Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,040
- Median hourly wage: $42.81
- Total employment: 110 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in St. Cloud
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 St. Cloud. 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: $89,050
- Median hourly wage: $42.81
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $89,690
- Median hourly wage: $43.12
- Total employment: 390 people (3.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $90,590
- Median hourly wage: $43.56
- Total employment: 50 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $91,000
- Median hourly wage: $43.75
- Total employment: 120 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $91,950
- Median hourly wage: $44.21
- Total employment: 210 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $91,990
- Median hourly wage: $44.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $93,190
- Median hourly wage: $44.80
- Total employment: 40 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $93,230
- Median hourly wage: $44.82
- Total employment: 550 people (5.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Median annual wage: $93,640
- Median hourly wage: $45.02
- Total employment: 70 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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goodluz // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $94,380
- Median hourly wage: $45.38
- Total employment: 100 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Clinical and counseling psychologists
- Median annual wage: $95,000
- Median hourly wage: $45.68
- Total employment: 50 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $95,220
- Median hourly wage: $45.78
- Total employment: 170 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $95,270
- Median hourly wage: $45.81
- Total employment: 230 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $95,440
- Median hourly wage: $45.88
- Total employment: 80 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,700
- Median hourly wage: $46.01
- Total employment: 80 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,660
- Median hourly wage: $47.43
- Total employment: 90 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $100,100
- Median hourly wage: $48.12
- Total employment: 210 people (2.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $100,110
- Median hourly wage: $48.13
- Total employment: 380 people (3.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $101,170
- Median hourly wage: $48.64
- Total employment: 50 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Ground Picture // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $101,650
- Median hourly wage: $48.87
- Total employment: 80 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Education administrators, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $101,850
- Median hourly wage: $48.97
- Total employment: 100 people (1.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $102,850
- Median hourly wage: $49.45
- Total employment: 80 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $103,890
- Median hourly wage: $49.95
- Total employment: 2,940 people (28.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $104,740
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 140 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $108,870
- Median hourly wage: $52.34
- Total employment: 260 people (2.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksander Krsmanovic // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Health information technologists and medical registrars
- Median annual wage: $113,090
- Median hourly wage: $54.37
- Total employment: 60 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $115,840
- Median hourly wage: $55.69
- Total employment: 280 people (2.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $116,290
- Median hourly wage: $55.91
- Total employment: 380 people (3.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $119,540
- Median hourly wage: $57.47
- Total employment: 100 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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dokurose // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $126,350
- Median hourly wage: $60.74
- Total employment: 330 people (3.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $130,280
- Median hourly wage: $62.63
- Total employment: 260 people (2.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $131,260
- Median hourly wage: $63.10
- Total employment: 210 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $131,940
- Median hourly wage: $63.43
- Total employment: 150 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $134,080
- Median hourly wage: $64.46
- Total employment: 110 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $135,270
- Median hourly wage: $65.03
- Total employment: 480 people (4.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $135,760
- Median hourly wage: $65.27
- Total employment: 90 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $137,420
- Median hourly wage: $66.07
- Total employment: 180 people (1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $149,140
- Median hourly wage: $71.70
- Total employment: 50 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $152,400
- Median hourly wage: $73.27
- Total employment: 220 people (2.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $194,060
- Median hourly wage: $93.30
- Total employment: 190 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $196,030
- Median hourly wage: $94.25
- Total employment: 80 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Pediatricians, general
- Median annual wage: $226,030
- Median hourly wage: $108.67
- Total employment: 70 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $233,540
- Median hourly wage: $112.28
- Total employment: 130 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
45 / 50#1. Anesthesiologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
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LightField Studios // Shutterstock
46 / 50#1. Nurse anesthetists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
Photoroyalty // Shutterstock
47 / 50#1. Surgeons, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
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: 250 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Obstetricians and gynecologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
BlurryMe // Shutterstock
50 / 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 (0.37 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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