The highest-paying job in California pays staggering average of $347K per year

Ophthalmology is the highest paying career on average in California, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

The average wage for the role, which is for doctors specializing in eye care, is a staggering $347,690 while the state’s average income for all earners is just $80,690, the data from May 2025 said. 

It follows a similar trend across the country, with careers in the medical field dominating the list for the highest-paying salaries.

Cardiologists, surgeons and radiologists represented the highest average wage earners — raking in salaries of more than $600,000 in some states.

It’s no surprise medical professions were among the highest earners, given the careers require years of additional school and specialized training.

In Georgia, the average annual wage of a cardiologist is $616,040 while the average wage among all occupations is just $65,920.

Outside of the healthcare sector, financial managers, CEOs, airline pilots and athletes were among the top five highest-paying jobs.

Pilots make an average of $288,659 while CEOs and athletes bring in $269,630 and $206,180, respectively.

Lawyers ranked number six with an average annual wage of $185,850.

The annual wage data estimates include tips and commission, however overtime and bonuses are excluded.

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It comes after a separate report earlier this year revealed the highest paying state jobs in California saw some civil servants raking in up to $47,000 per month.

The single highest-paying listing was a deputy chief investment officer role at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) in Sacramento, which carries a base salary range of $28,325 to $47,208 per month, according to the state-run job site CalCareers.

The deputy chief investment officer role sits within CalPERS’ Investment Office and works under the chief investment officer to help guide private-market investment decisions for the nation’s largest public pension fund, which lists approximately $599.5 billion in total assets as of Jan. 2.

The job posting did not specify how much of that portfolio the DCIO directly oversees, but described the position as a senior leadership role responsible for supporting private asset investment strategy in a “highly visible and complex” organization.

The pension paydays don’t stop at private markets.

CalPERS was also hiring a global fixed income managing investment director with a base salary of $25,750 to $42,916 per month to run its bond-investing operations, supervise research and trading teams and help shape strategy for the fund’s massive portfolio.

Some of the pension fund positions were also eligible for performance-based annual incentives and long-term incentive programs tied to fund returns, according to the job postings — compensation that in some cases can push total pay well into seven figures.

In the most extreme case, the deputy chief investment officer position at CalPERS carries a base salary of up to $47,208 per month, and the posting stated it was eligible for annual and long-term incentive awards of up to 180% of salary each, tied to fund performance.

While those incentives were not guaranteed and were subject to multi-year performance thresholds, the combined structure meant total compensation in a strong payout year could climb into the multi-million-dollar range.

Meanwhile, it’s not just Wall Street-style money flowing through Sacramento’s pension offices. The state is also paying top dollar inside its prison system.

The second-highest base salary listing earlier this year was a prison health care executive job in Sacramento County that pays between $33,740 and $42,090 per month, according to CalCareers.

The role essentially oversees medical quality and patient safety inside state prisons, supervising doctors and other health staff to make sure inmates receive proper care.

A chief psychiatrist position at North Kern State Prison in Delano is offering between $34,420 and $35,280 per month to oversee mental health services inside the correctional facility.

The role included recruiting and supervising psychiatrists, directing psychiatric treatment programs and helping plan and evaluate mental health services for inmates, according to the CalCareers listing.

In total, CalCareers lists thousands of open state jobs, including hundreds that pay more than $10,000 a month, with many of the highest-paying roles remaining open until filled.