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1 / 50#50. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $67,910
- Median hourly wage: $32.65
- Total employment: 30 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Grand Junction
The rich are getting richer, and have been for some time.
Across the nation, wages have continued to rise this year despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to temper inflation. In June, average weekly earnings grew at a higher rate than the Consumer Price Index, the nation's primary inflation indicator.
While pay is increasing across income levels, the historical growth for high-income jobs has been most profound. High-income jobs have grown 69% over the past 50 years—more than both middle- and lower-income jobs, a Pew Trusts analysis shows.
The highest earners in the U.S. are what you'd expect: doctors and other medical professionals, engineers, tech workers, executives, and corporate leaders. Nationally, the 50 top-paying jobs all require at least a bachelor's degree, and many require a master's, doctorate, or another professional degree. Indeed, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that higher degree holders earn more in a typical week and face lower rates of unemployment.
Still, the exact positions that pay the most vary depending on where in the country you are located. Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find the 50 highest-paying jobs in Grand Junction. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2022, so jobs without annual compensation estimates available were excluded from this analysis.
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2 / 50#48. Loan officers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $70,620
- Median hourly wage: $33.95
- Total employment: 140 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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3 / 50#48. Business operations specialists, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $70,620
- Median hourly wage: $33.95
- Total employment: 600 people (9.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Canva
4 / 50#47. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $71,410
- Median hourly wage: $34.33
- Total employment: 50 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SatawatK // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers
- Median annual wage: $71,560
- Median hourly wage: $34.40
- Total employment: 50 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $71,890
- Median hourly wage: $34.56
- Total employment: 150 people (2.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $73,720
- Median hourly wage: $35.44
- Total employment: 100 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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8 / 50#43. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $74,140
- Median hourly wage: $35.64
- Total employment: 250 people (3.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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9 / 50#42. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $76,510
- Median hourly wage: $36.78
- Total employment: 170 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $76,590
- Median hourly wage: $36.82
- Total employment: 50 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $76,770
- Median hourly wage: $36.91
- Total employment: 90 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $79,150
- Median hourly wage: $38.05
- Total employment: Not available
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $79,720
- Median hourly wage: $38.33
- Total employment: 60 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $79,870
- Median hourly wage: $38.40
- Total employment: 40 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $81,480
- Median hourly wage: $39.17
- Total employment: 1,850 people (28.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $82,060
- Median hourly wage: $39.45
- Total employment: 30 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $82,220
- Median hourly wage: $39.53
- Total employment: 360 people (5.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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18 / 50#33. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $82,560
- Median hourly wage: $39.69
- Total employment: 60 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SofikoS // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $84,330
- Median hourly wage: $40.54
- Total employment: 40 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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20 / 50#31. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $85,290
- Median hourly wage: $41.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $86,580
- Median hourly wage: $41.63
- Total employment: 100 people (1.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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22 / 50#29. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $86,910
- Median hourly wage: $41.78
- Total employment: 170 people (2.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $87,090
- Median hourly wage: $41.87
- Total employment: 110 people (1.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $88,040
- Median hourly wage: $42.33
- Total employment: 150 people (2.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,940
- Median hourly wage: $43.24
- Total employment: 50 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $91,300
- Median hourly wage: $43.90
- Total employment: 290 people (4.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $92,180
- Median hourly wage: $44.32
- Total employment: 40 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,580
- Median hourly wage: $44.51
- Total employment: 180 people (2.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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29 / 50#22. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $93,380
- Median hourly wage: $44.89
- Total employment: 40 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $95,980
- Median hourly wage: $46.14
- Total employment: 120 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $96,940
- Median hourly wage: $46.61
- Total employment: 50 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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32 / 50#19. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $97,770
- Median hourly wage: $47.01
- Total employment: 70 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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33 / 50#18. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $98,490
- Median hourly wage: $47.35
- Total employment: 1,060 people (16.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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34 / 50#17. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $98,560
- Median hourly wage: $47.38
- Total employment: 210 people (3.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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35 / 50#16. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $102,710
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 130 people (1.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $102,950
- Median hourly wage: $49.50
- Total employment: 50 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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37 / 50#14. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $103,540
- Median hourly wage: $49.78
- Total employment: 110 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $106,930
- Median hourly wage: $51.41
- Total employment: 130 people (2.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $109,000
- Median hourly wage: $52.41
- Total employment: 200 people (3.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $111,440
- Median hourly wage: $53.58
- Total employment: 110 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $112,910
- Median hourly wage: $54.29
- Total employment: 120 people (1.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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42 / 50#9. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $122,380
- Median hourly wage: $58.84
- Total employment: 80 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $124,220
- Median hourly wage: $59.72
- Total employment: 150 people (2.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $126,720
- Median hourly wage: $60.92
- Total employment: 130 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $128,530
- Median hourly wage: $61.79
- Total employment: 50 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $132,110
- Median hourly wage: $63.52
- Total employment: 30 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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47 / 50#4. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $132,770
- Median hourly wage: $63.83
- Total employment: 120 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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48 / 50#3. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $193,510
- Median hourly wage: $93.03
- Total employment: 110 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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49 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: Exact median salary unknown; at least $239,200 per year or $115 per hour
- Total employment: 270 people (4.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: Exact median salary unknown; at least $239,200 per year or $115 per hour
- Total employment: 140 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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