The Top 12 Best-Paying Jobs Of 2019

Jobs in the healthcare industry are more likely to offer salaries over $100,000, followed by occupations in business and social services.

Jobs in health and medicine are some of the best-paying in America, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 Best Jobs rankings. But those high salaries come with an important catch.

19 of the top 25 jobs in this year’s rankings come with “high” or “above average” stress levels. Approximately half of the top 25 jobs in this year’s ranking offered “low” or “below average” work-life balance. For the second year in a row, medical jobs dominate this list.

Thankfully, not every healthcare professional needs to trade high pay for low quality of life. A few jobs, such as orthodontist, dentist and optometrist offer good work-life balance and at least average stress levels, according to the publication’s research.

This year’s top paying jobs all have median salaries of at least $100,000, more than twice the U.S. median personal income, US News & World Report careers reporter Rebecca Koenig told CNBC Make It. The publication calculated the U.S. median income at $46,124 a year using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ third quarter data for 2018).

For this year’s ranking, the publication analyzed U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to determine which 100 jobs are hiring the most. It then looked across industries and measured the overall quality of each role based on seven factors: 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level and work-life balance.

Here are the 25 best-paying jobs in 2019, according to U.S. News & World Report:

1. Anesthesiologist
Mean salary: $265,990
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Low

2. Surgeon
Mean salary: $251,890
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Low

3.Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Mean salary: $242,740
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

4. Obstetrician and Gynecologist
Mean salary: $235,240
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

5. Orthodontist
Mean salary: $229,380
Stress level: Below average
Work-life balance: Above average

6. Psychiatrist
Mean salary: $216,090
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Average

7. Physician
Mean salary: $198,370
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Average

8. Prosthodontist
Mean salary: $196,960
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

9. Pediatrician
Mean salary: $187,540
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Average

10. Dentist
Mean salary: $174,110
Stress level: Average
Work-life balance: Above average

11. Nurse Anesthetist
Mean salary: $169,450
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

12. Petroleum Engineer
Mean salary: $154,780
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

13. IT Manager
Mean salary: $149,730
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Below average

14. Podiatrist
Mean salary: $148,470
Stress level: Average
Work-life balance: Average

15. Marketing Manager
Mean salary: $145,620
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

16. Financial Manager
Mean salary: $143,530
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Average

17. Lawyer
Mean salary: $141,890
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Below average

18. Sales Manager
Mean salary: $137,650
Stress level: High
Work-life balance: Below average

19. Financial Advisor
Mean salary: $124,140
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Average

20. Business Operations Manager
Mean salary: $123,460
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

21. Pharmacist
Mean salary: $121,710
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Below average

22. Optometrist
Mean salary: $119,100
Stress level: Average
Work-life balance: Above average

23. Actuary
Mean salary: $114,850
Stress level: Average
Work-life balance: Average

24. Political Scientist
Mean salary: $112,030
Stress level: Average
Work-life balance: Average

25. Medical and Health Services Manager
Mean salary: $111,680
Stress level: Above average
Work-life balance: Above average

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These are the 25 best-paying jobs in America in 2019, according to US News & World Report | CNBC Make It.

[andrewflorence]

If you are the best at what you do, you will make plenty of money

[paperthin]

how is it that Anesthesiologist's stress level is high, yet nurse anesthetists' stress level is above average even though nurse anesthetists are practically doing the cases??? it doesn't make any sense!

[vladm.]

Insane how much doctors make in the US

[tejaskulkarni]

12- engineering
11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1- medical

[stacykrett]

Ok, with maybe the exception of the petroleum engineer, all jobs required 7 years of higher education and more.

[avrilthlove]

Wow they're all in the medical field...I'm shocked...

[unleashingpotential-psycho]

Being a physician assistant is a great career!

[cristchaesarehg]

I'm wondering, what do people value the most, money, time or flexibility?

[julianthe]

Hahahahaha done 😂
Why is this all medical jobs
Where the tech jobs at?
Medicine is nothing without the innovation of technology
Gtfo CNBC😂

[Defy_Convention]

Anesthesiologist is funny no surgery, no diagnosing, use a certain set of sedatives in certain amounts making sure the patients don't wake up early or die. How hard is that? What a gig!