California’s stifling cost of living means a six-figure salary could be seen as a necessity.
What kind of job makes those big bucks? Well, in honor of Labor Day weekend, my trusty spreadsheet delved into some curious federal statistics that track the pay ladder by occupation.
The report tracks the wages of 22 large slices of the workforce as of May 2024. Yes, the latest edition reflects pay patterns from a while ago. Caveat stated, the figures provide a glimpse into pay by occupation.
Note that the median pay – that’s the number between the half who earn more and the half who earn less – for all 18 million working Californians was $56,900. By the way, that’s the ninth-highest nationally.
But five occupations have median wages of $100,000 or more …
Management jobs: $138,900 is the mid-point wage among this occupation’s 1.34 million workers.
Computer and mathematical jobs: $136,000 among 740,000 workers.
Legal jobs: $129,300 among 155,000 workers.
Healthcare practitioners and technical jobs: $120,000 among 952,000 workers.
Architecture and engineering jobs: $119,500 among 315,000 workers.
Premium pay
Clearly, those aren’t the only places with six-figure pay. So, contemplate occupations with wages of $100,000 or more at the 75th percentile.
That’s the median of the upper half of the pay scale. Only 25% make more.
This is not typical compensation. Instead, it’s the premium pay often tied to high-skill jobs, demanding industries, or top-performing workers.
Statewide wages at this lofty threshold are $96,300. That’s the fourth-highest nationally.
California’s six-figure club grows by four occupations at the 75th percentile …
Business and financial jobs: $128,600 at the 75th percentile among 1.25 million workers.
Life, physical, and social science jobs: $131,300 among 208,000 workers.
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media jobs: $110,800 among 341,000 workers.
Educational instruction and library jobs: $101,300 among 1.05 million workers.
Superstar salaries
Finally, ponder California occupations where wages exceed $100,000 at the 90th percentile.
This is a rarity. It’s pay reserved for workers making more than 90% of their peers. Only 10% get higher wages. Essentially, the 90th percentile represents the compensation for workplace superstars.
Statewide wages at this sky-high threshold are $157,200. That’s No. 2 among the 50 states.
The six-figure club grows by five more occupations at the 90th percentile …
Protective service jobs: $129,400 at the 90th percentile among the occupations’ 435,000 workers statewide.
Construction and extraction jobs: $124,900 among 679,000 workers.
Community and social service jobs: $122,000 among 387,000 workers.
Installation, maintenance, and repair jobs: $105,800 among 545,000 workers.
Sales jobs: $105,600 among 1.44 million workers
The odds
So what are the chances a Californian makes six figures?
Add up these slices of the statewide pay grade, and you see 14 occupations employing 9.8 million Californians where a noteworthy number of those workers earn more than $100,000.
Those occupations employ roughly half of the 18.1 million workers statewide. But the odds vary.
Keep in mind that only 3.5 million California workers are in occupations where six-figure compensation is typical. Or 19% earning $100,000-plus median pay.
And 2.8 million are in professions in which their six-figure wage is premium pay. So odds grow to 35%, including the 75th percentile.
Then there are 3.5 million toiling in trades where a $100,000 salary is considered superstar pay. Or 54% of all occupations when the 90th percentile is thrown in.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]
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