Jobs and pay in Vermont

The highest-paying occupations in Vermont

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 further occupation is paid more than every figure below, but BLS publishes it only as $239,200 or more, its reporting cap: orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric. They cannot be ranked against each other, so they are named here rather than listed as identical rows.

1. Surgeons, all other$438,530
2. Anesthesiologists$434,780
3. Neurologists$434,730
4. Emergency medicine physicians$430,820
5. Obstetricians and gynecologists$418,760
6. Physicians, all other$343,050
7. Psychiatrists$302,770
8. Nurse anesthetists$283,060
9. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric$258,910
10. Family medicine physicians$239,340
11. General internal medicine physicians$228,670
12. Pediatricians, general$215,350
13. Dentists, general$204,960
14. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates$194,170
15. Physicians, pathologists$188,250
16. Chief executives$175,070
17. Architectural and engineering managers$157,710
18. Nurse midwives$151,030
19. Physician assistants$150,490
20. Aerospace engineers$144,400
21. Sales managers$138,650
22. Computer and information systems managers$138,460
23. Commercial pilots$137,810
24. Optometrists$137,290
25. Pharmacists$136,270

Where the jobs actually are in Vermont

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 salespersons8,250 employed
2. General and operations managers8,000 employed
3. Home health and personal care aides7,700 employed
4. Registered nurses7,410 employed
5. Cashiers7,030 employed
6. Fast food and counter workers6,830 employed
7. Stockers and order fillers5,360 employed
8. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners5,130 employed
9. Office clerks, general5,100 employed
10. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary4,960 employed
11. Waiters and waitresses4,040 employed
12. Elementary school teachers, except special education3,610 employed
13. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers3,560 employed
14. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive3,360 employed
15. Carpenters3,080 employed
16. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand3,060 employed
17. Nursing assistants3,030 employed
18. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks2,950 employed
19. Customer service representatives2,870 employed
20. Community and social service specialists, all other2,850 employed
21. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers2,700 employed
22. Accountants and auditors2,630 employed
23. Maintenance and repair workers, general2,610 employed
24. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education2,450 employed
25. Business operations specialists, all other2,440 employed

The best-paid Vermont 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$137,810 · Postsecondary nondegree award
2. Air traffic controllers$109,140 · Associate's degree
3. Electrical power-line installers and repairers$108,520 · High school diploma or equivalent
4. Detectives and criminal investigators$106,330 · High school diploma or equivalent
5. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay$105,640 · Postsecondary nondegree award
6. Diagnostic medical sonographers$104,100 · Associate's degree
7. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists$103,070 · Associate's degree
8. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers$101,850 · High school diploma or equivalent
9. Radiation therapists$101,060 · Associate's degree
10. Personal service managers, all other$99,570 · High school diploma or equivalent
11. First-line supervisors of police and detectives$99,280 · High school diploma or equivalent
12. Dental hygienists$97,470 · Associate's degree
13. Radiologic technologists and technicians$94,540 · Associate's degree
14. Postmasters and mail superintendents$89,890 · High school diploma or equivalent
15. Commercial divers$85,780 · Postsecondary nondegree award
16. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators$83,970 · High school diploma or equivalent
17. Respiratory therapists$83,820 · Associate's degree
18. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers$83,250 · Postsecondary nondegree award
19. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers$83,050 · High school diploma or equivalent
20. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers$82,490 · High school diploma or equivalent
21. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door$82,010 · High school diploma or equivalent
22. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers$81,850 · High school diploma or equivalent
23. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers$81,800 · Postsecondary nondegree award
24. First-line supervisors of correctional officers$81,700 · High school diploma or equivalent
25. Lodging managers$81,440 · 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 Vermont does more of than the rest of the country

Location quotient: this occupation's share of Vermont 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.

Community and social service specialists, all other lead, much more concentrated here than nationally.

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