63% of these careers already have a full profile page; the rest publish with the next tranche and show the same bank data here in the meantime.
30 Jobs That Pay $40 to $50 an Hour, Ranked by Annual Openings (2026)
Registered Nurse tops this list at $97,550 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with +4.9% projected employment change over 2024–2034. Below are 30 careers that meet the criteria, each with its real median wage, outlook and entry requirement.
Occupations whose BLS median hourly wage is at least $40.00 and under $50.00, ranked by projected annual openings so the list leads with the work that exists in volume at this rate. The hourly figure is the one BLS publishes in the OEWS release, not an annual salary divided by 2,080; occupations OEWS reports on an annual basis only, which is most teaching and airline flight-crew work, carry no hourly wage to test and are left off rather than converted. The band has an upper end so that each rate gets its own list rather than four copies of the same one; jobs paying above $50 an hour are on the higher lists.
- Careers on this list
- 30
- Median pay on the list
- $97,710
- Projected to grow
- 24 of 30
- Openings a year
- 863,400
From 923 in the bank
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Combined, BLS EP
How we built this list
- Included when the BLS OEWS published median hourly wage is at least $40.00 and under $50.00.
- The hourly figure is the median hourly wage BLS itself publishes, never an annual salary divided by 2,080. Occupations BLS reports on an annual basis only are left out rather than converted.
- Ranked by projected annual openings from BLS Employment Projections, so the list leads with work that actually exists in volume at this pay rate rather than with the rare job that happens to clear the floor.
- BLS publishes one wage per occupation code, and several O*NET job titles can share a code. Only one title per code is listed, so the same wage does not appear over and over.
- Occupations with no BLS wage or projection data are excluded rather than estimated.
- The list is regenerated from source data on every bank refresh. It is not hand-picked and no editorial ranking is applied.
The top 30 jobs that pay $40 an hour
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $97,550
- Growth
- +4.9%
- Openings / yr
- 189,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records.
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $83,680
- Growth
- +4.6%
- Openings / yr
- 124,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others.
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $101,860
- Growth
- +8.8%
- Openings / yr
- 98,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Conduct organizational studies and evaluations, design systems and procedures, conduct work simplification and measurement studies, and prepare operations and procedures manuals to assist management in operating more…
4. Farmer or Agricultural Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $89,900
- Growth
- -1.3%
- Openings / yr
- 85,500
- Education
- High school
Plan, direct, or coordinate the management or operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, aquacultural operations, nurseries, timber tracts, or other agricultural establishments.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $102,320
- Growth
- +5.6%
- Openings / yr
- 78,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis.
Architecture and Engineering
- Median pay
- $102,440
- Growth
- +11.0%
- Openings / yr
- 25,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and pr…
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $102,740
- Growth
- +5.7%
- Openings / yr
- 25,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Conduct quantitative analyses of information involving investment programs or financial data of public or private institutions, including valuation of businesses.
8. First-Line Supervisor of Non-Retail Sales Workers
Sales and Related
- Median pay
- $87,520
- Growth
- 0.0%
- Openings / yr
- 24,800
- Education
- High school
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of sales workers other than retail sales workers.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
Architecture and Engineering
- Median pay
- $100,840
- Growth
- +5.0%
- Openings / yr
- 23,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation pr…
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $98,100
- Growth
- +7.0%
- Openings / yr
- 15,300
- Education
- Associate's
Administer oral hygiene care to patients.
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $90,150
- Growth
- +12.5%
- Openings / yr
- 14,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors.
Computer and Mathematical
- Median pay
- $99,130
- Growth
- -4.2%
- Openings / yr
- 14,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Install, configure, and maintain an organization's local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), data communications network, operating systems, and physical and virtual servers.
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $97,870
- Growth
- +15.0%
- Openings / yr
- 13,300
- Education
- Master's
Assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders.
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $102,760
- Growth
- +10.9%
- Openings / yr
- 13,200
- Education
- Doctorate
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
- Median pay
- $90,360
- Growth
- +4.9%
- Openings / yr
- 12,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction.
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
- Median pay
- $95,320
- Growth
- +6.6%
- Openings / yr
- 10,700
- Education
- High school
Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems.
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $100,330
- Growth
- +13.8%
- Openings / yr
- 10,200
- Education
- Master's
Assess, plan, and organize rehabilitative programs that help build or restore vocational, homemaking, and daily living skills, as well as general independence, to persons with disabilities or developmental delays.
