The top 25 occupations in North Carolina ranked by 2026 median annual salary. Based on BLS data projected forward with North Carolina cost-of-living adjustment.
Ranked by median annual base salary. Click any role for full North Carolina-specific detail.
| Rank | Role | Median 2026 | 75th % | Top 10% (P90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | CEO (Mid-Market) Business & Management | $504,100 | $655,400 | $831,800 |
| #2 | Surgeon Healthcare | $414,800 | $539,200 | $684,400 |
| #3 | Chief Financial Officer Finance | $379,700 | $493,600 | $626,400 |
| #4 | Physician (MD/DO) Healthcare | $267,400 | $347,600 | $441,200 |
| #5 | Corporate Lawyer Legal | $228,000 | $296,400 | $376,200 |
| #6 | Investment Banker Finance | $206,800 | $268,800 | $341,200 |
| #7 | Dentist Healthcare | $196,500 | $255,400 | $324,200 |
| #8 | AI Engineer Technology | $195,500 | $254,200 | $322,600 |
| #9 | Machine Learning Engineer Technology | $178,900 | $232,600 | $295,200 |
| #10 | Senior Software Engineer Technology | $174,700 | $227,200 | $288,300 |
| #11 | Site Reliability Engineer Technology | $168,500 | $219,000 | $278,000 |
| #12 | IT Manager Technology | $164,300 | $213,600 | $271,200 |
| #13 | Controller Finance | $161,200 | $209,600 | $266,000 |
| #14 | Judge / Magistrate Legal | $161,200 | $209,600 | $266,000 |
| #15 | Management Consultant Business & Management | $159,600 | $207,500 | $263,400 |
| #16 | Product Manager Technology | $158,100 | $205,500 | $260,900 |
| #17 | Lawyer / Attorney Legal | $157,000 | $204,000 | $259,000 |
| #18 | Petroleum Engineer Engineering | $155,400 | $202,100 | $256,500 |
| #19 | Sales Engineer Sales | $155,400 | $202,100 | $256,500 |
| #20 | Data Scientist Technology | $153,900 | $200,100 | $254,000 |
| #21 | Marketing Manager Business & Management | $152,300 | $198,000 | $251,300 |
| #22 | Pharmacist Healthcare | $150,600 | $195,800 | $248,500 |
| #23 | Account Executive (SaaS) Sales | $149,100 | $193,900 | $246,100 |
| #24 | Data Engineer Technology | $147,700 | $192,000 | $243,700 |
| #25 | Cloud Engineer (AWS/Azure) Technology | $147,700 | $192,000 | $243,700 |
In North Carolina, the highest-paying job tracked is CEO (Mid-Market), with a median salary of $504,100 in 2026. The 90th percentile reaches $831,800.
Salaries are based on BLS OEWS data, projected forward to 2026 using category-specific wage growth and adjusted for North Carolina's cost-of-living index. The ranking shows median annual base pay (excluding bonuses, equity, and benefits).
Most of the top 25 highest-paying jobs in North Carolina typically require at least a bachelor's degree, and many require advanced degrees (medicine, law, engineering specializations). Trades roles are notable exceptions — they appear in some state rankings without requiring four-year degrees.