Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the data presented on the map, a disclaimer needs to be said. In determining the highest-paid jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the illustrators of the map used annual mean wages, which leaves out other professions like athletes, lawyers, and CEOs from being considered since most of these professions are salaried.
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Moving onto the data presented, we see that medical professions dominate the highest paid list of wage-earners in the country, which makes sense given that the medical field has always been lucrative, considering the kind of work they do and how many hours they often spend each day at work.
Out of all the annual mean wages, the highest is in Maine at $287,030 for surgeons. Not including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, the lowest is in Arkansas at $247,280 for internists, or specialists in internal medicine.
A large percentage of the highest-paid jobs are for anesthesiologists, followed by surgeons. There’s a large clump for OB-GYNs in the northwest, and a smattering of dental-related jobs in other states.
Despite being relatively close in range to one another, the main difference that the article points out is the cost of living for each state. So, for example, even though anesthesiologists make almost the same annual income in California and Ohio, the cost for housing is significantly higher in California, which would shift people’s financial decisions greatly.
One other thing to note is that this map used 2017 statistics. Howmuch created a newer map using 2020 median annual wages, and also included salaried occupations. – via Reddit
(Image credit: Howmuch.net)
Source: neatorama