GaudiLab // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $100,330
- Median hourly wage: $48.24
- Total employment: 410 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Columbia
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 Columbia. 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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Burben // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Air traffic controllers
- Median annual wage: $100,510
- Median hourly wage: $48.32
- Total employment: 40 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,690
- Median hourly wage: $48.41
- Total employment: 620 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,350
- Median hourly wage: $48.73
- Total employment: 360 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $101,370
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 960 people (2.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SeventyFour // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,780
- Median hourly wage: $48.93
- Total employment: 30 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $101,990
- Median hourly wage: $49.03
- Total employment: 660 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $102,850
- Median hourly wage: $49.45
- Total employment: 550 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $102,940
- Median hourly wage: $49.49
- Total employment: 460 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $103,000
- Median hourly wage: $49.52
- Total employment: 2,180 people (5.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $103,050
- Median hourly wage: $49.54
- Total employment: 150 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,220
- Median hourly wage: $49.63
- Total employment: 120 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 2,270 people (5.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lovely Bird // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Power distributors and dispatchers
- Median annual wage: $104,050
- Median hourly wage: $50.03
- Total employment: 50 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Actuaries
- Median annual wage: $104,720
- Median hourly wage: $50.35
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $104,990
- Median hourly wage: $50.48
- Total employment: 430 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,870
- Median hourly wage: $50.90
- Total employment: 90 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $106,340
- Median hourly wage: $51.13
- Total employment: 130 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Washburn HM // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Transportation inspectors
- Median annual wage: $106,850
- Median hourly wage: $51.37
- Total employment: 40 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $112,050
- Median hourly wage: $53.87
- Total employment: 960 people (2.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $113,390
- Median hourly wage: $54.51
- Total employment: 1,930 people (5.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,190
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $117,690
- Median hourly wage: $56.58
- Total employment: 260 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmitry Lobanov // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Nuclear engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,840
- Median hourly wage: $56.65
- Total employment: 80 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $119,620
- Median hourly wage: $57.51
- Total employment: 410 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $121,880
- Median hourly wage: $58.60
- Total employment: 150 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $122,030
- Median hourly wage: $58.67
- Total employment: 180 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $122,340
- Median hourly wage: $58.82
- Total employment: 500 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $123,210
- Median hourly wage: $59.24
- Total employment: 1,190 people (3.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#20. Engineers, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $124,380
- Median hourly wage: $59.80
- Total employment: 140 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Psychologists, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $124,380
- Median hourly wage: $59.80
- Total employment: 40 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Business teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $126,000
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 220 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $126,380
- Median hourly wage: $60.76
- Total employment: 300 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $127,520
- Median hourly wage: $61.31
- Total employment: 480 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $128,070
- Median hourly wage: $61.57
- Total employment: Not available
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $128,730
- Median hourly wage: $61.89
- Total employment: 800 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Skycolors // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $128,740
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 70 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $130,450
- Median hourly wage: $62.72
- Total employment: 230 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $132,600
- Median hourly wage: $63.75
- Total employment: 90 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $134,730
- Median hourly wage: $64.77
- Total employment: 1,030 people (2.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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PanuShot // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Advertising and promotions managers
- Median annual wage: $135,590
- Median hourly wage: $65.19
- Total employment: 60 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $137,250
- Median hourly wage: $65.99
- Total employment: 90 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $137,880
- Median hourly wage: $66.29
- Total employment: 930 people (2.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,060
- Median hourly wage: $70.70
- Total employment: 340 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $185,390
- Median hourly wage: $89.13
- Total employment: 540 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $198,310
- Median hourly wage: $95.34
- Total employment: 570 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $217,580
- Median hourly wage: $104.61
- Total employment: 100 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Nurse anesthetists
- Median annual wage: $219,170
- Median hourly wage: $105.37
- Total employment: 170 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Physicians, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 1,250 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, pathologists (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 50 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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