rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $64,840
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 340 people (10.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Bay 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 Bay 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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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $65,100
- Median hourly wage: $31.30
- Total employment: 40 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VH-studio // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors
- Median annual wage: $65,120
- Median hourly wage: $31.31
- Total employment: 90 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DGLimages // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Healthcare social workers
- Median annual wage: $66,130
- Median hourly wage: $31.79
- Total employment: 90 people (2.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $66,770
- Median hourly wage: $32.10
- Total employment: 220 people (6.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Daniel M Ernst // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Eligibility interviewers, government programs
- Median annual wage: $67,290
- Median hourly wage: $32.35
- Total employment: 50 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $68,060
- Median hourly wage: $32.72
- Total employment: 320 people (9.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Industrial machinery mechanics
- Median annual wage: $69,810
- Median hourly wage: $33.56
- Total employment: 190 people (5.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
pio3 // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $70,240
- Median hourly wage: $33.77
- Total employment: 190 people (5.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $71,130
- Median hourly wage: $34.20
- Total employment: 120 people (3.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $73,620
- Median hourly wage: $35.40
- Total employment: 60 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Production, planning, and expediting clerks
- Median annual wage: $74,250
- Median hourly wage: $35.70
- Total employment: 40 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Median annual wage: $74,400
- Median hourly wage: $35.77
- Total employment: 80 people (2.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $74,530
- Median hourly wage: $35.83
- Total employment: 130 people (3.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $75,660
- Median hourly wage: $36.38
- Total employment: 90 people (2.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $75,670
- Median hourly wage: $36.38
- Total employment: 80 people (2.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $75,740
- Median hourly wage: $36.41
- Total employment: 40 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $77,280
- Median hourly wage: $37.15
- Total employment: 80 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Clinical and counseling psychologists
- Median annual wage: $77,900
- Median hourly wage: $37.45
- Total employment: 40 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $77,920
- Median hourly wage: $37.46
- Total employment: 90 people (2.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $78,220
- Median hourly wage: $37.60
- Total employment: 80 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $78,690
- Median hourly wage: $37.83
- Total employment: 670 people (19.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $79,940
- Median hourly wage: $38.43
- Total employment: 60 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $81,120
- Median hourly wage: $39.00
- Total employment: 30 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $81,710
- Median hourly wage: $39.28
- Total employment: 60 people (1.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Tool and die makers
- Median annual wage: $84,610
- Median hourly wage: $40.68
- Total employment: 30 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $87,670
- Median hourly wage: $42.15
- Total employment: 840 people (25.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,180
- Median hourly wage: $42.88
- Total employment: Not available
fizkes // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $90,090
- Median hourly wage: $43.31
- Total employment: 40 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $91,870
- Median hourly wage: $44.17
- Total employment: 100 people (3.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $92,650
- Median hourly wage: $44.55
- Total employment: 70 people (2.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $93,820
- Median hourly wage: $45.10
- Total employment: 30 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $94,060
- Median hourly wage: $45.22
- Total employment: 40 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $96,850
- Median hourly wage: $46.56
- Total employment: 130 people (3.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,430
- Median hourly wage: $46.84
- Total employment: 130 people (4.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $97,960
- Median hourly wage: $47.09
- Total employment: 110 people (3.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $98,830
- Median hourly wage: $47.52
- Total employment: 60 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $99,130
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 90 people (2.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,300
- Median hourly wage: $47.74
- Total employment: 70 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $99,630
- Median hourly wage: $47.90
- Total employment: 70 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $99,640
- Median hourly wage: $47.90
- Total employment: 40 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $100,200
- Median hourly wage: $48.17
- Total employment: 30 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $122,750
- Median hourly wage: $59.01
- Total employment: 40 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $124,170
- Median hourly wage: $59.70
- Total employment: 80 people (2.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $125,740
- Median hourly wage: $60.45
- Total employment: 90 people (2.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,900
- Median hourly wage: $61.49
- Total employment: 110 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $128,450
- Median hourly wage: $61.76
- Total employment: 60 people (1.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $133,950
- Median hourly wage: $64.40
- Total employment: 30 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $167,270
- Median hourly wage: $80.42
- Total employment: 40 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $214,900
- Median hourly wage: $103.32
- Total employment: 30 people (0.95 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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