Highest-Paying Jobs Worldwide in 2026
These are the 20 highest-paying jobs worldwide based on mid-level global median salaries across 50+ countries. Salaries are annual, in USD.
Last updated
The ranking
| # | Role | Median (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Investment Banker | $164,500 |
| 2 | Dentist | $127,750 |
| 3 | School Principal | $122,000 |
| 4 | Cloud Architect | $113,600 |
| 5 | Petroleum Engineer | $110,000 |
| 6 | Machine Learning Engineer | $108,500 |
| 7 | Actuary | $108,000 |
| 8 | Product Manager | $101,667 |
| 9 | Doctor (General Practitioner) | $101,286 |
| 10 | Physical Therapist | $93,500 |
| 11 | Lawyer | $91,286 |
| 12 | DevOps Engineer | $84,800 |
| 13 | University Professor | $83,200 |
| 14 | Data Scientist | $82,300 |
| 15 | Pharmacist | $80,000 |
| 16 | Cybersecurity Analyst | $79,200 |
| 17 | UX Designer | $74,800 |
| 18 | Marketing Manager | $69,500 |
| 19 | Financial Analyst | $68,286 |
| 20 | Software Engineer | $67,421 |
Salaries are mid-level annual medians in USD.
How this ranking was built
We aggregate salary data from public surveys, official labor statistics and crowdsourced reports across 50+ countries. Each value represents a mid-level professional with 3–5 years of experience. We normalize all currencies to USD using current exchange rates. Read our full methodology for source breakdowns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Investment Banker ranks #1 with a median salary of $164,500 per year.
Related pages
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