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Highest Paying Jobs With a Master's Degree
The highest paying job with a master's degree is nurse anesthetist, with a median salary of $236,590 a year, followed by computer and information research scientist ($140,300) and physician assistant ($135,880). All 21 jobs with a master's degree below are ranked by median pay from the latest BLS wage survey (May 2025).
These jobs typically need a master's degree to start, such as nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners and statisticians.
Highest Paying Jobs With a Master's Degree, ranked
of 21 jobs match.
| # | Job | Median | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nurse anesthetist Healthcare Practitioners | $236,590 | $113.75 | $339,500 | Master's degree | 51,840 |
| 2 | Computer and information research scientist Computer and Mathematical | $140,300 | $67.45 | $230,630 | Master's degree | 37,200 |
| 3 | Physician assistant Healthcare Practitioners | $135,880 | $65.33 | $190,280 | Master's degree | 162,150 |
| 4 | Nurse practitioner Healthcare Practitioners | $132,300 | $63.61 | $174,420 | Master's degree | 323,040 |
| 5 | Education administrator, kindergarten through secondary Management | $105,870 | – | $167,770 | Master's degree | 328,330 |
| 6 | Statistician Computer and Mathematical | $105,650 | $50.79 | $174,050 | Master's degree | 29,030 |
| 7 | Education administrator, postsecondary Management | $104,590 | $50.29 | $215,620 | Master's degree | 180,470 |
| 8 | Occupational therapist Healthcare Practitioners | $100,330 | $48.24 | $131,950 | Master's degree | 162,450 |
| 9 | Speech-language pathologist Healthcare Practitioners | $97,870 | $47.05 | $134,160 | Master's degree | 183,390 |
| 10 | School psychologist Science | $95,990 | $46.15 | $142,330 | Master's degree | 63,940 |
| 11 | Urban and regional planner Science | $89,320 | $42.94 | $134,490 | Master's degree | 44,230 |
| 12 | Art, drama, and music teacher, postsecondary Education and Library | $78,620 | – | $163,350 | Master's degree | 93,560 |
| 13 | Instructional coordinator Education and Library | $77,440 | $37.23 | $121,670 | Master's degree | 227,760 |
| 14 | Librarian and media collections specialist Education and Library | $68,270 | $32.82 | $103,990 | Master's degree | 133,790 |
| 15 | Healthcare social worker Community and Social Service | $67,880 | $32.63 | $100,360 | Master's degree | 187,630 |
| 16 | Marriage and family therapist Community and Social Service | $66,940 | $32.18 | $123,730 | Master's degree | 66,740 |
| 17 | Educational, guidance, and career counselor and advisor Community and Social Service | $64,330 | $30.93 | $104,770 | Master's degree | 353,310 |
| 18 | Athletic trainer Healthcare Practitioners | $62,520 | – | $88,760 | Master's degree | 30,500 |
| 19 | Mental health and substance abuse social worker Community and Social Service | $60,280 | $28.98 | $104,170 | Master's degree | 132,810 |
| 20 | Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselor Community and Social Service | $59,350 | $28.53 | $97,590 | Master's degree | 491,930 |
| 21 | Rehabilitation counselor Community and Social Service | $46,850 | $22.52 | $77,170 | Master's degree | 94,740 |
No job matches those filters.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published 2026), and Employment Projections education and training assignments (2025). Salaries are yearly medians before tax for wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. The median for all US jobs is $50,980. Jobs with fewer than 20,000 workers nationally are not listed.
About the Highest Paying Jobs
Highest Paying Jobs ranks 515 US jobs by what they actually pay, using the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025, published 2026). Filter the list by field, by the education a job needs to start, or by a minimum salary, and sort it by median pay, average pay, what the top 10% earn, hourly wage or the number of people in the job. Ready-made rankings answer the common questions: the highest paying jobs without a degree, with only a high school diploma, with an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree, entry-level and trade jobs, the best-paid jobs in healthcare, tech, engineering and ten other fields, and the highest paying jobs in each of the 50 states and Washington DC. Every job links to its own salary page with hourly pay, the full pay range and pay by state.
How to use it
- 1 Start with the full ranking, or pick a ready-made list such as jobs without a degree, a field or your state.
- 2 Narrow it down with the field, education and minimum pay filters, or search for a job.
- 3 Sort by median salary, top 10% pay, hourly wage or most workers.
- 4 Open any job to see its pay range, hourly and monthly pay and salary in every state.
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest paying job with a master's degree?
Nurse anesthetist pays the most, with a median salary of $236,590 a year. The top three are nurse anesthetist ($236,590), computer and information research scientist ($140,300), physician assistant ($135,880).
How many jobs with a master's degree pay over $100,000?
8 of the 21 jobs with a master's degree have a median salary of $100,000 or more a year.
Which well-paid job with a master's degree has the most openings?
Education administrator, kindergarten through secondary employs the most people among the best-paid jobs with a master's degree, with about 328,330 workers and a median salary of $105,870. More people in a job usually means more openings each year.
Which job with a master's degree pays the most per hour?
Nurse anesthetist has the highest median hourly wage, $113.75 an hour. Some jobs, such as teachers, are paid by the year only and have no hourly figure.
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