4 PM production // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $76,400
- Median hourly wage: $36.73
- Total employment: 170 people (3.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Columbus, Indiana
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 Columbus. 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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fizkes // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $78,080
- Median hourly wage: $37.54
- Total employment: 50 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $79,000
- Median hourly wage: $37.98
- Total employment: 370 people (7.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $79,350
- Median hourly wage: $38.15
- Total employment: 80 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $79,390
- Median hourly wage: $38.17
- Total employment: 90 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $79,650
- Median hourly wage: $38.29
- Total employment: 60 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $80,010
- Median hourly wage: $38.47
- Total employment: 180 people (3.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $80,850
- Median hourly wage: $38.87
- Total employment: 270 people (5.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $82,510
- Median hourly wage: $39.67
- Total employment: 30 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $82,670
- Median hourly wage: $39.74
- Total employment: 90 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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manine99 // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Maintenance workers, machinery
- Median annual wage: $82,930
- Median hourly wage: $39.87
- Total employment: 70 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $82,990
- Median hourly wage: $39.90
- Total employment: 90 people (1.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $83,200
- Median hourly wage: $40.00
- Total employment: 90 people (1.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $83,880
- Median hourly wage: $40.33
- Total employment: 110 people (2.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Median annual wage: $84,530
- Median hourly wage: $40.64
- Total employment: 120 people (2.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $85,250
- Median hourly wage: $40.99
- Total employment: 110 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $88,440
- Median hourly wage: $42.52
- Total employment: 60 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,300
- Median hourly wage: $42.93
- Total employment: 30 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $92,890
- Median hourly wage: $44.66
- Total employment: 60 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $93,140
- Median hourly wage: $44.78
- Total employment: 140 people (2.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $93,760
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $95,680
- Median hourly wage: $46.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $95,980
- Median hourly wage: $46.15
- Total employment: 30 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $96,020
- Median hourly wage: $46.17
- Total employment: 80 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $96,530
- Median hourly wage: $46.41
- Total employment: 160 people (3.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $96,880
- Median hourly wage: $46.58
- Total employment: 70 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,080
- Median hourly wage: $47.15
- Total employment: 110 people (2.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $101,850
- Median hourly wage: $48.96
- Total employment: 390 people (7.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $103,080
- Median hourly wage: $49.56
- Total employment: 230 people (4.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,240
- Median hourly wage: $49.63
- Total employment: 1,240 people (24.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $104,130
- Median hourly wage: $50.06
- Total employment: 30 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $104,320
- Median hourly wage: $50.16
- Total employment: 60 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $106,360
- Median hourly wage: $51.14
- Total employment: 60 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $107,510
- Median hourly wage: $51.69
- Total employment: 100 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $108,040
- Median hourly wage: $51.94
- Total employment: 1,340 people (26.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $109,650
- Median hourly wage: $52.72
- Total employment: 590 people (11.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $109,690
- Median hourly wage: $52.74
- Total employment: 30 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $124,550
- Median hourly wage: $59.88
- Total employment: 60 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $125,790
- Median hourly wage: $60.48
- Total employment: 40 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $126,790
- Median hourly wage: $60.96
- Total employment: 120 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $127,950
- Median hourly wage: $61.52
- Total employment: 90 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $130,350
- Median hourly wage: $62.67
- Total employment: 50 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $131,510
- Median hourly wage: $63.23
- Total employment: 60 people (1.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $134,640
- Median hourly wage: $64.73
- Total employment: 60 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $139,790
- Median hourly wage: $67.21
- Total employment: 150 people (2.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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dokurose // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $140,510
- Median hourly wage: $67.55
- Total employment: 190 people (3.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $152,950
- Median hourly wage: $73.54
- Total employment: 170 people (3.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $178,720
- Median hourly wage: $85.93
- Total employment: Not available
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $204,610
- Median hourly wage: $98.37
- Total employment: 40 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 80 people (1.65 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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