The Top 20 Highest-Paying US Careers Outside of Healthcare

Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers claim the top spot for non-healthcare earners, with an average annual wage of $288,650. Chief executives follow at $269,630, while professional athletes and sports competitors round out the top three at $206,180. These figures, drawn from May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, reflect a heavy concentration of high-paying roles within corporate management.

Following the top three, the list is largely comprised of specialized leadership and technical positions. Computer and information systems managers earn an average of $192,160, while financial managers maintain a strong presence with $186,910. Lawyers remain a significant cohort, earning an average of $185,840 across a workforce of over 750,000. Further down the list, roles such as architectural and engineering managers ($181,540) and natural sciences managers ($180,250) demonstrate the continued demand for high-level technical oversight. Marketing managers and physicists also secure spots in the top ten, earning $177,770 and $171,180 respectively. The remainder of the top 20 includes various managerial functions in human resources, sales, public relations, and compensation, alongside specialized technical roles like petroleum and computer hardware engineering, all of which maintain average annual wages exceeding $154,000.