🏆 2026 Job Rankings

Highest-Paying Jobs in Odessa, TX (2026)

If you are comparing highest-paying jobs in Odessa, TX, this guide uses Careerclev salary benchmarks built from the latest official BLS wage baseline to rank the strongest-paying roles in the Odessa, TX metro area. It also layers in salary range, employment depth, and entry-pay signals so you can judge each path on more than the headline number alone.

From the current ranking, Urologist leads at $276,833/year, while Sales Manager stands out for employment depth at about 330 workers. That contrast helps you weigh pure pay against the size of the hiring market.

📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Odessa, TX · 12 jobs ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Urologist
$277K est.
2
Financial Manager
$166K est.
3
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$152K est.
4
Pharmacist
$144K est.
5
Petroleum Engineer
$144K est.
#1 Job
Urologist
$277K
Jobs Ranked
12
top roles
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
40
employment estimate
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Highest-Paying Jobs in Odessa, TX: Full Ranking

If you're targeting high-paying jobs in Odessa, TX, Urologist sits at the top of this 12-job ranking at $276,833 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Financial Manager at $165,779, which helps show whether the pay curve drops quickly or stays fairly tight after the leader. On entry-level pages, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy for starting pay, because the public source data does not offer a clean entry-level field for every role.

1
SOC 29-1229 · Healthcare · 40 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
100% benchmark
$276,833
official baseline $277K
2
SOC 11-3031 · Management · 220 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$165,779
official baseline $166K
3
SOC 11-3021 · Management · 90 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$152,047
official baseline $152K
4
SOC 29-1051 · Healthcare · 90 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$144,236
official baseline $144K
5
SOC 17-2171 · Engineering · 310 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$143,939
official baseline $144K
6
SOC 11-2022 · Management · 330 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$137,448
official baseline $137K
7
SOC 11-2021 · Management · 70 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$143,309
official baseline $143K
8
SOC 11-3013 · Management · 50 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$132,133
official baseline $132K
9
SOC 17-2111 · Engineering · 80 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$137,069
official baseline $137K
10
SOC 29-1171 · Healthcare · 70 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$134,606
official baseline $135K
11
SOC 11-3051 · Management · 160 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$135,937
official baseline $136K
12
SOC 15-1252 · Technology · 90 employed
High payData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$126,834
official baseline $127K

What Urologist Does

Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Urologist sits at the top of this guide because it combines strong pay with the work profile described below.

Diagnose, treat, and help prevent benign and malignant medical and surgical disorders of the genitourinary system and the renal glands.

Urologist Salary Trend

Urologist leads this ranking on current pay, but the national salary trend helps show whether that pay ceiling is being reinforced by steady wage growth over time.

Careerclev's current 2026 estimate applies an annual modeled growth rate of -1.5% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.

2026·$161KEstimated
$223K
2022
$236K
2023
$166K
2024
$164K
2025*
$161K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
20222026 trend (est.)
27.8%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model

* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($166K, 2024) is extended with recent wage trend history, employment outlook, and tech-market signals where available, then replaced when official data is published.

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Highest-Paying Jobs by Category

High pay in Odessa, TX is not concentrated in a single career path. The leading roles span Healthcare, Management, Engineering, and 1 more . That mix helps show whether the local labor market rewards specialist clinical work, technical depth, executive management, or a broader spread of roles. Each row below shows the top-paying role within that actual SOC category rather than an assumed one.

CategoryTop JobSalaryEmploymentPrep Signal
HealthcareUrologist$276,83340Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
ManagementFinancial Manager$165,779220Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
EngineeringPetroleum Engineer$143,939310Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
TechnologySoftware Developer$126,83490Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Entry-Level Pay Signals

A high median salary only tells half the story. What matters for career planning is where starting pay actually lands. Because BLS does not publish a clean entry-level label for every role, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy. Urologist shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $207,864, compared with a long-run median of $276,833. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.

JobEntry ProxyMedian SalaryPrep PathTypical Education
Urologist$207,864$276,833Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Financial Manager$124,380$165,779Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Computer and Information Systems Manager$119,394$152,047Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Pharmacist$139,908$144,236Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Petroleum Engineer$111,813$143,939Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Sales Manager$85,445.0$137,448Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Marketing Manager$104,349$143,309Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Security Manager$86,602.0$132,133Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Jobs With Strong Demand

Pay ceilings matter more when the local labor market is deep enough to generate real openings. In Odessa, TX, Sales Manager combines a salary of $137,448 with roughly 330 employed workers, which makes it one of the more accessible high-pay options on this list. By contrast, some specialties rank higher on salary but operate as narrower niches where openings are harder to find and entry paths are longer.

