Jobs and pay in New York

The highest-paying occupations in New York

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. Cardiologists$492,040
2. Anesthesiologists$445,660
3. Radiologists$441,580
4. Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric$414,290
5. Surgeons, all other$410,410
6. Pediatric surgeons$378,110
7. Dermatologists$374,010
8. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric$360,050
9. Obstetricians and gynecologists$348,800
10. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons$342,710
11. Physicians, pathologists$321,550
12. Nurse anesthetists$321,030
13. Emergency medicine physicians$301,690
14. Psychiatrists$265,890
15. Chief executives$257,980
16. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers$255,240
17. Physicians, all other$242,500
18. Financial managers$219,880
19. Sales managers$217,640
20. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates$216,390
21. Computer and information systems managers$214,300
22. Pediatricians, general$212,150
23. Family medicine physicians$210,920
24. Lawyers$207,860
25. General internal medicine physicians$183,460

Where the jobs actually are in New York

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. Home health and personal care aides663,140 employed
2. Retail salespersons238,540 employed
3. General and operations managers206,740 employed
4. Registered nurses205,810 employed
5. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners195,250 employed
6. Fast food and counter workers168,620 employed
7. Cashiers158,890 employed
8. Stockers and order fillers146,140 employed
9. Waiters and waitresses142,940 employed
10. Customer service representatives141,090 employed
11. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary137,820 employed
12. Security guards134,700 employed
13. Office clerks, general134,280 employed
14. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive122,490 employed
15. Maintenance and repair workers, general119,650 employed
16. Software developers113,510 employed
17. Accountants and auditors109,830 employed
18. Elementary school teachers, except special education101,410 employed
19. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand100,950 employed
20. Lawyers91,870 employed
21. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants88,890 employed
22. Nursing assistants87,990 employed
23. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks84,280 employed
24. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers83,110 employed
25. Financial managers80,810 employed

The best-paid New York 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. Commercial pilots$177,430 · Postsecondary nondegree award
2. Choreographers$173,100 · High school diploma or equivalent
3. Commercial divers$157,800 · Postsecondary nondegree award
4. Air traffic controllers$144,960 · Associate's degree
5. Power distributors and dispatchers$139,390 · High school diploma or equivalent
6. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers$135,720 · High school diploma or equivalent
7. Ship engineers$133,640 · Postsecondary nondegree award
8. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers$132,520 · Postsecondary nondegree award
9. Nuclear technicians$129,780 · Associate's degree
10. Radiation therapists$129,620 · Associate's degree
11. Nuclear power reactor operators$129,580 · High school diploma or equivalent
12. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$127,180 · High school diploma or equivalent
13. Flight attendants$126,650 · High school diploma or equivalent
14. First-line supervisors of police and detectives$124,080 · High school diploma or equivalent
15. Terrazzo workers and finishers$123,820 · High school diploma or equivalent
16. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers$121,780 · High school diploma or equivalent
17. Electrical power-line installers and repairers$121,280 · High school diploma or equivalent
18. Plasterers and stucco masons$120,180 · No formal educational credential
19. Nuclear medicine technologists$118,650 · Associate's degree
20. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists$113,270 · Associate's degree
21. Locomotive engineers$109,220 · High school diploma or equivalent
22. Respiratory therapists$107,810 · Associate's degree
23. Models$107,280 · No formal educational credential
24. Power plant operators$106,990 · High school diploma or equivalent
25. Dental hygienists$106,130 · 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 New York does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of New York 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.

Word processors and typists lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

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