The top 25 occupations in Washington DC ranked by 2026 median annual salary. Based on BLS data projected forward with Washington DC cost-of-living adjustment.
Ranked by median annual base salary. Click any role for full Washington DC-specific detail.
| Rank | Role | Median 2026 | 75th % | Top 10% (P90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | CEO (Mid-Market) Business & Management | $712,900 | $926,800 | $1,176,300 |
| #2 | Surgeon Healthcare | $586,500 | $762,500 | $967,800 |
| #3 | Chief Financial Officer Finance | $536,900 | $698,000 | $885,900 |
| #4 | Physician (MD/DO) Healthcare | $378,200 | $491,600 | $624,000 |
| #5 | Corporate Lawyer Legal | $334,000 | $434,100 | $551,000 |
| #6 | Investment Banker Finance | $292,400 | $380,200 | $482,500 |
| #7 | Dentist Healthcare | $277,800 | $361,200 | $458,400 |
| #8 | AI Engineer Technology | $276,500 | $359,500 | $456,300 |
| #9 | Lawyer / Attorney Legal | $261,600 | $340,100 | $431,600 |
| #10 | Machine Learning Engineer Technology | $253,000 | $328,900 | $417,400 |
| #11 | Senior Software Engineer Technology | $247,100 | $321,200 | $407,700 |
| #12 | Site Reliability Engineer Technology | $238,300 | $309,800 | $393,200 |
| #13 | IT Manager Technology | $232,400 | $302,100 | $383,500 |
| #14 | Controller Finance | $228,000 | $296,300 | $376,100 |
| #15 | Product Manager Technology | $223,600 | $290,600 | $368,900 |
| #16 | Petroleum Engineer Engineering | $219,800 | $285,800 | $362,700 |
| #17 | Sales Engineer Sales | $219,800 | $285,800 | $362,700 |
| #18 | Data Scientist Technology | $217,700 | $283,000 | $359,200 |
| #19 | Marketing Manager Business & Management | $215,400 | $280,000 | $355,300 |
| #20 | Pharmacist Healthcare | $213,000 | $276,900 | $351,500 |
| #21 | Judge / Magistrate Legal | $211,700 | $275,200 | $349,300 |
| #22 | Account Executive (SaaS) Sales | $210,900 | $274,200 | $348,000 |
| #23 | Data Engineer Technology | $208,900 | $271,500 | $344,600 |
| #24 | Cloud Engineer (AWS/Azure) Technology | $208,900 | $271,500 | $344,600 |
| #25 | Management Consultant Business & Management | $206,400 | $268,300 | $340,600 |
In Washington DC, the highest-paying job tracked is CEO (Mid-Market), with a median salary of $712,900 in 2026. The 90th percentile reaches $1,176,300.
Salaries are based on BLS OEWS data, projected forward to 2026 using category-specific wage growth and adjusted for Washington DC'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 Washington DC 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.