ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $62,470
- Median hourly wage: $30.03
- Total employment: 70 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Beckley
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 Beckley. 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. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Median annual wage: $62,790
- Median hourly wage: $30.19
- Total employment: 130 people (3.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $62,880
- Median hourly wage: $30.23
- Total employment: 50 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $62,890
- Median hourly wage: $30.23
- Total employment: 140 people (3.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ironwas // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Continuous mining machine operators
- Median annual wage: $62,900
- Median hourly wage: $30.24
- Total employment: 140 people (3.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Chefs and head cooks
- Median annual wage: $64,970
- Median hourly wage: $31.24
- Total employment: 30 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
lenetstan // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Radiologic technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $66,680
- Median hourly wage: $32.06
- Total employment: 100 people (2.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SofikoS // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Diagnostic medical sonographers
- Median annual wage: $67,560
- Median hourly wage: $32.48
- Total employment: 40 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LaKirr // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Extraction workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $68,430
- Median hourly wage: $32.90
- Total employment: 70 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $68,970
- Median hourly wage: $33.16
- Total employment: 280 people (6.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Loading and moving machine operators, underground mining
- Median annual wage: $71,090
- Median hourly wage: $34.18
- Total employment: 210 people (4.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $71,990
- Median hourly wage: $34.61
- Total employment: 40 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $72,550
- Median hourly wage: $34.88
- Total employment: Not available
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $72,600
- Median hourly wage: $34.91
- Total employment: 270 people (6.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $72,760
- Median hourly wage: $34.98
- Total employment: 40 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Ground Picture // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $74,880
- Median hourly wage: $36.00
- Total employment: 30 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $75,480
- Median hourly wage: $36.29
- Total employment: 70 people (1.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Causeway // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Roof bolters, mining
- Median annual wage: $76,040
- Median hourly wage: $36.56
- Total employment: 190 people (4.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $76,470
- Median hourly wage: $36.76
- Total employment: 960 people (22.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SatawatK // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers
- Median annual wage: $76,590
- Median hourly wage: $36.82
- Total employment: 40 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other
- Median annual wage: $77,380
- Median hourly wage: $37.20
- Total employment: 30 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $77,620
- Median hourly wage: $37.32
- Total employment: 80 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Financial specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $77,960
- Median hourly wage: $37.48
- Total employment: 110 people (2.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Taty77 // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers
- Median annual wage: $78,880
- Median hourly wage: $37.93
- Total employment: 110 people (2.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $78,930
- Median hourly wage: $37.95
- Total employment: 1,290 people (30.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary
- Median annual wage: $79,140
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $81,020
- Median hourly wage: $38.95
- Total employment: 70 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $84,890
- Median hourly wage: $40.81
- Total employment: 50 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $85,170
- Median hourly wage: $40.95
- Total employment: 50 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $85,510
- Median hourly wage: $41.11
- Total employment: 50 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $85,790
- Median hourly wage: $41.25
- Total employment: 30 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $89,480
- Median hourly wage: $43.02
- Total employment: 90 people (2.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 60 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $92,750
- Median hourly wage: $44.59
- Total employment: 60 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $94,010
- Median hourly wage: $45.20
- Total employment: 70 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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sculpies // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $94,400
- Median hourly wage: $45.39
- Total employment: 350 people (8.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,700
- Median hourly wage: $47.45
- Total employment: 100 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $99,280
- Median hourly wage: $47.73
- Total employment: 70 people (1.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $100,200
- Median hourly wage: $48.17
- Total employment: 80 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $102,890
- Median hourly wage: $49.47
- Total employment: 150 people (3.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $110,140
- Median hourly wage: $52.95
- Total employment: 140 people (3.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $110,430
- Median hourly wage: $53.09
- Total employment: 170 people (4.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,730
- Median hourly wage: $54.68
- Total employment: 40 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $118,620
- Median hourly wage: $57.03
- Total employment: 180 people (4.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $119,990
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 40 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stokkete // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $125,130
- Median hourly wage: $60.16
- Total employment: 70 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $125,650
- Median hourly wage: $60.41
- Total employment: 40 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $133,220
- Median hourly wage: $64.05
- Total employment: 150 people (3.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $150,850
- Median hourly wage: $72.53
- Total employment: 80 people (1.81 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: 120 people (2.73 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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