🏆 2026 Job Rankings

Highest-Paying Entry-Level Jobs in Bellingham, WA (2026)

If you are comparing highest-paying entry-level jobs in Bellingham, WA, this guide uses Careerclev salary benchmarks built from the latest official BLS wage baseline to show where early-career pay starts strongest in the Bellingham, WA metro area. Because BLS does not publish a dedicated entry-level wage for every role, the ranking uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy so the projected pay picture stays realistic for new and junior workers.

From the current ranking, Urologist leads at $212,414/year, while Financial Manager stands out for employment depth at about 280 workers. That contrast helps you weigh pure pay against the size of the hiring market.

📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Bellingham, WA · 12 jobs ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Urologist
$212K est.
2
General Dentist
$168K est.
3
Architectural and Engineering Manager
$150K est.
4
Pharmacist
$141K est.
5
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$140K est.
#1 Job
Urologist
$212K
Jobs Ranked
12
top roles
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
190
employment estimate
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Highest-Paying Entry-Level Jobs in Bellingham, WA: Full Ranking

If you're targeting high-paying jobs in Bellingham, WA, Urologist sits at the top of this 12-job ranking at $212,414 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to General Dentist at $167,666, 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 · 190 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
100% benchmark
$212,414
official baseline $256K
2
SOC 29-1021 · Healthcare · 80 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$167,666
official baseline $183K
3
SOC 11-9041 · Management · 80 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$150,108
official baseline $188K
4
SOC 29-1051 · Healthcare · 190 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$141,254
official baseline $160K
5
SOC 11-3021 · Management · 210 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$139,550
official baseline $179K
6
SOC 11-9032 · Management · 190 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$132,955
official baseline $161K
7
SOC 33-1012 · Protective Services · 90 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
vs #1
$139,582
official baseline $148K
8
SOC 11-9121 · Management · 50 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$141,272
official baseline $147K
9
SOC 49-9051 · Repair & Maintenance · 30 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
vs #1
$142,417
official baseline $174K
10
SOC 29-1071 · Healthcare · 80 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$135,998
official baseline $161K
11
SOC 29-1171 · Healthcare · 90 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$131,236
official baseline $163K
12
SOC 11-3031 · Management · 280 employed
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
vs #1
$135,189
official baseline $168K

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 Bellingham, WA is not concentrated in a single career path. The leading roles span Healthcare, Management, Protective Services, 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$212,414190Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
ManagementArchitectural and Engineering Manager$150,10880Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Protective ServicesPolice Supervisor$139,58290Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Repair & MaintenanceElectrical Power-line Installer and Repairer$142,41730Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some 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 $212,414, compared with a long-run median of $255,698. 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$212,414$255,698Job 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).
General Dentist$167,666$182,856Job 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).
Architectural and Engineering Manager$150,108$188,329Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Pharmacist$141,254$159,721Job 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).
Computer and Information Systems Manager$139,550$179,102Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation NeededMost of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
K-12 Education Administrator$132,955$160,864Job 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).
Police Supervisor$139,582$147,551Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation NeededUsually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Natural Sciences Manager$141,272$146,774Job 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 Bellingham, WA, Financial Manager combines a salary of $135,189 with roughly 280 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
Financial Manager
$135,189
280 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
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$139,550
210 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
Urologist
$212,414
190 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.
Strong Market
Pharmacist
$141,254
190 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.
Strong Market
K-12 Education Administrator
$132,955
190 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.
Strong Market
Police Supervisor
$139,582
90 employed
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training. in a job zone 1-2: very little to some 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 $212,414, while Financial Manager supports roughly 280 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.

UrologistSOC 29-1229
$212K
190
General DentistSOC 29-1021
$168K
80
Architectural and Engineering ManagerSOC 11-9041
$150K
80
PharmacistSOC 29-1051
$141K
190
Computer and Information Systems ManagerSOC 11-3021
$140K
210
K-12 Education AdministratorSOC 11-9032
$133K
190
Police SupervisorSOC 33-1012
$140K
90
Natural Sciences ManagerSOC 11-9121
$141K
50

How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically

Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Bellingham, WA, the gap between Urologist at $212,414 and the early-pay signal from Urologist at $212,414 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 280 workers in Bellingham, WA 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 $212,414 and scales to $255,698 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 Bellingham, WA?
Urologist is currently the highest-paying role in this ranking at $212,414 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline for Bellingham, WA.
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 Bellingham, WA a good market for Urologist?
Bellingham, WA is a strong metro market for Urologist. BLS data shows an employment estimate of 190 workers locally, with a median salary of $255,698. 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. Financial 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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