Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $128,460
- Median hourly wage: $61.76
- Total employment: 310 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Santa Maria
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 Maria. 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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ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $128,700
- Median hourly wage: $61.87
- Total employment: 160 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $129,230
- Median hourly wage: $62.13
- Total employment: 130 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prath // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $129,370
- Median hourly wage: $62.20
- Total employment: 40 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Daniel Besic // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. English language and literature teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $129,620
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 70 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $130,610
- Median hourly wage: $62.80
- Total employment: 80 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $130,750
- Median hourly wage: $62.86
- Total employment: 160 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $130,930
- Median hourly wage: $62.95
- Total employment: 700 people (3.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists
- Median annual wage: $131,170
- Median hourly wage: $63.06
- Total employment: 180 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $131,620
- Median hourly wage: $63.28
- Total employment: 130 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $132,010
- Median hourly wage: $63.47
- Total employment: 280 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $132,070
- Median hourly wage: $63.49
- Total employment: 30 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $132,920
- Median hourly wage: $63.91
- Total employment: 40 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $133,470
- Median hourly wage: $64.17
- Total employment: 3,140 people (15.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $133,600
- Median hourly wage: $64.23
- Total employment: 160 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $134,620
- Median hourly wage: $64.72
- Total employment: 260 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $134,820
- Median hourly wage: $64.82
- Total employment: 30 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $136,380
- Median hourly wage: $65.57
- Total employment: 30 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $136,850
- Median hourly wage: $65.79
- Total employment: 70 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $140,380
- Median hourly wage: $67.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SofikoS // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $140,980
- Median hourly wage: $67.78
- Total employment: 90 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $141,020
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 410 people (2.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Communications teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $142,330
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $147,060
- Median hourly wage: $70.70
- Total employment: 30 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $147,320
- Median hourly wage: $70.83
- Total employment: 30 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stokkete // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $150,840
- Median hourly wage: $72.52
- Total employment: 130 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $150,930
- Median hourly wage: $72.56
- Total employment: 220 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $156,850
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 70 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $157,520
- Median hourly wage: $75.73
- Total employment: 110 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $157,860
- Median hourly wage: $75.89
- Total employment: 130 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $158,380
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 90 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $160,190
- Median hourly wage: $77.01
- Total employment: Not available
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $162,530
- Median hourly wage: $78.14
- Total employment: 910 people (4.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $163,020
- Median hourly wage: $78.38
- Total employment: 2,030 people (10.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $163,460
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $163,740
- Median hourly wage: $78.72
- Total employment: 730 people (3.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $163,950
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $164,970
- Median hourly wage: $79.31
- Total employment: 160 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $165,810
- Median hourly wage: $79.72
- Total employment: 260 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Computer science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $166,630
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $166,690
- Median hourly wage: $80.14
- Total employment: 360 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Geography teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $169,670
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $170,380
- Median hourly wage: $81.91
- Total employment: 600 people (2.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $171,150
- Median hourly wage: $82.28
- Total employment: 210 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $196,810
- Median hourly wage: $94.62
- Total employment: 330 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $200,790
- Median hourly wage: $96.53
- Total employment: 760 people (3.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $205,680
- Median hourly wage: $98.89
- Total employment: 380 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Psychiatrists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Pediatricians, general (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
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: 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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