,480 · Postsecondary nondegree award
4. Chemical plant and system operators$128,830 · High school diploma or equivalent
5. Commercial pilots$121,890 · Postsecondary nondegree award
6. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers$104,730 · High school diploma or equivalent
7. Postmasters and mail superintendents$102,880 · High school diploma or equivalent
8. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay$101,780 · Postsecondary nondegree award
9. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$101,570 · High school diploma or equivalent
10. Transportation inspectors$101,470 · High school diploma or equivalent
11. Power distributors and dispatchers$101,060 · High school diploma or equivalent
12. Radiation therapists$100,920 · Associate's degree
13. First-line supervisors of police and detectives$100,880 · High school diploma or equivalent
14. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers$98,560 · Postsecondary nondegree award
15. Nuclear medicine technologists$97,310 · Associate's degree
16. Gambling managers$96,180 · High school diploma or equivalent
17. Power plant operators$94,290 · High school diploma or equivalent
18. Locomotive engineers$92,310 · High school diploma or equivalent
19. Dental hygienists$91,980 · Associate's degree
20. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers$87,080 · High school diploma or equivalent
21. Electrical power-line installers and repairers$86,870 · High school diploma or equivalent
22. Media and communication equipment workers, all other$86,230 · High school diploma or equivalent
23. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists$84,330 · Associate's degree
24. Avionics technicians$83,800 · Postsecondary nondegree award
25. Diagnostic medical sonographers$82,940 · Associate's degree

A certificate is a different credential from a degree, not a lesser one. CampusPin publishes the national picture of pay by entry education and which fields are actually awarded as certificates rather than degrees.

What Florida does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of Florida employment divided by its share of U.S. employment. 2.0 means twice as concentrated here as nationally. It describes where the work IS — not what it pays, and not how easy it is to be hired. Limited to occupations employing at least 500 people in the state, so a tiny base cannot manufacture a large ratio.

Motorboat mechanics and service technicians lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

Other states