Texas' labor force keeps growing. Here are the 26 highest-paying jobs in the Lone Star State.

The job market is booming in Texas. Athletes, dentists, and dermatologists are high-paying jobs in the Lone Star State.

• Texas is seeing a strong labor market, with record-high employment figures.
• Business Insider looked at Bureau of Labor Statistics data to check out how pay looks in Texas.
• Texas' best-paying jobs are athletes and sports competitors, but around two dozen jobs pay over $175,000 on average.

Texas has a booming labor market.

April data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the state has a record-high number of people in the labor force and a record-high number of jobs.

The unemployment rate in Texas had been consistently at 3.9% from June 2023 to March 2024. It had ticked up to 4.0% in April, but that's still a low rate, and the labor force participation rate also ticked up from 64.1% to 64.2% in April. The unemployment rate for Texas has been close to or at the national unemployment rate during 2024 so far. Plus, the state added 42,600 jobs in April, which is a robust gain compared to most of the monthly gains for this state in 2023.

Amid a robust job market and with over 15.2 million people in the Texas labor force, Business Insider decided to look at what pay opportunities look like in the state based on recently published data.

Around two dozen jobs in Texas pay an average of over $175,000, including architectural and engineering managers, podiatrists, ophthalmologists, and athletes and other sports competitors.

That's based on average annual wage data from the May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BI focused on jobs that had data available for Texas from that release. While pediatric surgeon is a high-paying job in the state, we didn't include it in our ranking below because it didn't have a specific estimate stated.

Below are the highest-paying jobs in Texas along with their average annual wages and employment estimates in the state.

26. Postsecondary health specialties teachers

Average annual wage: $176,430

Employment estimate: 25,650

25. Lawyers

Average annual wage: $177,890

Employment estimate: 45,950

24. Commercial pilots

Average annual wage: $180,660

Employment estimate: 6,360

23. Architectural and engineering managers

Average annual wage: $185,320

Employment estimate: 18,540

22. Podiatrists

Average annual wage: $201,210

Employment estimate: 260

21. Psychiatrists

Average annual wage: $205,270

Employment estimate: 1,040

20. Family medicine physicians

Average annual wage: $214,720

Employment estimate: 5,920

19. Nurse anesthetists

Average annual wage: $216,280

Employment estimate: 5,390

18. Dentists

Average annual wage: $220,000

Employment estimate: 10,910

17. General internal medicine physicians

Average annual wage: $224,640

Employment estimate: 2,690

16. Pediatricians

Average annual wage: $225,220

Employment estimate: 2,530

15. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers

Average annual wage: $227,380

Employment estimate: 7,800

14. Physicians (all other)

Average annual wage: $239,840

Employment estimate: 28,660

13. Anesthesiologists

Average annual wage: $257,220

Employment estimate: 1,370

12. Emergency medicine physicians

Average annual wage: $257,890

Employment estimate: Not available

11. Neurologists

Average annual wage: $275,700

Employment estimate: 640

10. Dermatologists

Average annual wage: $276,120

Employment estimate: 730

9. Surgeons (all other)

Average annual wage: $276,680

Employment estimate: 1,680

8. Pathologists

Average annual wage: $278,140

Employment estimate: 890

7. Dentists (all other specialists)

Average annual wage: $287,240

Employment estimate: Not available

6. Obstetricians and gynecologists

Average annual wage: $287,330

Employment estimate: 910

5. Ophthalmologists (except pediatric)

Average annual wage: $291,320

Employment estimate: 1,260

4. Chief executives

Average annual wage: $298,140

Employment estimate: 6,970

3. Cardiologists

Average annual wage: $323,310

Employment estimate: 1,150

2. Radiologists

Average annual wage: $327,850

Employment estimate: 1,830

1. Athletes and sports competitors

Average annual wage: $368,110

Employment estimate: 2,760