Jobs and pay in Georgia

The highest-paying occupations in Georgia

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. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers$618,090
2. Cardiologists$610,070
3. Surgeons, all other$502,070
4. Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric$474,820
5. General internal medicine physicians$425,460
6. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric$382,920
7. Obstetricians and gynecologists$354,000
8. Radiologists$335,190
9. Physicians, all other$266,880
10. Family medicine physicians$259,320
11. Psychiatrists$237,480
12. Anesthesiologists$230,000
13. Nurse anesthetists$224,630
14. Emergency medicine physicians$219,010
15. Physicians, pathologists$211,800
16. Chief executives$208,180
17. Dentists, general$206,760
18. Air traffic controllers$178,420
19. Computer and information systems managers$173,940
20. Financial managers$166,790
21. Compensation and benefits managers$163,060
22. Architectural and engineering managers$161,470
23. Marketing managers$160,760
24. Sales managers$159,890
25. Orthodontists$159,230

Where the jobs actually are in Georgia

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. Fast food and counter workers145,030 employed
2. Retail salespersons143,120 employed
3. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand137,580 employed
4. General and operations managers111,060 employed
5. Registered nurses100,950 employed
6. Customer service representatives97,850 employed
7. Cashiers97,540 employed
8. Stockers and order fillers86,660 employed
9. Waiters and waitresses76,470 employed
10. Office clerks, general75,390 employed
11. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers74,840 employed
12. Business operations specialists, all other67,450 employed
13. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners55,660 employed
14. Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators52,020 employed
15. Home health and personal care aides50,870 employed
16. Industrial truck and tractor operators50,260 employed
17. Software developers49,700 employed
18. Maintenance and repair workers, general48,430 employed
19. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers48,420 employed
20. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel46,960 employed
21. Cooks, restaurant46,350 employed
22. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive44,430 employed
23. Accountants and auditors44,020 employed
24. Elementary school teachers, except special education43,820 employed
25. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products43,630 employed

The best-paid Georgia 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$178,420 · Associate's degree
2. Commercial pilots$145,100 · Postsecondary nondegree award
3. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance$143,230 · Postsecondary nondegree award
4. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$123,330 · High school diploma or equivalent
5. Artists and related workers, all other$119,680 · No formal educational credential
6. Power plant operators$107,580 · High school diploma or equivalent
7. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay$106,930 · Postsecondary nondegree award
8. Nuclear medicine technologists$100,880 · Associate's degree
9. Postmasters and mail superintendents$97,050 · High school diploma or equivalent
10. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers$95,900 · High school diploma or equivalent
11. Dental hygienists$95,490 · Associate's degree
12. Transportation inspectors$95,030 · High school diploma or equivalent
13. Costume attendants$94,890 · High school diploma or equivalent
14. Radiation therapists$94,460 · Associate's degree
15. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists$92,060 · Associate's degree
16. Respiratory therapists$83,700 · Associate's degree
17. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers$83,500 · High school diploma or equivalent
18. Diagnostic medical sonographers$83,250 · Associate's degree
19. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers$82,400 · High school diploma or equivalent
20. Insurance appraisers, auto damage$81,470 · Postsecondary nondegree award
21. Aircraft cargo handling supervisors$81,380 · High school diploma or equivalent
22. Gas plant operators$81,220 · High school diploma or equivalent
23. Electrical and electronics drafters$80,620 · Associate's degree
24. Power distributors and dispatchers$80,560 · High school diploma or equivalent
25. First-line supervisors of police and detectives$80,120 · High school diploma or equivalent

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 Georgia does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of Georgia 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.

Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

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