TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $88,370
- Median hourly wage: $42.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Rockford
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 Rockford. 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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creativemarc // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $89,330
- Median hourly wage: $42.95
- Total employment: 170 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Insurance underwriters
- Median annual wage: $89,410
- Median hourly wage: $42.98
- Total employment: 40 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $89,530
- Median hourly wage: $43.05
- Total employment: 170 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $92,840
- Median hourly wage: $44.64
- Total employment: 600 people (4.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,330
- Median hourly wage: $44.87
- Total employment: 140 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $94,080
- Median hourly wage: $45.23
- Total employment: 90 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $94,300
- Median hourly wage: $45.34
- Total employment: 70 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $94,860
- Median hourly wage: $45.61
- Total employment: 180 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $95,610
- Median hourly wage: $45.97
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $95,730
- Median hourly wage: $46.02
- Total employment: 200 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $95,860
- Median hourly wage: $46.09
- Total employment: 3,100 people (22.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $96,710
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 450 people (3.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Irene Miller // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $96,740
- Median hourly wage: $46.51
- Total employment: 280 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $97,670
- Median hourly wage: $46.96
- Total employment: 420 people (3.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,070
- Median hourly wage: $48.11
- Total employment: 130 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $100,820
- Median hourly wage: $48.47
- Total employment: 340 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SofikoS // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $100,870
- Median hourly wage: $48.49
- Total employment: 100 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,900
- Median hourly wage: $48.51
- Total employment: 280 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N_Sakarin // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Structural iron and steel workers
- Median annual wage: $101,030
- Median hourly wage: $48.57
- Total employment: 180 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $101,210
- Median hourly wage: $48.66
- Total employment: 330 people (2.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $101,420
- Median hourly wage: $48.76
- Total employment: 80 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $101,440
- Median hourly wage: $48.77
- Total employment: 40 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $102,290
- Median hourly wage: $49.18
- Total employment: 60 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $102,510
- Median hourly wage: $49.28
- Total employment: 410 people (2.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $102,560
- Median hourly wage: $49.31
- Total employment: 230 people (1.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prath // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $105,380
- Median hourly wage: $50.67
- Total employment: 120 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $105,890
- Median hourly wage: $50.91
- Total employment: 80 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $107,160
- Median hourly wage: $51.52
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $107,400
- Median hourly wage: $51.63
- Total employment: 30 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $108,770
- Median hourly wage: $52.29
- Total employment: 440 people (3.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $109,790
- Median hourly wage: $52.78
- Total employment: 520 people (3.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $112,310
- Median hourly wage: $54.00
- Total employment: 220 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $117,580
- Median hourly wage: $56.53
- Total employment: 210 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $119,440
- Median hourly wage: $57.42
- Total employment: 80 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $123,460
- Median hourly wage: $59.36
- Total employment: 480 people (3.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $124,950
- Median hourly wage: $60.07
- Total employment: 440 people (3.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $126,530
- Median hourly wage: $60.83
- Total employment: 570 people (4.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $127,690
- Median hourly wage: $61.39
- Total employment: 50 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $127,980
- Median hourly wage: $61.53
- Total employment: 100 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $130,130
- Median hourly wage: $62.56
- Total employment: 340 people (2.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $131,570
- Median hourly wage: $63.26
- Total employment: 40 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $133,820
- Median hourly wage: $64.34
- Total employment: 230 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $135,190
- Median hourly wage: $65.00
- Total employment: 220 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $139,570
- Median hourly wage: $67.10
- Total employment: 260 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $208,200
- Median hourly wage: $100.10
- Total employment: 100 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $215,600
- Median hourly wage: $103.66
- Total employment: 70 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $229,320
- Median hourly wage: $110.25
- Total employment: 30 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Zaiets // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Radiologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 70 people (0.53 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: 520 people (3.71 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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