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1 / 50#50. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $99,440
- Median hourly wage: $47.81
- Total employment: 340 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Akron
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 Akron. 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. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,750
- Median hourly wage: $47.96
- Total employment: 1,270 people (3.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $99,930
- Median hourly wage: $48.04
- Total employment: 60 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,340
- Median hourly wage: $48.24
- Total employment: 540 people (1.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $100,820
- Median hourly wage: $48.47
- Total employment: 80 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $100,970
- Median hourly wage: $48.55
- Total employment: 50 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $101,040
- Median hourly wage: $48.58
- Total employment: 150 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $101,110
- Median hourly wage: $48.61
- Total employment: 2,290 people (7.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $101,130
- Median hourly wage: $48.62
- Total employment: 260 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Forensic science technicians
- Median annual wage: $102,230
- Median hourly wage: $49.15
- Total employment: 80 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,290
- Median hourly wage: $49.18
- Total employment: 860 people (2.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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12 / 50#39. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,310
- Median hourly wage: $49.19
- Total employment: 90 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $102,390
- Median hourly wage: $49.22
- Total employment: 130 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $102,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.23
- Total employment: 1,230 people (3.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $102,580
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 750 people (2.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $103,330
- Median hourly wage: $49.68
- Total employment: 110 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
H_Ko // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Materials scientists
- Median annual wage: $103,350
- Median hourly wage: $49.69
- Total employment: 60 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $104,920
- Median hourly wage: $50.44
- Total employment: 200 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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19 / 50#32. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $105,250
- Median hourly wage: $50.60
- Total employment: 140 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,660
- Median hourly wage: $50.80
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,860
- Median hourly wage: $50.89
- Total employment: 80 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $112,310
- Median hourly wage: $53.99
- Total employment: 320 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $114,770
- Median hourly wage: $55.18
- Total employment: 70 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $115,880
- Median hourly wage: $55.71
- Total employment: 220 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $116,370
- Median hourly wage: $55.95
- Total employment: 100 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Actuaries
- Median annual wage: $118,040
- Median hourly wage: $56.75
- Total employment: 50 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $119,040
- Median hourly wage: $57.23
- Total employment: 250 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $122,470
- Median hourly wage: $58.88
- Total employment: 50 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $122,820
- Median hourly wage: $59.05
- Total employment: 740 people (2.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $123,650
- Median hourly wage: $59.45
- Total employment: 200 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $125,680
- Median hourly wage: $60.42
- Total employment: 1,220 people (3.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,270
- Median hourly wage: $60.71
- Total employment: 460 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $127,740
- Median hourly wage: $61.41
- Total employment: 310 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $127,890
- Median hourly wage: $61.49
- Total employment: 30 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $128,710
- Median hourly wage: $61.88
- Total employment: 1,290 people (4.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $129,120
- Median hourly wage: $62.08
- Total employment: 170 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $132,410
- Median hourly wage: $63.66
- Total employment: 1,610 people (5.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $134,000
- Median hourly wage: $64.42
- Total employment: 840 people (2.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $134,030
- Median hourly wage: $64.44
- Total employment: 460 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $135,300
- Median hourly wage: $65.05
- Total employment: 210 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $138,250
- Median hourly wage: $66.47
- Total employment: 550 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $139,600
- Median hourly wage: $67.11
- Total employment: 100 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $158,960
- Median hourly wage: $76.42
- Total employment: 460 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $161,840
- Median hourly wage: $77.81
- Total employment: 750 people (2.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $180,460
- Median hourly wage: $86.76
- Total employment: 270 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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LightField Studios // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Nurse anesthetists
- Median annual wage: $185,140
- Median hourly wage: $89.01
- Total employment: 260 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $213,900
- Median hourly wage: $102.84
- Total employment: 1,260 people (3.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 100 people (0.32 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 (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Zaiets // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Radiologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
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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