Undrey // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,200
- Median hourly wage: $49.14
- Total employment: 180 people (1.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Charlottesville
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 Charlottesville. 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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PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $102,350
- Median hourly wage: $49.21
- Total employment: 60 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $102,590
- Median hourly wage: $49.32
- Total employment: 230 people (2.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $103,720
- Median hourly wage: $49.86
- Total employment: 220 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sebastian Duda // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
- Median annual wage: $104,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.00
- Total employment: 30 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $104,180
- Median hourly wage: $50.09
- Total employment: 110 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $104,450
- Median hourly wage: $50.22
- Total employment: 260 people (2.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $104,840
- Median hourly wage: $50.40
- Total employment: 60 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,470
- Median hourly wage: $50.71
- Total employment: 90 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $105,660
- Median hourly wage: $50.80
- Total employment: 100 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $106,790
- Median hourly wage: $51.34
- Total employment: 490 people (4.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Daxiao Productions // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Marriage and family therapists
- Median annual wage: $106,870
- Median hourly wage: $51.38
- Total employment: 40 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $107,590
- Median hourly wage: $51.72
- Total employment: 100 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $108,440
- Median hourly wage: $52.14
- Total employment: 160 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $108,850
- Median hourly wage: $52.33
- Total employment: 160 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $118,830
- Median hourly wage: $57.13
- Total employment: 360 people (3.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $119,220
- Median hourly wage: $57.32
- Total employment: 110 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $120,180
- Median hourly wage: $57.78
- Total employment: 90 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $120,480
- Median hourly wage: $57.93
- Total employment: 180 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $124,360
- Median hourly wage: $59.79
- Total employment: 340 people (3.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $124,480
- Median hourly wage: $59.85
- Total employment: 100 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $125,360
- Median hourly wage: $60.27
- Total employment: 70 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $126,570
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: Not available
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $127,910
- Median hourly wage: $61.50
- Total employment: 1,320 people (11.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $128,980
- Median hourly wage: $62.01
- Total employment: 90 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $129,260
- Median hourly wage: $62.15
- Total employment: 450 people (3.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Biological science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $130,450
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 130 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $132,240
- Median hourly wage: $63.58
- Total employment: 390 people (3.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $133,540
- Median hourly wage: $64.20
- Total employment: 90 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Computer and information research scientists
- Median annual wage: $134,160
- Median hourly wage: $64.50
- Total employment: 50 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SeventyFour // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $134,440
- Median hourly wage: $64.64
- Total employment: 30 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $134,880
- Median hourly wage: $64.85
- Total employment: 130 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $135,780
- Median hourly wage: $65.28
- Total employment: 40 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $136,420
- Median hourly wage: $65.59
- Total employment: 450 people (3.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $137,030
- Median hourly wage: $65.88
- Total employment: 300 people (2.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $140,280
- Median hourly wage: $67.44
- Total employment: 70 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $142,150
- Median hourly wage: $68.34
- Total employment: 140 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $143,510
- Median hourly wage: $68.99
- Total employment: 160 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $152,840
- Median hourly wage: $73.48
- Total employment: 70 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $153,490
- Median hourly wage: $73.79
- Total employment: 220 people (1.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $159,700
- Median hourly wage: $76.78
- Total employment: 520 people (4.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $162,050
- Median hourly wage: $77.91
- Total employment: 100 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $162,390
- Median hourly wage: $78.07
- Total employment: 150 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $163,230
- Median hourly wage: $78.48
- Total employment: 400 people (3.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Physicists
- Median annual wage: $170,040
- Median hourly wage: $81.75
- Total employment: 60 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $202,980
- Median hourly wage: $97.59
- Total employment: 100 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $212,870
- Median hourly wage: $102.34
- Total employment: 950 people (8.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $219,590
- Median hourly wage: $105.57
- Total employment: 40 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Nurse anesthetists
- Median annual wage: $233,000
- Median hourly wage: $112.02
- Total employment: 50 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 140 people (1.27 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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