Salary levels vary enormously across America, and if you're aiming to strike it rich in the Land of Opportunity, pursuing a career that pays more than any other is clearly a smart move.
So what's the top-paying job where you live? Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which collates mean annual wage data by profession for each state and DC, click or scroll on to discover the top-paying roles in every corner of the country, with states ranked from lowest to highest-paid. How does your paycheck compare?
Family medicine physicians have the highest average annual pay in DC at $321,950. However, it's worth noting that the BLS doesn't include salary data for roles that typically pay more, for example, obstetricians and gynecologists.
But the figure falls short of the $400,000 a year the president earns, not to mention the highest reported federal government salary of $547,285. This is awarded to medical officer Dr. Gary Gibbons, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Physicians earn the highest mean salaries in Hawaii, though again, exact numbers for some of the best-paying jobs such as radiologist and dermatologist are unavailable for the state. The average annual pay for a surgeon in the Aloha State is over five times higher than the mean for all occupations of $56,320, which is on the low side considering Hawaii has America's steepest living costs.
The best-compensated non-medical job is chief executive, which commands a salary of $302,620.
Dermatologist is the number-one job for mean pay in Nevada, pulling in $337,610 annually. They are relatively few in number though, and the most common jobs in the state pay relatively poorly.
These include laborers and stock movers, whose mean annual pay is $43,190, and fast food and counter workers, who earn an average of $32,820 a year in the Silver State.
Looking after patients' eyes pays extraordinarily well in California. Ophthalmologist is the most lucrative role in the state by quite a wide margin.
The job has an average salary of $347,690, considerably more generous than the next highest figure: the $315,380 psychiatrists typically earn in the state. Outside the medical field, airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are the best-paid, pulling in an average of $310,190 a year.
South Carolina's highest-paying role is neurologist. There are around 400 of these medical professionals in the state, and they earn $354,250 a year on average.
Checking out the top 20 best-compensated jobs, only two are non-medical: CEO and architectural and engineering manager. Salaries for these positions in the Palmetto State average $211,720 and $173,140 respectively.
Emergency medicine physicians boast the biggest paychecks in New Mexico, with an average salary of $360,410. Surgeons follow with a mean yearly wage of $335,940.
This contrasts starkly with the Land of Enchantment's rather disenchanting median salary for all professions of $47,210, let alone its poverty rate, which is one of the highest in the country.
Alaska is one of several states where obstetrician and gynecologist is the highest-paying role, with an average annual salary of $365,560 for the job in the Last Frontier.
Alaska's physicians aren't far behind with a mean salary of $353,510. They're followed by emergency medicine physicians, who typically earn $341,520 per year.
As in the majority of states, Delaware's highest-paying job is in the healthcare sector. The average salary for a dermatologist comes in at $370,170, beating every other profession. However, the BLS doesn't collect precise average pay information for a range of the state's top-paying medical roles, including cardiologist and surgeon.
Anesthesiologists out-earn everyone else in Kansas, bringing in an average annual salary of $375,020. This is much higher than the figure for CEO, the best-paying non-medical occupation in the state, and over six times higher than Kansas' average salary of $60,640.
Liking this? Click the Like button above. And click the Follow button above for more great stories from loveMONEY
Surgeons stand at the top of the pay pyramid in North Carolina, where the mean salary for the profession is $377,270.
Medical professionals are particularly well compensated, and only three roles in the state's top 20 are non-medical: CEO, financial manager, and natural sciences manager.
Dermatologists reign supreme at the top of the pay scale in Arkansas.
According to the data for mean pay in the state, the top-paying roles are all in the medical field, ranging from orthopedic surgeons to neurologists and ophthalmologists.
Emergency medicine physician is currently Vermont's top-paying job. Experts in the field typically earn $379,960 annually.
When it comes to non-medical roles, CEOs are first in line with a salary of $250,520, followed by lawyers at $179,630.
Anesthesiologist is the top-paying job in Idaho. The average annual pay for the role is $385,470, almost six times higher than the state's mean salary of $67,170.
Bucking the national trend, the second-highest-paying job in the state is non-medical, with airline Pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earning an average of $361,180.
Obstetrician and gynecologist is the Beehive State's top-earning role, averaging $385,660 a year.
A notable high-paying job category in Utah is athletes and sports competitors. Their annual pay averages $229,290, surpassing the mean figure for many lucrative roles, including CEO and financial manager.
Cardiologists are top of the pay charts in Texas, but athletes aren't far behind, with an average salary of $310,180. This figures since the Lone Star State is home to some of the world's biggest-earning sportspeople, including Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. One of the highest-paid NFL players, he pulls in a staggering $60 million a year.
Texas, which doesn't levy income tax, is of course the adopted home of Elon Musk, the world's richest person.
In affluent Massachusetts, radiology is the best-paying line of work. Its professionals earn $391,790 a year, almost five times the state average for all occupations of $85,610.
Outside the medical profession, financial managers, lawyers, and marketing managers all earn mean salaries in excess of $200,000, making them among the best-compensated occupations in Massachusetts.
Wyoming's surgeons are paid more than any other professionals, with typical annual wages of $395,300.
