Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,660
- Median hourly wage: $40.70
- Total employment: 230 people (1.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Lubbock
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 Lubbock. 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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TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $84,900
- Median hourly wage: $40.82
- Total employment: 40 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $85,130
- Median hourly wage: $40.93
- Total employment: 60 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $85,200
- Median hourly wage: $40.96
- Total employment: 80 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $85,990
- Median hourly wage: $41.34
- Total employment: 230 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Skycolors // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $86,560
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Political science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $87,000
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $87,040
- Median hourly wage: $41.85
- Total employment: 110 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Real estate brokers
- Median annual wage: $89,110
- Median hourly wage: $42.84
- Total employment: Not available
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $94,700
- Median hourly wage: $45.53
- Total employment: 60 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,250
- Median hourly wage: $46.28
- Total employment: 120 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aykut Erdogdu // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Physical therapists
- Median annual wage: $96,510
- Median hourly wage: $46.40
- Total employment: 310 people (1.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ABO PHOTOGRAPHY // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Occupational therapists
- Median annual wage: $96,700
- Median hourly wage: $46.49
- Total employment: 170 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $96,740
- Median hourly wage: $46.51
- Total employment: 140 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $97,720
- Median hourly wage: $46.98
- Total employment: 110 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Biological science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $98,420
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 60 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $99,520
- Median hourly wage: $47.85
- Total employment: 70 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Lawyers
- Median annual wage: $100,350
- Median hourly wage: $48.24
- Total employment: 480 people (2.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $100,380
- Median hourly wage: $48.26
- Total employment: 150 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $100,540
- Median hourly wage: $48.34
- Total employment: 110 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $100,790
- Median hourly wage: $48.46
- Total employment: 50 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $104,800
- Median hourly wage: $50.39
- Total employment: 380 people (2.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zivica Kerkez // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Veterinarians
- Median annual wage: $104,900
- Median hourly wage: $50.43
- Total employment: 70 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $105,070
- Median hourly wage: $50.51
- Total employment: 860 people (5.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $105,540
- Median hourly wage: $50.74
- Total employment: 80 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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michaeljung // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Power plant operators
- Median annual wage: $105,700
- Median hourly wage: $50.82
- Total employment: 40 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $107,150
- Median hourly wage: $51.51
- Total employment: 230 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $107,550
- Median hourly wage: $51.71
- Total employment: 80 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $108,420
- Median hourly wage: $52.13
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $109,970
- Median hourly wage: $52.87
- Total employment: 610 people (3.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $109,980
- Median hourly wage: $52.87
- Total employment: 60 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Computer science teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $110,830
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $111,290
- Median hourly wage: $53.51
- Total employment: 110 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Matej Kastelic // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Business teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $111,360
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 250 people (1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $111,460
- Median hourly wage: $53.59
- Total employment: 70 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,030
- Median hourly wage: $54.34
- Total employment: 240 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $113,310
- Median hourly wage: $54.47
- Total employment: 200 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $118,750
- Median hourly wage: $57.09
- Total employment: 30 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Nurse practitioners
- Median annual wage: $119,990
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 340 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Dentists, general
- Median annual wage: $129,170
- Median hourly wage: $62.10
- Total employment: 130 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $129,870
- Median hourly wage: $62.44
- Total employment: 490 people (2.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Physician assistants
- Median annual wage: $132,810
- Median hourly wage: $63.85
- Total employment: 140 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $135,970
- Median hourly wage: $65.37
- Total employment: 260 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kzenon // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Optometrists
- Median annual wage: $137,390
- Median hourly wage: $66.05
- Total employment: 40 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Pharmacists
- Median annual wage: $140,310
- Median hourly wage: $67.46
- Total employment: 330 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Another77 // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Petroleum engineers
- Median annual wage: $143,120
- Median hourly wage: $68.81
- Total employment: 160 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $161,000
- Median hourly wage: $77.41
- Total employment: 80 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $166,470
- Median hourly wage: $80.03
- Total employment: 90 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Family medicine physicians
- Median annual wage: $209,800
- Median hourly wage: $100.86
- Total employment: 40 people (0.23 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: 310 people (1.85 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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