Very Deep Market
Sales Manager
$137,448
330 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Very Deep Market
Petroleum Engineer
$143,939
310 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Financial Manager
$165,779
220 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Biofuel Production Manager
$135,937
160 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$152,047
90 employed
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. in a job zone four: considerable preparation needed pathway.
Strong Market
Pharmacist
$144,236
90 employed
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training. in a job zone five: extensive preparation needed pathway.

Salary vs Employment

The highest-paying job is not always the largest market, and that distinction changes the practical calculus. Urologist leads on salary at $276,833, while Sales Manager supports roughly 330 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.

UrologistSOC 29-1229
$277K
40
Financial ManagerSOC 11-3031
$166K
220
Computer and Information Systems ManagerSOC 11-3021
$152K
90
PharmacistSOC 29-1051
$144K
90
Petroleum EngineerSOC 17-2171
$144K
310
Sales ManagerSOC 11-2022
$137K
330
Marketing ManagerSOC 11-2021
$143K
70
Security ManagerSOC 11-3013
$132K
50

How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically

Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Odessa, TX, the gap between Urologist at $276,833 and the early-pay signal from Urologist at $207,864 shows why access, market size, and training timelines belong in the same conversation as the headline number. That is where this page becomes more useful than a simple ranking list.

1
Match salary to access realistically
A high median means little if there are only a handful of openings per year. Check the employment estimate alongside the salary. A role with 330 workers in Odessa, TX is fundamentally easier to enter than one with a few hundred.
2
Factor in education and licensure timelines
Some of the highest-paying roles on this list sit in prep bands such as Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed and often pair that with expectations like most of these occupations require graduate school. for example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a ph.d., m.d., or j.d. (law degree).. Build that timeline into your planning before targeting the salary ceiling.
3
Separate entry pay from long-run upside
The entry proxy column in this guide gives you an early-career anchor. A role that starts at $207,864 and scales to $276,833 offers a very different career arc than one that starts and peaks near the same figure.
4
Check the work before chasing the pay
Compare the day-to-day work with the training path before you commit. A role can rank highly on pay and still be a poor fit if the work itself does not match the kind of problems, environment, or responsibilities you want.
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Next Pages to Read

High-pay rankings are most useful when you read them alongside the core salary guide, the career entry path, and a few nearby role comparisons. That turns this page from a ranking into a better decision route for urologist.

FAQs

These questions cover the practical parts of the ranking: how entry pay is estimated, why wage fields sometimes differ by source, and how to compare the top salary with the real size of the job market.

What is the highest-paying job in Odessa, TX?
Urologist is currently the highest-paying role in this ranking at $276,833 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline for Odessa, TX.
Is the entry-level pay data directly from BLS?
Not exactly. BLS publishes wage percentiles rather than experience-level labels, so Careerclev uses the 25th percentile (or the low-end wage where available) as an entry-pay proxy. It is a transparent approximation, not a direct label.
Is Odessa, TX a good market for Urologist?
Odessa, TX is a strong metro market for Urologist. BLS data shows an employment estimate of 40 workers locally, with a median salary of $276,833. A deeper employment count generally points to more active hiring, which improves access alongside the pay ceiling.
How much preparation does Urologist usually require?
Urologist is currently tagged as job zone five: extensive preparation needed in the O*NET prep model. The most common education signal is most of these occupations require graduate school. for example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a ph.d., m.d., or j.d. (law degree)., while the training path is described as employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training..
Does the top-paying job also have the most openings?
Not always. Sales Manager may support a deeper employment market than the #1 salary role, which can make it more practical for job seekers despite a lower pay ceiling.
How should I compare salary with accessibility?
Use the ranking salary, entry-pay proxy, employment estimate, and preparation path together. The best target is usually the role that balances strong pay with a realistic path in.
Can a lower-ranked job be a better target than Urologist?
Yes. A lower-ranked role can be the better choice if it has a shorter prep path, stronger entry pay, more openings, or a work profile that fits you better than Urologist.
Why do some high-paying roles look hard to enter?
Many top-paying roles sit behind longer training, licensing, or related-experience requirements. That is why Careerclev shows preparation signals next to salary instead of treating all high-paying jobs as equally accessible.
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Data Sources & MethodologyRankings use Careerclev salary facts built from BLS OEWS wage data and extended through Careerclev's current salary projection model where applicable. National pages use U.S. aggregate data, state pages use state-level data, and city pages use the BLS metro dataset behind the largest-city public label. Category labels are derived from BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) major group codes, while prep-path notes come from imported O*NET job-zone and career requirement data where available.
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