Among the non-medical roles, financial and investment analysist is the most lucrative, with yearly pay averaging $195,710, closely followed by architectural and engineering managers, who typically command $166,490 a year, and CEO. The average annual pay in the state for the boss of an organization stands at $162,830.
Louisiana is another state where obstetrician and gynecologist is the top-paying job. Specialists in the Pelican State earn $397,990 a year on average. Pediatricians take home almost as much, with an average yearly wage of $378,020.
Other highly remunerative roles in the state include psychiatrist and surgeon. When it comes to non-medical jobs, pilots, architectural and engineering managers, and petroleum engineers working in the state's booming oil industry are among the best compensated.
The BLS doesn't collate precise salary data for several medical professions in Oregon, including cardiologist and general surgeon, so the state's CEOs may not be the highest paid.
In any case, their average annual pay of $403,380 is enviable, coming in at almost six times the state's average salary across all professions.
Relocating to Colorado is a no-brainer if you're an orthodontist. They take home the biggest paychecks in the state, which rewards these medical professionals more than any other.
By way of comparison, the state's lowest-paying roles for which the BLS has data include school bus monitor, with an average salary of $34,100; fast food cook, with typical annual wages of $38,400; and gambling cage workers, who earn $38,690 a year on average.
Numbering just a few hundred, the emergency medicine physicians of Little Rhody earn big money, with the mean annual wage for the job $411,330 in America's smallest state. This eclipses the average for all other professions there.
Cardiologists and CEOs are among the next best-paid. But the state's most common role, that of fast-food and counter worker, pays a small amount. The average yearly salary for the job is just $34,040.
Anesthesiologists in Connecticut live very comfortably since they're paid more than any other professionals in the state, averaging a salary of $416,580.
Affluent Connecticut has one of the highest average salaries in the nation at $77,420, though its lowest-paid profession, shampooer, earns less than half that at $34,270.
Training to be an orthopedic surgeon is a path paved with gold in Michigan. The occupation is the best-paying in the state, with a mean yearly wage of $420,390.
Reflecting the Rust Belt state's manufacturing comeback, Michigan's biggest employment category is miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators, essentially factory workers. Their annual salary averages out at $51,360.
Radiologists pull in the most money in Maryland, with a mean annual salary of $428,880.
Mirroring other states, the highest-paying roles in Maryland are all medical-related. Among those that aren't, CEOs, computer and information systems managers, and financial managers are the best compensated.
New York is yet another state where heart doctors dominate the earnings league, with professionals earning more than five times the region's average salary.
CEO is the highest-paying non-medical role at $351,160. Meanwhile, the state's taxi drivers pull in an average of just $41,030.
Caring for patients' cardiovascular health is a major cash generator in Virginia. The state's cardiologists earn more money on average than any other occupation, pulling in $446,630 a year typically.
On the other hand, fast food and counter workers, who represent Virginia's most common job category, are paid around 12 times less: the Virginians working in this sector earn just $36,920 a year on average.
Radiologists lead the pack in New Hampshire, with a mean annual wage of $447,500. The top 20 best-paying roles in the state are all in the medical arena, with the highest non-medical role being that of an economics teacher, which has an average salary of $236,510.
The only other non-medical role in the state that typically pays over $200,000 a year is CEO at $221,460.
The BLS collects average pay data for over 800 occupations. In Oklahoma, the profession with the highest mean yearly wage is surgeon, which earns $447,720 per year.
The state has one of the lowest average salaries in the nation at just $53,450. Outside of medicine, the state's petroleum engineers tend to live a comfortable life, earning an average salary of $155,900.
The BLS doesn't have exact salary information for traditionally high-paying medical roles in Maine. Among the jobs it does have numbers for, radiologist is the most lucrative, with a mean salary of $448,540.
Interestingly, airline Pilots, copilots, and flight engineers outearn CEOs in Maine by over $4,000, taking the crown of best-paid non-medical role.
Orthopedic surgeons in the Sunshine State are paid an average of $462,360 annually, out-earning the runners-up, radiologists, by a cool $28,350.
Amazingly, the typical orthopedic surgeon's paycheck could cover the wages of 12 retail salespeople, one of the state's most common job categories.
In Alabama, cardiologists command the highest salaries. Their annual wage averages $471,790, more than eight times higher than the state's average salary of $57,500.
The state's only non-medical role with an average salary above $200,000 is CEO at $201,200.
Cardiologist is Indiana's top-paying role, with a mean salary of $474,380, with surgeon a distant second at $413,140.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, short-order cooks earn the lowest wages, pulling in just $26,850 a year on average. If money is your top priority, other jobs to avoid in the state range from lifeguard to bartender to telemarketer.
Cardiologists top the salary ladder in Illinois, with an average annual salary of $484,120. Medical roles make up the top five highest-paying jobs, but CEOs command the sixth spot, with a mean salary of $347,550, while airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are eighth at $316,140 annually.
Surgeons in Iowa earn more than anyone else in the state, with an average salary of $488,900. In second place, on almost $100,000 less, are emergency medicine physicians.
As far as non-medical roles are concerned, CEOs take home the biggest paychecks, with a mean yearly pay of $237,270.
