fizkes // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Clinical and counseling psychologists
- Median annual wage: $92,260
- Median hourly wage: $44.36
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Lakeland
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 Lakeland. 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. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $92,790
- Median hourly wage: $44.61
- Total employment: 160 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $93,990
- Median hourly wage: $45.19
- Total employment: 190 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $94,100
- Median hourly wage: $45.24
- Total employment: 5,300 people (20.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $95,480
- Median hourly wage: $45.90
- Total employment: 400 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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My Ocean Production // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Nuclear medicine technologists
- Median annual wage: $95,620
- Median hourly wage: $45.97
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,880
- Median hourly wage: $46.10
- Total employment: 140 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $96,150
- Median hourly wage: $46.22
- Total employment: 200 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $96,430
- Median hourly wage: $46.36
- Total employment: 190 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $96,760
- Median hourly wage: $46.52
- Total employment: 80 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $97,190
- Median hourly wage: $46.73
- Total employment: 250 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Suwin // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay
- Median annual wage: $97,590
- Median hourly wage: $46.92
- Total employment: 50 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,760
- Median hourly wage: $47.00
- Total employment: 410 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $98,020
- Median hourly wage: $47.12
- Total employment: 370 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $98,470
- Median hourly wage: $47.34
- Total employment: 60 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $98,660
- Median hourly wage: $47.43
- Total employment: 180 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,960
- Median hourly wage: $47.58
- Total employment: 60 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $99,990
- Median hourly wage: $48.07
- Total employment: 940 people (3.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $101,380
- Median hourly wage: $48.74
- Total employment: 580 people (2.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,590
- Median hourly wage: $48.84
- Total employment: 930 people (3.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $101,820
- Median hourly wage: $48.95
- Total employment: 170 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $102,980
- Median hourly wage: $49.51
- Total employment: 30 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $103,300
- Median hourly wage: $49.66
- Total employment: 200 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,120
- Median hourly wage: $50.54
- Total employment: 310 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
michaeljung // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Power plant operators
- Median annual wage: $106,930
- Median hourly wage: $51.41
- Total employment: 100 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $108,990
- Median hourly wage: $52.40
- Total employment: 880 people (3.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $112,810
- Median hourly wage: $54.23
- Total employment: 60 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $115,600
- Median hourly wage: $55.58
- Total employment: 330 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $115,640
- Median hourly wage: $55.60
- Total employment: 80 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $115,860
- Median hourly wage: $55.70
- Total employment: 330 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Compensation and benefits managers
- Median annual wage: $120,260
- Median hourly wage: $57.82
- Total employment: 30 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $120,600
- Median hourly wage: $57.98
- Total employment: 730 people (2.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $121,470
- Median hourly wage: $58.40
- Total employment: 260 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $121,480
- Median hourly wage: $58.41
- Total employment: 380 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $121,580
- Median hourly wage: $58.45
- Total employment: 1,060 people (4.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $123,040
- Median hourly wage: $59.15
- Total employment: 220 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $123,140
- Median hourly wage: $59.20
- Total employment: 510 people (1.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $125,960
- Median hourly wage: $60.56
- Total employment: 130 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $130,190
- Median hourly wage: $62.59
- Total employment: 150 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $130,560
- Median hourly wage: $62.77
- Total employment: 1,040 people (3.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $131,620
- Median hourly wage: $63.28
- Total employment: 50 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $137,120
- Median hourly wage: $65.92
- Total employment: 60 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $139,810
- Median hourly wage: $67.22
- Total employment: 430 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $152,990
- Median hourly wage: $73.55
- Total employment: 120 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $156,180
- Median hourly wage: $75.09
- Total employment: 610 people (2.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $168,650
- Median hourly wage: $81.08
- Total employment: 190 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $176,240
- Median hourly wage: $84.73
- Total employment: 480 people (1.82 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: 120 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Physicians, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 270 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Anesthesiologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 150 people (0.58 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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