N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $168,070
- Median hourly wage: $80.80
- Total employment: 15,550 people (13.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in San Jose
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 San Jose. 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. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $168,660
- Median hourly wage: $81.09
- Total employment: 340 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Psychologists, all other
- Median annual wage: $169,330
- Median hourly wage: $81.41
- Total employment: 110 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $169,560
- Median hourly wage: $81.52
- Total employment: 120 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $169,930
- Median hourly wage: $81.70
- Total employment: 2,250 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
- Median annual wage: $170,590
- Median hourly wage: $82.01
- Total employment: 210 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SofikoS // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $170,600
- Median hourly wage: $82.02
- Total employment: 490 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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8 / 50#43. Art directors
- Median annual wage: $170,760
- Median hourly wage: $82.10
- Total employment: 850 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $173,160
- Median hourly wage: $83.25
- Total employment: 6,570 people (5.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $173,640
- Median hourly wage: $83.48
- Total employment: 1,640 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $174,120
- Median hourly wage: $83.71
- Total employment: 2,950 people (2.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $174,810
- Median hourly wage: $84.04
- Total employment: 300 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $175,050
- Median hourly wage: $84.16
- Total employment: 340 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Life scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $175,330
- Median hourly wage: $84.29
- Total employment: 60 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $175,520
- Median hourly wage: $84.38
- Total employment: 2,500 people (2.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Statisticians
- Median annual wage: $177,740
- Median hourly wage: $85.45
- Total employment: 420 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $178,100
- Median hourly wage: $85.62
- Total employment: 4,290 people (3.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $179,050
- Median hourly wage: $86.08
- Total employment: 4,800 people (4.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $181,230
- Median hourly wage: $87.13
- Total employment: 1,480 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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20 / 50#31. Nuclear medicine technologists
- Median annual wage: $183,820
- Median hourly wage: $88.38
- Total employment: 80 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $186,920
- Median hourly wage: $89.87
- Total employment: 4,750 people (4.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Radiation therapists
- Median annual wage: $187,700
- Median hourly wage: $90.24
- Total employment: 120 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $188,500
- Median hourly wage: $90.63
- Total employment: 190 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Computer and information research scientists
- Median annual wage: $191,880
- Median hourly wage: $92.25
- Total employment: 2,190 people (1.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $194,510
- Median hourly wage: $93.52
- Total employment: 650 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $196,250
- Median hourly wage: $94.35
- Total employment: 1,950 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $197,090
- Median hourly wage: $94.76
- Total employment: 9,320 people (8.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $200,450
- Median hourly wage: $96.37
- Total employment: 9,170 people (8.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $208,270
- Median hourly wage: $100.13
- Total employment: 90,280 people (79.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $208,940
- Median hourly wage: $100.45
- Total employment: 21,460 people (18.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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luchschenF // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Physicists
- Median annual wage: $214,520
- Median hourly wage: $103.14
- Total employment: 430 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $215,120
- Median hourly wage: $103.42
- Total employment: 13,530 people (11.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $215,600
- Median hourly wage: $103.65
- Total employment: Not available
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34 / 50#17. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $218,460
- Median hourly wage: $105.03
- Total employment: 910 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $218,920
- Median hourly wage: $105.25
- Total employment: 9,350 people (8.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Compensation and benefits managers
- Median annual wage: $220,680
- Median hourly wage: $106.10
- Total employment: 350 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $221,480
- Median hourly wage: $106.48
- Total employment: 1,100 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $225,730
- Median hourly wage: $108.52
- Total employment: 1,280 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $226,940
- Median hourly wage: $109.11
- Total employment: 5,270 people (4.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $228,580
- Median hourly wage: $109.90
- Total employment: 7,590 people (6.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $231,740
- Median hourly wage: $111.41
- Total employment: 940 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
42 / 50#1. Lawyers (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 6,270 people (5.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
43 / 50#1. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 90 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
44 / 50#1. Nurse anesthetists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 120 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
45 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 1,350 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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LightField Studios // Shutterstock
46 / 50#1. Psychiatrists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 150 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#1. Chief executives (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 2,430 people (2.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Computer and information systems managers (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 20,190 people (17.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Obstetricians and gynecologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, pathologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 30 people (0.03 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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