anyaivanova // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $84,530
- Median hourly wage: $40.64
- Total employment: 40 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Charleston, West Virginia
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 Charleston. 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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Kitawit Jitaton // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Telecommunications line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $84,880
- Median hourly wage: $40.81
- Total employment: 110 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Christian Lagerek // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Gas plant operators
- Median annual wage: $85,580
- Median hourly wage: $41.14
- Total employment: 90 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $85,620
- Median hourly wage: $41.16
- Total employment: 2,330 people (21.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists
- Median annual wage: $87,050
- Median hourly wage: $41.85
- Total employment: Not available
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PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $87,910
- Median hourly wage: $42.26
- Total employment: 50 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $89,760
- Median hourly wage: $43.16
- Total employment: 360 people (3.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 90 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $90,090
- Median hourly wage: $43.31
- Total employment: 130 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY / Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Speech-language pathologists
- Median annual wage: $90,720
- Median hourly wage: $43.62
- Total employment: 60 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,470
- Median hourly wage: $43.97
- Total employment: 230 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $92,440
- Median hourly wage: $44.44
- Total employment: 80 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $94,780
- Median hourly wage: $45.57
- Total employment: 50 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $95,470
- Median hourly wage: $45.90
- Total employment: 80 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $96,910
- Median hourly wage: $46.59
- Total employment: 80 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $97,310
- Median hourly wage: $46.78
- Total employment: 60 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $97,570
- Median hourly wage: $46.91
- Total employment: 160 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $98,480
- Median hourly wage: $47.35
- Total employment: 40 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,550
- Median hourly wage: $47.38
- Total employment: 490 people (4.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,050
- Median hourly wage: $47.62
- Total employment: 330 people (3.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $99,070
- Median hourly wage: $47.63
- Total employment: 80 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,830
- Median hourly wage: $47.99
- Total employment: 210 people (1.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $100,020
- Median hourly wage: $48.09
- Total employment: 330 people (3.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $100,690
- Median hourly wage: $48.41
- Total employment: 60 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $101,740
- Median hourly wage: $48.91
- Total employment: 100 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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dokurose // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $101,790
- Median hourly wage: $48.94
- Total employment: 210 people (1.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sebastian Duda // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates
- Median annual wage: $103,940
- Median hourly wage: $49.97
- Total employment: 40 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $104,540
- Median hourly wage: $50.26
- Total employment: 140 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $105,790
- Median hourly wage: $50.86
- Total employment: 130 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $105,820
- Median hourly wage: $50.87
- Total employment: 160 people (1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $106,850
- Median hourly wage: $51.37
- Total employment: 410 people (3.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $107,750
- Median hourly wage: $51.80
- Total employment: 110 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $108,150
- Median hourly wage: $51.99
- Total employment: 60 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $112,430
- Median hourly wage: $54.05
- Total employment: 160 people (1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $112,590
- Median hourly wage: $54.13
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $114,050
- Median hourly wage: $54.83
- Total employment: 750 people (6.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $119,780
- Median hourly wage: $57.59
- Total employment: 360 people (3.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $123,340
- Median hourly wage: $59.30
- Total employment: 80 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $123,510
- Median hourly wage: $59.38
- Total employment: 350 people (3.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $126,510
- Median hourly wage: $60.82
- Total employment: 60 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $131,030
- Median hourly wage: $62.99
- Total employment: 150 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $132,930
- Median hourly wage: $63.91
- Total employment: 410 people (3.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $141,670
- Median hourly wage: $68.11
- Total employment: 90 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $141,900
- Median hourly wage: $68.22
- Total employment: 150 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $162,290
- Median hourly wage: $78.02
- Total employment: 60 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $199,990
- Median hourly wage: $96.15
- Total employment: 160 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Physicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $227,940
- Median hourly wage: $109.59
- Total employment: 190 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Nurse anesthetists
- Median annual wage: $236,820
- Median hourly wage: $113.86
- Total employment: 270 people (2.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
49 / 50#1. Family medicine physicians (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
Photoroyalty // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Surgeons, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: Not available
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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