Pixel B // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Tool and die makers
- Median annual wage: $62,340
- Median hourly wage: $29.97
- Total employment: 100 people (2.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Michigan City
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 Michigan City. 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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Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $63,110
- Median hourly wage: $30.34
- Total employment: 190 people (4.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GLRL // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $63,270
- Median hourly wage: $30.42
- Total employment: 160 people (3.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prath // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $64,430
- Median hourly wage: $30.98
- Total employment: 40 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
pio3 // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $64,740
- Median hourly wage: $31.12
- Total employment: 200 people (4.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $66,190
- Median hourly wage: $31.82
- Total employment: 60 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $69,110
- Median hourly wage: $33.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $69,320
- Median hourly wage: $33.33
- Total employment: 70 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $71,450
- Median hourly wage: $34.35
- Total employment: 490 people (11.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Instructional coordinators
- Median annual wage: $71,780
- Median hourly wage: $34.51
- Total employment: 30 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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ImageFlow // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $72,690
- Median hourly wage: $34.95
- Total employment: 280 people (6.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DGLimages // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Healthcare social workers
- Median annual wage: $73,840
- Median hourly wage: $35.50
- Total employment: 50 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $73,970
- Median hourly wage: $35.56
- Total employment: 40 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $74,130
- Median hourly wage: $35.64
- Total employment: 40 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $74,300
- Median hourly wage: $35.72
- Total employment: 50 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $74,990
- Median hourly wage: $36.05
- Total employment: Not available
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Cement masons and concrete finishers
- Median annual wage: $75,150
- Median hourly wage: $36.13
- Total employment: 70 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $75,360
- Median hourly wage: $36.23
- Total employment: 190 people (4.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $76,020
- Median hourly wage: $36.55
- Total employment: 40 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Computer network support specialists
- Median annual wage: $76,530
- Median hourly wage: $36.79
- Total employment: 50 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $76,560
- Median hourly wage: $36.81
- Total employment: 50 people (1.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $77,340
- Median hourly wage: $37.18
- Total employment: 240 people (5.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $77,800
- Median hourly wage: $37.41
- Total employment: 90 people (2.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $78,550
- Median hourly wage: $37.76
- Total employment: 120 people (2.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $79,470
- Median hourly wage: $38.21
- Total employment: 830 people (20.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Irene Miller // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $79,660
- Median hourly wage: $38.30
- Total employment: 220 people (5.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $81,260
- Median hourly wage: $39.07
- Total employment: 50 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,370
- Median hourly wage: $40.08
- Total employment: 70 people (1.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $86,600
- Median hourly wage: $41.63
- Total employment: 50 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $86,760
- Median hourly wage: $41.71
- Total employment: 140 people (3.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,190
- Median hourly wage: $44.80
- Total employment: 60 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $94,780
- Median hourly wage: $45.57
- Total employment: 70 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $95,110
- Median hourly wage: $45.73
- Total employment: 50 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $95,370
- Median hourly wage: $45.85
- Total employment: 50 people (1.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $96,900
- Median hourly wage: $46.59
- Total employment: 130 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $97,830
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 110 people (2.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $97,980
- Median hourly wage: $47.11
- Total employment: 50 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $99,460
- Median hourly wage: $47.82
- Total employment: 40 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $99,540
- Median hourly wage: $47.86
- Total employment: 580 people (14.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $101,210
- Median hourly wage: $48.66
- Total employment: 70 people (1.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $104,870
- Median hourly wage: $50.42
- Total employment: 120 people (2.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $114,660
- Median hourly wage: $55.13
- Total employment: 90 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $115,220
- Median hourly wage: $55.39
- Total employment: 140 people (3.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $124,020
- Median hourly wage: $59.63
- Total employment: 90 people (2.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $124,090
- Median hourly wage: $59.66
- Total employment: 50 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $124,540
- Median hourly wage: $59.87
- Total employment: 70 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $125,650
- Median hourly wage: $60.41
- Total employment: 30 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $133,360
- Median hourly wage: $64.11
- Total employment: 60 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $149,220
- Median hourly wage: $71.74
- Total employment: 30 people (0.8 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: 40 people (0.94 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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