GaudiLab // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Engineering teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $102,730
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 130 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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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Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 90 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,730
- Median hourly wage: $49.87
- Total employment: 1,050 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $105,560
- Median hourly wage: $50.75
- Total employment: 580 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $105,860
- Median hourly wage: $50.89
- Total employment: 840 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $106,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.96
- Total employment: 1,460 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $106,850
- Median hourly wage: $51.37
- Total employment: 240 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $107,020
- Median hourly wage: $51.45
- Total employment: 840 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $107,260
- Median hourly wage: $51.57
- Total employment: 190 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Education administrators, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $107,400
- Median hourly wage: $51.64
- Total employment: 700 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $107,420
- Median hourly wage: $51.65
- Total employment: 3,740 people (5.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $108,150
- Median hourly wage: $52.00
- Total employment: 700 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $109,110
- Median hourly wage: $52.46
- Total employment: 550 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $109,120
- Median hourly wage: $52.46
- Total employment: 1,140 people (1.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $109,900
- Median hourly wage: $52.84
- Total employment: 50 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $111,230
- Median hourly wage: $53.48
- Total employment: 720 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $113,110
- Median hourly wage: $54.38
- Total employment: 210 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $113,520
- Median hourly wage: $54.58
- Total employment: 50 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $114,890
- Median hourly wage: $55.24
- Total employment: 910 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,250
- Median hourly wage: $56.37
- Total employment: 50 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $124,870
- Median hourly wage: $60.04
- Total employment: 2,730 people (4.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $125,650
- Median hourly wage: $60.41
- Total employment: 580 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Worawee Meepian // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers
- Median annual wage: $125,960
- Median hourly wage: $60.56
- Total employment: 70 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,260
- Median hourly wage: $60.70
- Total employment: 790 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $126,590
- Median hourly wage: $60.86
- Total employment: 1,350 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $128,240
- Median hourly wage: $61.65
- Total employment: 560 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $128,730
- Median hourly wage: $61.89
- Total employment: 1,340 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $130,320
- Median hourly wage: $62.65
- Total employment: 1,020 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $131,470
- Median hourly wage: $63.21
- Total employment: 80 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $133,470
- Median hourly wage: $64.17
- Total employment: 1,950 people (2.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Washburn HM // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Transportation inspectors
- Median annual wage: $134,410
- Median hourly wage: $64.62
- Total employment: 90 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $134,870
- Median hourly wage: $64.84
- Total employment: 1,700 people (2.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $135,860
- Median hourly wage: $65.32
- Total employment: 370 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Burben // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Air traffic controllers
- Median annual wage: $142,380
- Median hourly wage: $68.45
- Total employment: 120 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sebastian Duda // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
- Median annual wage: $144,540
- Median hourly wage: $69.49
- Total employment: 300 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
- Median annual wage: $145,450
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 90 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Psychologists, all other
- Median annual wage: $147,910
- Median hourly wage: $71.11
- Total employment: Not available
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $154,420
- Median hourly wage: $74.24
- Total employment: 990 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $155,000
- Median hourly wage: $74.52
- Total employment: 690 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Skycolors // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $160,200
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 150 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Another77 // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Petroleum engineers
- Median annual wage: $173,400
- Median hourly wage: $83.37
- Total employment: 680 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Djols // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Emergency medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $178,900
- Median hourly wage: $86.01
- Total employment: 80 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $179,450
- Median hourly wage: $86.27
- Total employment: 450 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Ophthalmologists, except pediatric
- Median annual wage: $208,000
- Median hourly wage: $100.00
- Total employment: Not available
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Pediatricians, general
- Median annual wage: $227,760
- Median hourly wage: $109.50
- Total employment: Not available
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Komsan Loonprom // Shutterstock
46 / 50#1. Cardiologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
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: Not available
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
48 / 50#1. Psychiatrists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Physicians, pathologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 40 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 1,090 people (1.63 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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