Peakstock // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
- Median annual wage: $99,410
- Median hourly wage: $47.79
- Total employment: 70 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Tucson
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 Tucson. 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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guruXOX // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Camera operators, television, video, and film
- Median annual wage: $99,510
- Median hourly wage: $47.84
- Total employment: 100 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $100,130
- Median hourly wage: $48.14
- Total employment: 420 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $100,450
- Median hourly wage: $48.30
- Total employment: 80 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $101,320
- Median hourly wage: $48.71
- Total employment: 120 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists
- Median annual wage: $101,430
- Median hourly wage: $48.77
- Total employment: 120 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Education administrators, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $101,500
- Median hourly wage: $48.80
- Total employment: 1,060 people (2.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,110
- Median hourly wage: $49.09
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Skycolors // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $102,280
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 140 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $102,770
- Median hourly wage: $49.41
- Total employment: 440 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $103,220
- Median hourly wage: $49.62
- Total employment: 640 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $105,260
- Median hourly wage: $50.61
- Total employment: 1,500 people (3.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $105,490
- Median hourly wage: $50.72
- Total employment: 270 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prath // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $106,230
- Median hourly wage: $51.07
- Total employment: 1,580 people (4.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Taty77 // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers
- Median annual wage: $107,330
- Median hourly wage: $51.60
- Total employment: 150 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $110,510
- Median hourly wage: $53.13
- Total employment: 1,780 people (4.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $110,730
- Median hourly wage: $53.24
- Total employment: 1,440 people (3.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,490
- Median hourly wage: $53.60
- Total employment: 500 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $112,940
- Median hourly wage: $54.30
- Total employment: 1,170 people (3.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $114,230
- Median hourly wage: $54.92
- Total employment: 5,500 people (14.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Worawee Meepian // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers
- Median annual wage: $115,140
- Median hourly wage: $55.36
- Total employment: 30 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Compensation and benefits managers
- Median annual wage: $115,150
- Median hourly wage: $55.36
- Total employment: 60 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $117,760
- Median hourly wage: $56.62
- Total employment: 360 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $119,160
- Median hourly wage: $57.29
- Total employment: 840 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $122,670
- Median hourly wage: $58.98
- Total employment: 1,060 people (2.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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VE.Studio // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $123,350
- Median hourly wage: $59.30
- Total employment: 140 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $123,780
- Median hourly wage: $59.51
- Total employment: 420 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $123,900
- Median hourly wage: $59.57
- Total employment: 100 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $123,910
- Median hourly wage: $59.57
- Total employment: 1,560 people (4.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $126,000
- Median hourly wage: $60.58
- Total employment: 220 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,320
- Median hourly wage: $60.73
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,040
- Median hourly wage: $61.08
- Total employment: 1,470 people (3.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $127,530
- Median hourly wage: $61.31
- Total employment: 420 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Psychologists, all other
- Median annual wage: $128,040
- Median hourly wage: $61.56
- Total employment: 50 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $132,230
- Median hourly wage: $63.57
- Total employment: 680 people (1.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $138,330
- Median hourly wage: $66.50
- Total employment: 1,710 people (4.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $138,930
- Median hourly wage: $66.79
- Total employment: 1,080 people (2.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $141,530
- Median hourly wage: $68.04
- Total employment: 130 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $147,240
- Median hourly wage: $70.79
- Total employment: 1,630 people (4.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $150,350
- Median hourly wage: $72.29
- Total employment: 240 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $151,550
- Median hourly wage: $72.86
- Total employment: 310 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sebastian Duda // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
- Median annual wage: $156,800
- Median hourly wage: $75.39
- Total employment: 100 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $173,680
- Median hourly wage: $83.50
- Total employment: 310 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $179,760
- Median hourly wage: $86.42
- Total employment: 850 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Pediatricians, general
- Median annual wage: $181,470
- Median hourly wage: $87.25
- Total employment: Not available
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LightField Studios // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Psychiatrists
- Median annual wage: $211,850
- Median hourly wage: $101.85
- Total employment: 130 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $225,970
- Median hourly wage: $108.64
- Total employment: 360 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BlurryMe // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. General internal medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $232,440
- Median hourly wage: $111.75
- Total employment: 180 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Physicians, pathologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 680 people (1.76 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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