DC Among 2022's Best Paying Cities: U.S. News

WASHINGTON, DC — If you’re considering getting a new job or making a career change, Washington, D.C., is among several U.S. cities where you’ll get paid more for your work. In most cases, though, moving to D.C. means you'll also have to pay more for housing.

U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday released 2022’s Best Paying Cities, a list that ranks U.S. cities where workers employed in the country’s 100 highest-paying jobs make more than workers in other cities in the same occupation.

The District of Columbia ranked 10th on this year’s list of best-paying cities. In all, workers here make more in 20 of the top 100 jobs than workers in other cities across the country do.

Here’s a look at the top five highest-paying jobs in D.C., according to data compiled by U.S. News from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

1. Oral and maxillofacial surgeon: $272,110
2. Orthodontist: $255,620
3. Lawyer: $186,070
4. Industrial Psychologist: $172,770
5. Mathematician: $138,160

Other jobs in D.C. with salaries above $100,000 are computer network architect, with an annual mean salary of $136,390; political scientist at $130,790; epidemiologist/medical scientist at $117,320; and public relations specialist at $104,370.

D.C. has the nation's highest concentration of lawyers of any city. Almost every major company has attorneys at law firms who represent their interests in D.C., along with in-house lawyers, who may work as K Street lobbyists. All big name law firms, if not based in D.C., have large offices in the District of Columbia.

More than half of the nation's political scientists worked for the federal government in 2018, many of them in D.C., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Political scientists interested in research also can look for positions at the many think tanks in D.C.

D.C. also is filled with public relations and government relations specialists who aim to shape public opinion and public policy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 11.4 percent employment growth for public relations specialists between 2020 and 2030. In that period, an estimated 31,200 jobs are expected to open up.

Cities in California dominated this year’s list of highest-paying cities. In all, California cities comprise 12 of the top 20 cities.

Here are the top 10 highest-paying cities, according to this year’s list:

1. San Francisco, California
2. San Jose, California
3. New York, New York
4. Vallejo, California
5. Santa Rosa, California
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Sacramento, California
8. Los Angeles, California
9. Bridgeport, Connecticut
10 Washington, D.C.

The 2022 list of highest-paying cities annually accompanies the release of U.S. News’ Best Jobs rankings.

To calculate this year’s best jobs, U.S. News looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify jobs with the greatest hiring demand. Jobs are then scored in seven areas: 10-year growth volume, 10-year growth percentage, median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level and work-life balance.

Read more about U.S. News’ methodology for compiling this year’s list.

At a time when health care is more critical than ever, jobs in that sector dominate this year’s list — 4 out of every 10 of the top 100 highest-paying jobs are in health care or related roles.

The rankings offer a look at the best jobs across 17 lists — from sectors such as business and technology — to help jobseekers at every level achieve their career goals. They take into account the most important aspects of a job, including growth potential, work-life balance and salary.

Information security analyst captured the No. 1 spot this year, followed by nurse practitioner at No. 2, physician assistant at No. 3 and medical and health services manager at No. 4.

In addition, fashion designer debuted on the list this year, ranking No. 32 for solid scores across all component measures.