Chad McDermott // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Urban and regional planners
- Median annual wage: $121,940
- Median hourly wage: $58.63
- Total employment: 110 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Santa Rosa
Despite recession fears and falling consumer confidence, the job market in the United States has remained relatively stable in 2025 thus far. According to May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, around 177,000 new jobs were added in April, a slight decrease from the 185,000 new jobs added in the month before, but an extension of the country's 52-month streak of job growth. Unemployment rates also held relatively steady between April 2024 and April 2025, coming in at around 4%.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean Americans have it easy in the workplace. A December 2024 Payscale report found that nearly half (47%) of business organizations struggle to balance fair pay practices with spend optimization, and 18% plan to reduce pay increases in 2025 as a result.
For context, median weekly earnings across all employees in the U.S. stood at $1,194 in the first quarter of 2025. This represents an increase of 4.8% from a year prior and exceeds the Consumer Price Index's 2.7% increase in the same time period. However, there's one caveat: Earnings go much further in some places than in others.
In fact, the very definition of a "high-paying" job varies by location, as well as other factors such as industry and benefits. Even a six-figure salary may be considered low-income in places with an unusually high cost of living. Meanwhile, technology, finance, and health care jobs lead in terms of salary, but benefits like remote work can make other lower-paying jobs more desirable.
Regardless, anyone seeking a high-paying job should start by looking at the numbers. Stacker used BLS data to find the 50 highest-paying jobs in Santa Rosa. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.
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2 / 50#49. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
- Median annual wage: $121,950
- Median hourly wage: $58.63
- Total employment: 70 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $122,450
- Median hourly wage: $58.87
- Total employment: 70 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $123,260
- Median hourly wage: $59.26
- Total employment: 50 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $123,560
- Median hourly wage: $59.41
- Total employment: 130 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $123,960
- Median hourly wage: $59.60
- Total employment: 80 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $125,300
- Median hourly wage: $60.24
- Total employment: 120 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Education administrators, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $125,710
- Median hourly wage: $60.44
- Total employment: 120 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $126,220
- Median hourly wage: $60.68
- Total employment: 90 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $126,730
- Median hourly wage: $60.93
- Total employment: 100 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $126,930
- Median hourly wage: $61.02
- Total employment: 120 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Respiratory therapists
- Median annual wage: $129,640
- Median hourly wage: $62.33
- Total employment: 210 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $130,170
- Median hourly wage: $62.58
- Total employment: 30 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $131,230
- Median hourly wage: $63.09
- Total employment: 380 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $131,610
- Median hourly wage: $63.27
- Total employment: 320 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $132,510
- Median hourly wage: $63.71
- Total employment: 70 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
lenetstan // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Radiologic technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $132,830
- Median hourly wage: $63.86
- Total employment: 190 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $133,000
- Median hourly wage: $63.94
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $133,280
- Median hourly wage: $64.08
- Total employment: 70 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Psychology teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $133,830
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $134,810
- Median hourly wage: $64.81
- Total employment: 280 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists
- Median annual wage: $139,110
- Median hourly wage: $66.88
- Total employment: 140 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $141,140
- Median hourly wage: $67.86
- Total employment: 630 people (3.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SofikoS // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $143,750
- Median hourly wage: $69.11
- Total employment: 90 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $144,280
- Median hourly wage: $69.37
- Total employment: 80 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $145,530
- Median hourly wage: $69.97
- Total employment: 370 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $145,710
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 390 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $147,720
- Median hourly wage: $71.02
- Total employment: 50 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $154,960
- Median hourly wage: $74.50
- Total employment: 240 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $155,640
- Median hourly wage: $74.83
- Total employment: 840 people (4.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $155,700
- Median hourly wage: $74.86
- Total employment: 620 people (3.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $156,590
- Median hourly wage: $75.29
- Total employment: 170 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $156,840
- Median hourly wage: $75.40
- Total employment: 890 people (4.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $162,960
- Median hourly wage: $78.35
- Total employment: 80 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $163,190
- Median hourly wage: $78.46
- Total employment: 160 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $163,380
- Median hourly wage: $78.55
- Total employment: 210 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $164,630
- Median hourly wage: $79.15
- Total employment: 200 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $165,870
- Median hourly wage: $79.75
- Total employment: 80 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $171,930
- Median hourly wage: $82.66
- Total employment: 430 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $172,390
- Median hourly wage: $82.88
- Total employment: 3,770 people (18.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $173,160
- Median hourly wage: $83.25
- Total employment: 500 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $173,370
- Median hourly wage: $83.35
- Total employment: 150 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $174,810
- Median hourly wage: $84.04
- Total employment: 320 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $177,100
- Median hourly wage: $85.15
- Total employment: 200 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $185,200
- Median hourly wage: $89.04
- Total employment: 250 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $186,040
- Median hourly wage: $89.44
- Total employment: 140 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $212,760
- Median hourly wage: $102.29
- Total employment: 380 people (1.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Obstetricians and gynecologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Psychiatrists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 190 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Cu Fleshman, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
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