Highest-Paying Entry-Level Jobs in Los Angeles, CA (2026)
If you are comparing highest-paying entry-level jobs in Los Angeles, CA, this guide uses Careerclev salary benchmarks built from the latest official BLS wage baseline to show where early-career pay starts strongest in the Los Angeles, CA 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, Nurse Midwive leads at $180,999/year, while Computer and Information Systems Manager stands out for employment depth at about 24,260 workers. That contrast helps you weigh pure pay against the size of the hiring market.
📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Los Angeles, CA · 12 jobs ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Nurse Midwive
$181K est.
2
Family Medicine Physician
$182K est.
3
Architectural and Engineering Manager
$166K est.
4
Police Supervisor
$173K est.
5
Chief Executive
$170K est.
#1 Job
Nurse Midwive
$181K
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 Los Angeles, CA: Full Ranking
If you're targeting high-paying jobs in Los Angeles, CA, Nurse Midwive sits at the top of this 12-job ranking at $180,999 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Family Medicine Physician at $181,916, 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.
Entry proxyData year 2024Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
vs #1
$147,764
official baseline $198K
What Nurse Midwive Does
Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Nurse Midwive sits at the top of this guide because it combines strong pay with the work profile described below.
Diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or as part of a healthcare team. May provide well-woman gynecological care. Must have specialized, graduate nursing education.
Nurse Midwive Salary Trend
Nurse Midwive 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 -0.2% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.
2026·$124KEstimated
$111K
2020
$113K
2021
$121K
2022
$130K
2023
$124K
2024
$124K
2025*
$124K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
2020–2026 trend (est.)
↑ 11.6%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model
* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($124K, 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 Los Angeles, CA 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.
Category
Top Job
Salary
Employment
Prep Signal
Healthcare
Nurse Midwive
$180,999
190
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Management
Architectural and Engineering Manager
$165,967
8,850
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Protective Services
Police Supervisor
$172,931
4,800
Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Technology
Mathematician
$157,486
40
Job Zone Five: Extensive 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. Family Medicine Physician shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $181,916, compared with a long-run median of $203,058. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.
Job
Entry Proxy
Median Salary
Prep Path
Typical Education
Nurse Midwive
$180,999
$205,831
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
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).
Family Medicine Physician
$181,916
$203,058
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
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).
Architectural and Engineering Manager
$165,967
$190,270
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Police Supervisor
$172,931
$186,656
Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Chief Executive
$170,306
$253,837
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
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).
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$165,484
$204,449
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Mathematician
$157,486
$160,796
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
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).
Nurse Practitioner
$152,483
$178,884
Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
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).
Jobs With Strong Demand
Pay ceilings matter more when the local labor market is deep enough to generate real openings. In Los Angeles, CA, Computer and Information Systems Manager combines a salary of $165,484 with roughly 24,260 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
Computer and Information Systems Manager
$165,484
24,260 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
Chief Executive
$170,306
12,420 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
$137,583
12,390 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
Architectural and Engineering Manager
$165,967
8,850 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
Nurse Practitioner
$152,483
6,400 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
$172,931
4,800 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. Nurse Midwive leads on salary at $180,999, while Computer and Information Systems Manager supports roughly 24,260 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.
Nurse MidwiveSOC 29-1161
$181K
190
Family Medicine PhysicianSOC 29-1215
$182K
N/A
Architectural and Engineering ManagerSOC 11-9041
$166K
8,850
Police SupervisorSOC 33-1012
$173K
4,800
Chief ExecutiveSOC 11-1011
$170K
12,420
Computer and Information Systems ManagerSOC 11-3021
$165K
24,260
MathematicianSOC 15-2021
$157K
40
Nurse PractitionerSOC 29-1171
$152K
6,400
How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically
Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Los Angeles, CA, the gap between Nurse Midwive at $180,999 and the early-pay signal from Family Medicine Physician at $181,916 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 24,260 workers in Los Angeles, CA 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 $181,916 and scales to $203,058 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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Related High-Pay Pages
These related pages are the most useful next steps from this ranking. They keep the same high-pay context for Los Angeles, CA, then branch into nearby market views and role-specific pages such as General Dentist and Computer and Information Systems Manager. If this page answers the pay question but not the career question, start here.
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 nurse midwive.
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 Los Angeles, CA?▼
Nurse Midwive is currently the highest-paying role in this ranking at $180,999 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline for Los Angeles, CA.
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 Los Angeles, CA a good market for Nurse Midwive?▼
Los Angeles, CA is a strong metro market for Nurse Midwive. BLS data shows an employment estimate of 190 workers locally, with a median salary of $205,831. A deeper employment count generally points to more active hiring, which improves access alongside the pay ceiling.
How much preparation does Nurse Midwive usually require?▼
Nurse Midwive 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. Computer and Information Systems 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 Nurse Midwive?▼
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 Nurse Midwive.
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.