Pulling in $492,490 a year on average, cardiologists have hit the jackpot in Pennsylvania, out-earning every other occupation in the state.
Heart doctors in Pennsylvania earn almost eight times the average salary in the state. Meanwhile, short-order cooks and shampooers, the state's lowest-paid occupations, earn just a fraction of that at around $26,000.
Earning almost half a million dollars a year on average, cardiologists are the highest-paid workers in Ohio.
Their typical annual wage is over seven times higher than the average for all professions of $64,390 and 18 times more than the figure for the lowest-paid role BLS has data for: fast-food cooks. They earn just $27,860 per year on average in the state.
Sticking with the national trend, the best-paying role in New Jersey is again healthcare-related, with surgeons picking up over $500,000 annually.
There's a huge gap to radiologists in second, who typically earn $374,880. Meanwhile, the state's CEOs take third with a comfortable annual average salary of $372,910.
Montana's orthopedic surgeons typically earn $509,240 a year, almost $125,000 more than physicians, who are the next best-paid in the state.
Yet, like other states, Montana's most abundant roles aren't very well compensated. The average pay for the most common job categories, fast food and counter workers and retail salespersons, is $30,120 and $38,170 respectively.
Over in West Virginia, orthopedic surgeons also earn the most money, with a mean annual wage of $522,050.
Registered nurses, one of the most common jobs in the state, earn six times less than orthopedic surgeons, with their pay averaging $86,970 per annum.
Cardiologist is the top-paying occupation in Kentucky, commanding an average salary of $522,350.
According to the BLS, this is one of the highest figures in America for the role, so experts in the field may want to make a beeline for the state.
With annual pay averaging $523,450, orthopedic surgeons out-earn every other profession in Mississippi. Meanwhile, the state has America's lowest average salary at just $50,810.
The disparity between an orthopedic surgeon's average pay and that of the lowest-paid profession in the state is jaw-dropping. Pulling in just $22,730 a year, ushers and lobby attendants in Mississippi typically earn 23 times less than the state's highest-paying role.
Radiologists are the biggest earners in South Dakota, with an average salary of $534,640. Bucking the national trend, the second-highest-paying role is non-medical, although CEOs earn almost $200,000 less.
Jobs are plentiful in South Dakota, which boasts America's lowest unemployment rate, but the average annual pay for all professions isn't great. At $57,610, it's over nine times lower than the mean pay the state's radiologists receive.
Down in Arizona, orthopedic surgeons command the highest average salary, with typical yearly wages of $542,140.
The figure is equivalent to 15 average annual paychecks for fast-food and counter workers, the most common job category in the Grand Canyon State.
Cardiologists edge out orthopedic surgeons in Wisconsin, taking home $549,880 a year on average.
The best-paying non-medical role in the state is CEO, with an average annual salary of $252,660. Physicists are next with $181,180, followed by lawyers, who typically earn $171,200 a year.
Tennessee certainly 'hearts' its cardiologists, given they're the best-paid workers in the state. Their average salary of $551,590 is the highest by a long shot; the runners-up, surgeons, typically earn around $150,000 less.
CEOs are the best-compensated non-medical professionals, with mean annual wages of $239,970.
Radiologists typically make $556,170 a year in North Dakota, more than any other profession. That said, data isn't precise for several other lucrative healthcare roles in the state, such as orthopedic surgeon, which may actually pay more.
Senior medical positions dominate when it comes to median salaries, but several non-healthcare jobs stand out, with judges and magistrates, architectural and engineering planners, and purchasing managers among the best remunerated.
Cardiologist is also the highest-paying job in Washington. Heart doctors in the state earn slightly more than their counterparts in Tennessee, with a mean annual pay of $562,160.
The only non-medical role in the top 10 is CEO, with the average salary clocking in at $360,290.
Minnesota's orthopedic surgeons earn $592,220 a year on average.
Their pay is over eight times more generous than the average figure for all professions in the state, which comes in at $71,160. But spare a thought for Minnesota's waiters and waitresses. At only $30,060, their average yearly pay is the lowest out of all the job categories covered by the BLS and almost 20 times lower than the orthopedic surgeons' figure.
Cardiologists in Georgia are very wealthy if the average salary for the job is anything to go by. Coming in at $616,040, their typical annual wage is the highest in the state, surpassing the mega-bucks that surgeons pull in.
Meanwhile, the state's airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are some of the best paid in the nation, typically earning $476,310.
Missouri med students keen to maximize their future earnings may want to consider becoming an orthopedic surgeon; professionals in the field take home the state's biggest paychecks at a tidy $624,070 per year on average.
Cardiologists, who typically earn $523,380 annually, are the next best-paid in the Show-Me State, followed by athletes and sports competitors.
Cardiologists are the salary superstars in Nebraska, commanding an average yearly pay of $627,390.
To put their salary in perspective, the mean annual wage for cardiologists in the state is 10 times higher than the mean for all professions. And the figure is 20 times greater than the number for the most common occupation category, fast food and counter workers.
Liked this? Click the Like button above. And click the Follow button above for more great stories from loveMONEY
Now discover the states with the most billionaires, ranked