The 30 highest-paying jobs in California

Airport LAX busy airplane — Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers are one of the highest-paying jobs in California, where they earn $227,870 a year.
David McNew/Getty Images

Surgeons have the highest average annual salary in California.
Using wage data from BLS, we found the occupations with the highest average salaries in the state.
The following are the 30 highest-paying jobs in the Golden State.

30. Computer hardware engineers

Average annual salary: $169,970

Number of people employed in California: 19,910

29. Physicists

Average annual salary: $173,440

Number of people employed in California: 5,160

28. Marketing managers

Average annual salary: $175,150

Number of people employed in California: 47,350

27. Astronomers

astronomy Los Angeles, California on 04/01/2018 crowd of people outside of Griffith Observatory — Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
Christian Horz/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $175,820

Number of people employed in California: N/A

BLS didn't provide estimates of the number of astronomers in California.

26. Lawyers

Average annual salary: $176,610

Number of people employed in California: 90,120

25. Animal scientists

Scientist working in lab — Morsa Images/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $177,430

Number of people employed in California: N/A

BLS didn't provide estimates of the number of animal scientists in California.

24. Dentists, all other specialists

A dentist performs a dental examination.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $181,590

Number of people employed in California: N/A

BLS didn't provide estimates of the number of all other dentist specialists in California.

23. Architectural and engineering managers

architectural engineer — YP_photographer/Shutterstock

Average annual salary: $187,770

Number of people employed in California: 34,550

22. Natural sciences managers

Average annual salary: $192,750

Number of people employed in California: 11,260

21. Computer and information systems managers

computer servers — Jetta Productions Inc/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $193,500

Number of people employed in California: 92,880

20. Pediatricians

pediatrician baby doctor family — Rogelio V. Solis/AP Images

Average annual salary: $198,000

Number of people employed in California: 4,300

19. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates

Inyo county California courthouse — John Elk/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $206,790

Number of people employed in California: 1,510

17 (tie). Orthopedic surgeons (except pediatric)

Orthopedic surgeon operating on a foot — Dana Neely/Getty Images

Average annual salary: At least $208,000*

Number of people employed in California: 1,610

*BLS does not have an exact wage estimate for this occupation in California for May 2021.

17 (tie). Emergency medicine physicians

Doctor and nurses pushing woman on gurney — Dennis Degnan/Getty Images

Average annual salary: At least $208,000*

Number of people employed in California: N/A

*BLS does not have an exact wage estimate for this occupation in California for May 2021.

BLS didn't provide estimates of the number of emergency medicine physicians in California.

16. Neurologists

Two doctors consult over an MRI scan — Tashi-Delek/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $223,400

Number of people employed in California: 280

15. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers

Average annual salary: $227,870

Number of people employed in California: 8,070

14. Physicians, all other

Doctor and mature adult woman look at medical records or results together on a tablet. — FatCamera/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $229,420

Number of people employed in California: 21,600

This is a catchall category for specialized doctors not listed in some other occupational group. Some specialties include hospitalists and urologists.

13. Chief executives

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at an Apple event at their headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S. September 10, 2019. — Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Stephen Lam/Reuters

Average annual salary: $230,730

Number of people employed in California: 33,930

12. Nurse anesthetists

Anesthesiologist Anesthesiology patient hospital surgery doctor physician — MindStorm/Shutterstock

Average annual salary: $232,540

Number of people employed in California: 2,000

11. General internal medicine physicians

internist doctor physician — Rick Bowmer/AP Images

Average annual salary: $242,260

Number of people employed in California: 4,220

10. Orthodontists

dentist oral surgery surgeon — Mikhail Olykainen/Shutterstock

Average annual salary: $245,750

Number of people employed in California: 250

9. Family medicine physicians

PANORAMA CITY, CA - JANUARY 28: Dr. Jason Greenspan (L) and emergency room nurse Junizar Manansala care for a patient in the ER of Mission Community Hospital where doctors held a press conference outside on a class action lawsuit against the state of California by a coalition of emergency room physicians claiming that without additional funding, the entire emergency healthcare system is on the verge of collapse on January 28, 2009 in Panorama City, California. According to the coalition, the cost of providing emergency room treatment has nearly doubled over the past decade and patient load increased by more than 28 percent while Medi-Cal reimbursements have remained largely unchanged. During that time, 85 California hospitals in California have closed and an additional 55 facilities have shut down their emergency rooms. California now reportedly ranks worst in the nation for access emergency care and last in emergency rooms per capita. California has seven emergency rooms per million people while the national average is 20 emergency rooms per million people. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) — Doctors performing on a patient.
David McNew/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $261,260

Number of people employed in California: 14,230

8. Dermatologists

Female dermatologist using cotton pads on a patient’s face — Kosamtu/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $280,100

Number of people employed in California: N/A

BLS didn't provide estimates of the number of dermatologists in California.

7. Psychiatrists

Average annual salary: $305,290

Number of people employed in California: 4,410

6. Obstetricians and gynecologists

Obstetrician gynecologist — Orlin Wagner/AP Images

Average annual salary: $309,610

Number of people employed in California: 2,220

5. Anesthesiologists

Average annual salary: $318,030

Number of people employed in California: 2,560

4. Cardiologists

A doctor is listening to patient's heart — SDI Productions/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $343,370

Number of people employed in California: 3,340

3. Radiologists

Doctor examining x-rays in hospital — Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $345,100

Number of people employed in California: N/A

BLS didn't provide estimates of the number of radiologists in California.

2. Pathologists

Scientist working in pathology lab — Photo_Concepts/Getty Images

Average annual salary: $350,980

Number of people employed in California: 1,570

1. Surgeons, all other

Average annual salary: $351,580

Number of people employed in California: 2,480

Method and data source

California is one of the largest economies in the world, with a gross domestic product bigger than that of most countries.

Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, we found the 30 jobs with the highest average annual salaries in California. To do this, we looked at the just over 800 detailed occupations that had average annual wage data available for the state in May 2021, the most recently available data.

Similarly to our recently published list of the highest-paying jobs in the US, medical occupations were top earners.

Average annual salaries and number of people employed in each occupation are from BLS' May 2021 estimates.

Andy Kiersz previously contributed to this story.

Read the original article on Business Insider