Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $94,260
- Median hourly wage: $45.32
- Total employment: 180 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Cedar Rapids
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 Cedar Rapids. 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. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $95,480
- Median hourly wage: $45.91
- Total employment: 420 people (3.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $96,320
- Median hourly wage: $46.31
- Total employment: 150 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $97,460
- Median hourly wage: $46.86
- Total employment: 160 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $97,900
- Median hourly wage: $47.07
- Total employment: 190 people (1.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $98,260
- Median hourly wage: $47.24
- Total employment: 200 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $98,870
- Median hourly wage: $47.54
- Total employment: 200 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Clinical and counseling psychologists
- Median annual wage: $99,010
- Median hourly wage: $47.60
- Total employment: 80 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $99,340
- Median hourly wage: $47.76
- Total employment: 110 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $99,650
- Median hourly wage: $47.91
- Total employment: 50 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $99,990
- Median hourly wage: $48.07
- Total employment: 40 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $100,520
- Median hourly wage: $48.33
- Total employment: 560 people (4.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
michaeljung // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Power plant operators
- Median annual wage: $101,520
- Median hourly wage: $48.81
- Total employment: 50 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $101,920
- Median hourly wage: $49.00
- Total employment: 460 people (3.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,030
- Median hourly wage: $49.05
- Total employment: 350 people (2.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Pressmaster // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $102,330
- Median hourly wage: $49.20
- Total employment: 40 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Art directors
- Median annual wage: $102,690
- Median hourly wage: $49.37
- Total employment: 40 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,790
- Median hourly wage: $49.90
- Total employment: 250 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $103,960
- Median hourly wage: $49.98
- Total employment: 130 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Education administrators, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $104,350
- Median hourly wage: $50.17
- Total employment: 190 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $104,770
- Median hourly wage: $50.37
- Total employment: 100 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $105,990
- Median hourly wage: $50.96
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $107,190
- Median hourly wage: $51.54
- Total employment: 340 people (2.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $108,150
- Median hourly wage: $52.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $108,460
- Median hourly wage: $52.15
- Total employment: 90 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $108,490
- Median hourly wage: $52.16
- Total employment: 1,270 people (9.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $109,910
- Median hourly wage: $52.84
- Total employment: 120 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $113,600
- Median hourly wage: $54.61
- Total employment: 50 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $114,110
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 300 people (2.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $116,110
- Median hourly wage: $55.82
- Total employment: 100 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kzenon // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $121,930
- Median hourly wage: $58.62
- Total employment: 40 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $122,970
- Median hourly wage: $59.12
- Total employment: 150 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $124,300
- Median hourly wage: $59.76
- Total employment: 370 people (2.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $125,480
- Median hourly wage: $60.33
- Total employment: 360 people (2.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $126,620
- Median hourly wage: $60.88
- Total employment: 310 people (2.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $128,660
- Median hourly wage: $61.86
- Total employment: 190 people (1.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $129,390
- Median hourly wage: $62.21
- Total employment: 50 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $130,020
- Median hourly wage: $62.51
- Total employment: 820 people (5.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $130,700
- Median hourly wage: $62.84
- Total employment: 230 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $131,280
- Median hourly wage: $63.12
- Total employment: 90 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Skycolors // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $132,110
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $132,590
- Median hourly wage: $63.75
- Total employment: 280 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $143,500
- Median hourly wage: $68.99
- Total employment: 420 people (3.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,620
- Median hourly wage: $70.97
- Total employment: 170 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $159,580
- Median hourly wage: $76.72
- Total employment: 370 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $161,910
- Median hourly wage: $77.84
- Total employment: 80 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BlurryMe // Shutterstock
47 / 50#1. General internal medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Physicians, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 80 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Komsan Loonprom // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Cardiologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 80 people (0.57 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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