Highest Paying Occupations

Hourly wage rates are influenced by many factors, including the requisite skills, training, education, work experience and overall market demand for a given occupation. The 20 highest-paying occupations in Utah generally require at least a Bachelor’s degree and many call for even higher levels of postsecondary educational attainment. In many cases, additional training, certification or professional licensing is also required.

The upper echelons of the 20 highest-paying occupations consist of health diagnosing and treatment practitioners. The broad occupational group of Physicians and Surgeons posted an average wage of over $90 an hour. Other occupational groups represented in the top 20 include Management, Legal and Engineering occupations, among others. Utah occupations with the highest statewide average hourly wages:

Occupation Hourly Wage

• Surgeons $104.90
• Obstetricians and Gynecologists $98.35
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons $97.94
• Family and General Practitioners $83.12
• Pediatricians, General $82.56
• Chief Executives $70.55
• Psychiatrist $64.36
• Lawyers $55.97
• Dentists, General $55.77
• Optometrists $54.25
• Engineering Managers $49.53
• Sales Managers $48.57
• Pharmacists $48.33
• Sales Engineers $47.95
• Petroleum Engineers $47.80
• Physicists $46.84
• Air Traffic Controllers $46.47
• Computer and Information Systems Managers $46.46
• Financial Managers $45.84
• Podiatrists $44.31

Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Development and Information Division