SofikoS // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $85,620
- Median hourly wage: $41.16
- Total employment: 120 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Killeen
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 Killeen. 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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2 / 50#48. Operations research analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $86,940
- Median hourly wage: $41.80
- Total employment: 110 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Budget analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $86,940
- Median hourly wage: $41.80
- Total employment: 90 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $89,060
- Median hourly wage: $42.82
- Total employment: 60 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 70 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $90,230
- Median hourly wage: $43.38
- Total employment: 30 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $90,420
- Median hourly wage: $43.47
- Total employment: 240 people (1.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $91,250
- Median hourly wage: $43.87
- Total employment: 110 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $91,470
- Median hourly wage: $43.98
- Total employment: 180 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $91,660
- Median hourly wage: $44.07
- Total employment: 470 people (3.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $92,090
- Median hourly wage: $44.28
- Total employment: 140 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $94,030
- Median hourly wage: $45.21
- Total employment: 200 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $94,540
- Median hourly wage: $45.45
- Total employment: 70 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $95,210
- Median hourly wage: $45.77
- Total employment: 5,440 people (36.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $95,640
- Median hourly wage: $45.98
- Total employment: 600 people (4.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $98,540
- Median hourly wage: $47.38
- Total employment: 60 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $98,790
- Median hourly wage: $47.50
- Total employment: 200 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,010
- Median hourly wage: $48.08
- Total employment: 370 people (2.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $100,290
- Median hourly wage: $48.22
- Total employment: 190 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $100,420
- Median hourly wage: $48.28
- Total employment: 100 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rido // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $102,590
- Median hourly wage: $49.32
- Total employment: 150 people (1.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $103,650
- Median hourly wage: $49.83
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $104,380
- Median hourly wage: $50.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,170
- Median hourly wage: $51.04
- Total employment: 80 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $107,500
- Median hourly wage: $51.68
- Total employment: 70 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $108,850
- Median hourly wage: $52.33
- Total employment: 120 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $109,710
- Median hourly wage: $52.75
- Total employment: 60 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $110,300
- Median hourly wage: $53.03
- Total employment: 60 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,730
- Median hourly wage: $54.68
- Total employment: 240 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $114,330
- Median hourly wage: $54.97
- Total employment: 380 people (2.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Clinical and counseling psychologists
- Median annual wage: $115,500
- Median hourly wage: $55.53
- Total employment: 90 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $115,890
- Median hourly wage: $55.71
- Total employment: 160 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $117,400
- Median hourly wage: $56.44
- Total employment: 980 people (6.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $117,480
- Median hourly wage: $56.48
- Total employment: 50 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $117,630
- Median hourly wage: $56.55
- Total employment: 40 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $119,320
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 120 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $120,940
- Median hourly wage: $58.14
- Total employment: 480 people (3.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $122,180
- Median hourly wage: $58.74
- Total employment: 260 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $123,460
- Median hourly wage: $59.36
- Total employment: 60 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $124,290
- Median hourly wage: $59.75
- Total employment: 190 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $126,270
- Median hourly wage: $60.71
- Total employment: 30 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,970
- Median hourly wage: $61.53
- Total employment: 390 people (2.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Skycolors // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $133,140
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 60 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $133,390
- Median hourly wage: $64.13
- Total employment: 460 people (3.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $134,400
- Median hourly wage: $64.62
- Total employment: 380 people (2.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stokkete // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $134,860
- Median hourly wage: $64.84
- Total employment: 320 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $140,950
- Median hourly wage: $67.77
- Total employment: 270 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $154,610
- Median hourly wage: $74.33
- Total employment: 50 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $174,770
- Median hourly wage: $84.03
- Total employment: 80 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $180,650
- Median hourly wage: $86.85
- Total employment: 70 people (0.48 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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