Tonhom1009 // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,420
- Median hourly wage: $51.17
- Total employment: 50 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Olympia
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 Olympia. 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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N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $106,530
- Median hourly wage: $51.21
- Total employment: 200 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $106,970
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 510 people (4.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $108,070
- Median hourly wage: $51.96
- Total employment: 240 people (1.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $108,190
- Median hourly wage: $52.01
- Total employment: Not available
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N_Sakarin // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Structural iron and steel workers
- Median annual wage: $108,700
- Median hourly wage: $52.26
- Total employment: 60 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $109,250
- Median hourly wage: $52.52
- Total employment: 720 people (5.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $111,230
- Median hourly wage: $53.48
- Total employment: 110 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $111,900
- Median hourly wage: $53.80
- Total employment: 360 people (2.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,590
- Median hourly wage: $54.61
- Total employment: 60 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $114,700
- Median hourly wage: $55.14
- Total employment: 280 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $115,050
- Median hourly wage: $55.31
- Total employment: 220 people (1.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $116,040
- Median hourly wage: $55.79
- Total employment: 110 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $116,120
- Median hourly wage: $55.83
- Total employment: 110 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VH-studio // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. School psychologists
- Median annual wage: $116,210
- Median hourly wage: $55.87
- Total employment: 70 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $116,730
- Median hourly wage: $56.12
- Total employment: 3,480 people (27.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sebastian Duda // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
- Median annual wage: $117,960
- Median hourly wage: $56.71
- Total employment: 60 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Peakstock // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
- Median annual wage: $118,690
- Median hourly wage: $57.06
- Total employment: 40 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $118,970
- Median hourly wage: $57.20
- Total employment: 150 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $119,990
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 70 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $120,440
- Median hourly wage: $57.91
- Total employment: 260 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $121,240
- Median hourly wage: $58.29
- Total employment: 80 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $121,650
- Median hourly wage: $58.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Clinical and counseling psychologists
- Median annual wage: $122,100
- Median hourly wage: $58.70
- Total employment: 40 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Median annual wage: $122,380
- Median hourly wage: $58.84
- Total employment: 60 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $122,460
- Median hourly wage: $58.87
- Total employment: 1,970 people (15.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Unai Huizi Photography // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Dental hygienists
- Median annual wage: $122,740
- Median hourly wage: $59.01
- Total employment: 220 people (1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $128,410
- Median hourly wage: $61.73
- Total employment: 620 people (4.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $129,610
- Median hourly wage: $62.31
- Total employment: 200 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $130,900
- Median hourly wage: $62.93
- Total employment: 220 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $131,160
- Median hourly wage: $63.06
- Total employment: 110 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $134,980
- Median hourly wage: $64.89
- Total employment: 60 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $135,080
- Median hourly wage: $64.94
- Total employment: 700 people (5.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $135,450
- Median hourly wage: $65.12
- Total employment: 340 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $135,500
- Median hourly wage: $65.14
- Total employment: 200 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $135,870
- Median hourly wage: $65.32
- Total employment: 140 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $136,590
- Median hourly wage: $65.67
- Total employment: 110 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $137,840
- Median hourly wage: $66.27
- Total employment: 30 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $138,350
- Median hourly wage: $66.51
- Total employment: 140 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $139,430
- Median hourly wage: $67.03
- Total employment: 650 people (5.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stokkete // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $140,860
- Median hourly wage: $67.72
- Total employment: 90 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $141,520
- Median hourly wage: $68.04
- Total employment: 230 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $144,420
- Median hourly wage: $69.43
- Total employment: 160 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $149,710
- Median hourly wage: $71.97
- Total employment: 260 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $150,750
- Median hourly wage: $72.48
- Total employment: 240 people (1.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $156,870
- Median hourly wage: $75.42
- Total employment: 250 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $161,340
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 240 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $203,870
- Median hourly wage: $98.01
- Total employment: 120 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $216,720
- Median hourly wage: $104.19
- Total employment: 140 people (1.12 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: 150 people (1.17 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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