Seattle, Washington’s Top 20 Highest Paying Jobs for 2024 Revealed

They say money can’t buy happiness, but when you’re working long hours and rarely hear the words “thank you” or “you’re doing a good job,” seeing a healthy balance in your bank account can certainly make getting up and going to work a little bit easier. 

That said, GoBankingRates did try to pin down how much you need to make in Idaho to be happy. In order to find that number, they looked at a study done by Purdue University. That study looked at the amount of money it takes for someone to reach ideal “life evaluation.” That’s the thoughts you have about your own life when you reflect on it. They also took into account “emotional well-being” or the day-to-day emotional experiences you have. Nationwide, they found that number to be $105,000. OUCH. 

The news is even worse if you live in Washington State. When GoBanking Rates adjusted the number based on each state’s cost-of-living index, Washington’s number was well above the national average. They say to be happy in the Evergreen state, you need to make $121,485. While that’s only a $1,680 change from the prior year, it’s significant of enough of a change to move Washington from the #12 state where it’s most expensive to “be happy” to #6 behind Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, New York and Alaska. 

So how much of a reality is making that much money in the Seattle area? According to the latest statistics from the State of Washington's Employment Security Department’s website about 93 career fields have an average annual salary matching or exceeding that number. 

READ MORE: Boise, Idaho's Top 20 Highest Paying Jobs for 2024 Revealed

Seattle’s average median household income is $116,068, which is $25,588 above what GoBankingRates considers a livable wage for Washington where you can make ends meet, but still have enough to slide into savings, as well. 

So which career fields are making enough to be “happy?” According to the latest set of updates, these are the 21 highest-paying jobs in the Seattle area.