Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $78,280
- Median hourly wage: $37.64
- Total employment: 40 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Harrisonburg
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 Harrisonburg. 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#49. Career/technical education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $79,490
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $79,510
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 100 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $79,980
- Median hourly wage: $38.45
- Total employment: 60 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Biological science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $80,860
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 90 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $81,070
- Median hourly wage: $38.98
- Total employment: 50 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lucky Business // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Chemistry teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $81,280
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $81,450
- Median hourly wage: $39.16
- Total employment: 310 people (4.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $81,900
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (1.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Instructional coordinators
- Median annual wage: $81,970
- Median hourly wage: $39.41
- Total employment: 180 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $82,770
- Median hourly wage: $39.79
- Total employment: 340 people (5.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Political science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $82,950
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 90 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
voronaman // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $83,570
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $83,920
- Median hourly wage: $40.35
- Total employment: 100 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Psychology teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $84,140
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 100 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. History teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $84,210
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $84,660
- Median hourly wage: $40.70
- Total employment: 50 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,800
- Median hourly wage: $40.77
- Total employment: 150 people (2.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $85,320
- Median hourly wage: $41.02
- Total employment: 70 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $85,420
- Median hourly wage: $41.07
- Total employment: 150 people (2.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Physics teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $85,650
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $85,920
- Median hourly wage: $41.31
- Total employment: 70 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $87,720
- Median hourly wage: $42.17
- Total employment: 1,130 people (17.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $88,300
- Median hourly wage: $42.45
- Total employment: 40 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $90,650
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $95,700
- Median hourly wage: $46.01
- Total employment: 90 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $97,360
- Median hourly wage: $46.81
- Total employment: 60 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $99,900
- Median hourly wage: $48.03
- Total employment: 230 people (3.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,270
- Median hourly wage: $48.21
- Total employment: 40 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,560
- Median hourly wage: $48.35
- Total employment: 110 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $100,740
- Median hourly wage: $48.43
- Total employment: 50 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $100,910
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 100 people (1.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Business teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $103,270
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 190 people (2.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $105,690
- Median hourly wage: $50.81
- Total employment: 120 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $106,150
- Median hourly wage: $51.03
- Total employment: 140 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $107,790
- Median hourly wage: $51.82
- Total employment: 50 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $110,140
- Median hourly wage: $52.95
- Total employment: 50 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $110,510
- Median hourly wage: $53.13
- Total employment: 90 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $118,730
- Median hourly wage: $57.08
- Total employment: 50 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $126,900
- Median hourly wage: $61.01
- Total employment: 60 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,920
- Median hourly wage: $61.02
- Total employment: 100 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $128,320
- Median hourly wage: $61.69
- Total employment: 80 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $136,410
- Median hourly wage: $65.58
- Total employment: 50 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $140,520
- Median hourly wage: $67.56
- Total employment: 60 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $141,820
- Median hourly wage: $68.19
- Total employment: 150 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $142,470
- Median hourly wage: $68.50
- Total employment: 160 people (2.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $170,660
- Median hourly wage: $82.05
- Total employment: 140 people (2.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $181,340
- Median hourly wage: $87.18
- Total employment: 60 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $210,860
- Median hourly wage: $101.38
- Total employment: 40 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 50 people (0.7 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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