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1 / 50#50. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
- Median annual wage: $78,770
- Median hourly wage: $37.87
- Total employment: 90 people (1.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Dover
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 Dover. 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. Financial specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $79,760
- Median hourly wage: $38.34
- Total employment: 40 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $79,910
- Median hourly wage: $38.42
- Total employment: 50 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $80,610
- Median hourly wage: $38.76
- Total employment: 300 people (4.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
pio3 // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $80,920
- Median hourly wage: $38.90
- Total employment: 360 people (5.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment
- Median annual wage: $82,140
- Median hourly wage: $39.49
- Total employment: Not available
boonchoke // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $82,490
- Median hourly wage: $39.66
- Total employment: 230 people (3.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,090
- Median hourly wage: $39.95
- Total employment: 80 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Business teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $83,540
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 60 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
- Median annual wage: $83,980
- Median hourly wage: $40.37
- Total employment: 80 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $86,280
- Median hourly wage: $41.48
- Total employment: 1,330 people (19.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $86,900
- Median hourly wage: $41.78
- Total employment: 40 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $88,700
- Median hourly wage: $42.65
- Total employment: 40 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $90,300
- Median hourly wage: $43.41
- Total employment: 80 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $91,910
- Median hourly wage: $44.19
- Total employment: 90 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $92,040
- Median hourly wage: $44.25
- Total employment: 60 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $92,840
- Median hourly wage: $44.63
- Total employment: 60 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,850
- Median hourly wage: $45.12
- Total employment: 50 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,940
- Median hourly wage: $45.16
- Total employment: 290 people (4.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $97,560
- Median hourly wage: $46.91
- Total employment: 120 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $97,920
- Median hourly wage: $47.08
- Total employment: 120 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,330
- Median hourly wage: $47.28
- Total employment: 70 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $98,340
- Median hourly wage: $47.28
- Total employment: 100 people (1.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $98,890
- Median hourly wage: $47.55
- Total employment: 120 people (1.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,290
- Median hourly wage: $47.73
- Total employment: 250 people (3.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,790
- Median hourly wage: $48.94
- Total employment: 240 people (3.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,070
- Median hourly wage: $49.07
- Total employment: 50 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $104,720
- Median hourly wage: $50.35
- Total employment: 40 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $105,970
- Median hourly wage: $50.95
- Total employment: 140 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $106,750
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $108,220
- Median hourly wage: $52.03
- Total employment: 80 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $113,780
- Median hourly wage: $54.70
- Total employment: 40 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $116,790
- Median hourly wage: $56.15
- Total employment: 110 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $118,090
- Median hourly wage: $56.78
- Total employment: 670 people (9.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $118,320
- Median hourly wage: $56.88
- Total employment: 50 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $119,180
- Median hourly wage: $57.30
- Total employment: 70 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $119,200
- Median hourly wage: $57.31
- Total employment: 360 people (5.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $121,590
- Median hourly wage: $58.46
- Total employment: 40 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $123,750
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 290 people (4.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $130,440
- Median hourly wage: $62.71
- Total employment: 140 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $133,680
- Median hourly wage: $64.27
- Total employment: 90 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $141,260
- Median hourly wage: $67.91
- Total employment: 130 people (1.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $144,120
- Median hourly wage: $69.29
- Total employment: 90 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $147,910
- Median hourly wage: $71.11
- Total employment: 180 people (2.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $154,660
- Median hourly wage: $74.36
- Total employment: 40 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kzenon // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $159,700
- Median hourly wage: $76.78
- Total employment: 30 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $160,920
- Median hourly wage: $77.36
- Total employment: 60 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $169,070
- Median hourly wage: $81.29
- Total employment: 40 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $173,780
- Median hourly wage: $83.55
- Total employment: 100 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $234,250
- Median hourly wage: $112.62
- Total employment: 100 people (1.47 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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