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $103,410
- Growth
- +8.7%
- Openings / yr
- 9,600
- Education
- Doctorate
Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health.
19. Operations Research Analyst
Computer and Mathematical
- Median pay
- $88,940
- Growth
- +21.5%
- Openings / yr
- 9,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decisionmaking, policy formulation, or other managerial functions.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
Architecture and Engineering
- Median pay
- $99,280
- Growth
- +3.9%
- Openings / yr
- 7,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan and design structures, such as private residences, office buildings, theaters, factories, and other structural property.
Protective Service
- Median pay
- $93,790
- Growth
- -0.7%
- Openings / yr
- 7,800
- Education
- High school
Conduct investigations related to suspected violations of federal, state, or local laws to prevent or solve crimes.
22. First-Line Supervisor of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
Protective Service
- Median pay
- $93,530
- Growth
- +3.4%
- Openings / yr
- 6,500
- Education
- Certificate
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in firefighting and fire prevention and control.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
23. Chemist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $91,240
- Growth
- +4.9%
- Openings / yr
- 6,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Conduct qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses or experiments in laboratories for quality or process control or to develop new products or knowledge.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Median pay
- $96,590
- Growth
- +13.0%
- Openings / yr
- 5,800
- Education
- Associate's
Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians.
25. Financial Examiner
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $94,160
- Growth
- +18.5%
- Openings / yr
- 5,700
- Education
- Bachelor's
Enforce or ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing financial and securities institutions and financial and real estate transactions.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
26. Computer Programmer
Computer and Mathematical
- Median pay
- $100,390
- Growth
- -6.0%
- Openings / yr
- 5,500
- Education
- Bachelor's
Create, modify, and test the code and scripts that allow computer applications to run.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
27. Web Developer
Computer and Mathematical
- Median pay
- $92,650
- Growth
- +7.5%
- Openings / yr
- 5,400
- Education
- Bachelor's
Develop and implement websites, web applications, application databases, and interactive web interfaces.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
28. Labor Relations Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $95,420
- Growth
- -0.1%
- Openings / yr
- 5,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
29. Special Effects Artist and Animator
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
- Median pay
- $102,030
- Growth
- +1.6%
- Openings / yr
- 5,000
- Education
- Bachelor's
Create special effects or animations using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
30. Clinical Psychologist
Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Median pay
- $100,580
- Growth
- +11.2%
- Openings / yr
- 4,800
- Education
- Doctorate
Assess, diagnose, and treat mental and emotional disorders of individuals through observation, interview, and psychological tests.
Profile coming in the next tranche.
Jobs That Pay $40 an Hour: FAQ
What is the top career on the jobs that pay $40 an hour list?
Registered Nurse leads the list with a median wage of $97,550 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025) and projected employment change of +4.9% over 2024–2034. Typical entry-level education is bachelor's.
How was this list put together?
Occupations whose BLS median hourly wage is at least $40.00 and under $50.00, ranked by projected annual openings so the list leads with the work that exists in volume at this rate. The hourly figure is the one BLS publishes in the OEWS release, not an annual salary divided by 2,080; occupations OEWS reports on an annual basis only, which is most teaching and airline flight-crew work, carry no hourly wage to test and are left off rather than converted. The band has an upper end so that each rate gets its own list rather than four copies of the same one; jobs paying above $50 an hour are on the higher lists. Included when the BLS OEWS published median hourly wage is at least $40.00 and under $50.00. The hourly figure is the median hourly wage BLS itself publishes, never an annual salary divided by 2,080. Occupations BLS reports on an annual basis only are left out rather than converted. Ranked by projected annual openings from BLS Employment Projections, so the list leads with work that actually exists in volume at this pay rate rather than with the rare job that happens to clear the floor. BLS publishes one wage per occupation code, and several O*NET job titles can share a code. Only one title per code is listed, so the same wage does not appear over and over. Every figure comes from BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET 30.3 Database.
How much do jobs that pay $40 an hour pay?
Across the 30 careers on this list the middle occupation pays $97,710 a year, from $83,680 at the bottom to $103,410 at the top (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The median across all US occupations is $50,980.
How many of these careers can you enter without a degree?
5 of the 30 careers on this list have a typical entry requirement below an associate's degree: a high school diploma, a postsecondary certificate, or no formal credential (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034).