Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. First-line supervisors of correctional officers
- Median annual wage: $91,710
- Median hourly wage: $44.09
- Total employment: 60 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Scranton
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 Scranton. 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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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $92,340
- Median hourly wage: $44.39
- Total employment: 150 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lucky Business // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Chemistry teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $92,480
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $94,220
- Median hourly wage: $45.30
- Total employment: 240 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Education administrators, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $95,660
- Median hourly wage: $45.99
- Total employment: 290 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $95,850
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 290 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $95,980
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 110 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Engineering teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $96,230
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $96,690
- Median hourly wage: $46.49
- Total employment: 350 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $96,760
- Median hourly wage: $46.52
- Total employment: 480 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Electrical and electronics drafters
- Median annual wage: $98,130
- Median hourly wage: $47.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $100,180
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 510 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,030
- Median hourly wage: $48.57
- Total employment: 1,050 people (4.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
voronaman // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $101,100
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $101,810
- Median hourly wage: $48.95
- Total employment: 250 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $102,480
- Median hourly wage: $49.27
- Total employment: 840 people (3.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,750
- Median hourly wage: $49.40
- Total employment: 70 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,940
- Median hourly wage: $49.49
- Total employment: 430 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $103,740
- Median hourly wage: $49.87
- Total employment: 50 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Music directors and composers
- Median annual wage: $104,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.00
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $104,570
- Median hourly wage: $50.27
- Total employment: 180 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $105,370
- Median hourly wage: $50.66
- Total employment: 140 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $106,450
- Median hourly wage: $51.18
- Total employment: 580 people (2.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $106,530
- Median hourly wage: $51.22
- Total employment: 110 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $108,730
- Median hourly wage: $52.27
- Total employment: 570 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $108,740
- Median hourly wage: $52.28
- Total employment: 180 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Worawee Meepian // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers
- Median annual wage: $109,740
- Median hourly wage: $52.76
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $110,350
- Median hourly wage: $53.05
- Total employment: 60 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $110,860
- Median hourly wage: $53.30
- Total employment: 700 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,700
- Median hourly wage: $53.70
- Total employment: 180 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $113,950
- Median hourly wage: $54.79
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $116,630
- Median hourly wage: $56.07
- Total employment: 210 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $118,180
- Median hourly wage: $56.82
- Total employment: 70 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $119,430
- Median hourly wage: $57.42
- Total employment: 220 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $122,240
- Median hourly wage: $58.77
- Total employment: 330 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $122,700
- Median hourly wage: $58.99
- Total employment: 120 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $123,280
- Median hourly wage: $59.27
- Total employment: 790 people (3.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $125,290
- Median hourly wage: $60.24
- Total employment: 90 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Elnur // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Podiatrists
- Median annual wage: $126,400
- Median hourly wage: $60.77
- Total employment: 40 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $128,120
- Median hourly wage: $61.60
- Total employment: 460 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Business teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $129,100
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 160 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $132,870
- Median hourly wage: $63.88
- Total employment: 370 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $133,420
- Median hourly wage: $64.14
- Total employment: 690 people (2.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,380
- Median hourly wage: $70.86
- Total employment: 210 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $166,820
- Median hourly wage: $80.20
- Total employment: 560 people (2.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $182,580
- Median hourly wage: $87.78
- Total employment: 100 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $201,120
- Median hourly wage: $96.69
- Total employment: 320 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Nurse anesthetists
- Median annual wage: $210,350
- Median hourly wage: $101.13
- Total employment: 60 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $221,070
- Median hourly wage: $106.28
- Total employment: 220 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Psychiatrists
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 30 people (0.12 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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