Highest-paying jobs with the most and least competition

Finding a high-paying job is harder when dozens — or hundreds — of people apply for the same opening. Knowing which well-paid titles attract the least competition helps you aim your search where the odds are better.

MakeResume analyzed high-earning roles in the U.S. and UK using PayScale salary data and LinkedIn Jobs applicant counts. We focused on jobs in the top 15% of earners, then measured how many people typically apply per posting.

Below you will find the highest-paying U.S. and UK roles with the least (and most) competition, sector breakdowns for accounting, business, IT, and management, plus the methodology. For broader pay context, see our guides to the highest-paying jobs, highest-paying trade jobs, and dream jobs — then tailor materials in the resume builder.

The highest-paying US jobs with the least competition are in law and nursing

Law and nursing titles dominate the U.S. list of high pay with low competition — several roles see only a handful of applicants per vacancy. The interactive below shows competition for the highest-paying job titles in each sector; the lower the competition number, the less competition there is for the role.

An Assistant City Attorney earns $76,028 on average but has only 1.2 applicants per role — in other words, for five out of six vacancies, you would be the only applicant. At the time of the analysis, there were 68 such jobs available in the States.

That Juris Doctorate is starting to look valuable since the second-least competitive role is also a legal one: an Administrative Law Judge earns $83,379, and your odds of success are 50-50. But the highest-paying, low-competition job is Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. An “NP” can command a salary of $108,623 and will be one of just 2.7 people applying for the job.

For more on landing top-paid roles in general, see the highest-paying jobs and how to land them.

Top jobs in the UK's troubled aviation industry have little competition

In the UK, several of the highest-paying, lowest-competition openings sit in aviation — including aircraft pilot roles with roughly one applicant per vacancy. The second interactive visualizes highest pay versus competition for UK jobs; as above, a low score indicates less competition per vacancy.

The UK job market has faced sustained pressure in recent years. However, the top 10 highest-paying jobs with the least competition offer a brighter picture than the U.S. In fact, just you and at most one other person will apply for any of the top 10 UK jobs in our study.

However, four of those top 10 jobs are in aviation. The least competitive job is for aircraft pilot — for which you would be the only applicant. This job comes with an average wage of £68,713. Other low-competition jobs include family physician (£50,391/1.2 applicants per job), Data Science Manager (£70,000/1.6), and head teacher (£55,096, 1.6).

Competition for jobs, sector-by-sector

The following interactives reveal the top ten highest-paying, low-competition jobs in four sectors. Switch between U.S. and UK data where the embed allows.

Accounting and Finance

An average of 40 people apply for each job in Accounting and Finance in the U.S., for an average salary of $98,015. It might not sound too encouraging, but there are some good opportunities out there. For example, apply to be an auditing manager, and you will be up against just six fellow applicants chasing a $90,726 salary.

This sector is a bit more competitive in the UK, with 45 applicants per vacancy. It also has a lower average wage, at £57,809 (around $78,696). But there are several shoo-in roles: Senior Manager Auditor (£63,808/1.2 applicants per job), Senior Underwriter (£45,636/2.2), and Tax Director (£91,771/6.4) are all positions that give a good return for your application-filling time. For resume positioning in this field, start from MakeResume resume examples and our highest-paying trade jobs guide if you are weighing skilled paths alongside finance.

Business

Business is competitive in the States, with 60 applicants for each job — for an average salary of $94,347. In fact, Chief Estimators and Strategy Managers will be up against 120+ rivals for each position they apply. Your best business bet is as an Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Director ($112,513 with 16.1 applicants) or Regulatory Affairs Manager ($103,142/17.7).

Competition is not so fierce in the UK, where the sector average is 42 applicants for a £54,416 salary. Business management positions are appealing, such as Senior Manager Auditor (£63,808/1.2) or Data Science Manager (£70,000/1.6). However, the route to the executive suite is crowded. Vice President of IT is the toughest, with 162 applicants, but you will also be fighting 100+ rivals to become a Chief Marketing Officer, Managing Director, or Vice President of Operations.

IT

American IT specialists must go up against an average of 53 competitors for an average $102,222 wage. But those with the capacity to become a Lead Software Engineer face good news: an average salary of $118,322 with just 7.2 people applying for each role. IT Consultants and Technical Services Managers face even less competition, albeit for lower salaries.

UK technology candidates have it a bit easier. Applicants for Senior Manager Auditor, Data Science Manager, and Software Development Manager vacancies often find themselves the only one up for the job. In fact, there are 15 UK IT job titles that attract fewer than 10 people for each position. Pair a targeted application with a clean layout from the resume builder when competition spikes.

Managers and Executives

General Managers and Executives are the hardest-fought-for roles in the U.S. employment landscape. An average of 74 people compete for an average $121,778 salary. Your best shot is to become a Clinical Operations Manager, with an $83,460 salary and 9.4 up for each job. After that, the competition starts to get steep.

The same can be said for the UK, where an average of 57.4 people go for each job, making it the most competitive sector. But there are six job titles that attract fewer than three applicants: Senior Manager Auditor, Data Science Manager, and Software Development Manager among them. The best paid of these is Data Science Manager, which has an average salary of £70,000 but only 1.6 people applying to each position.

If a lower-competition, high-interest path appeals more than pure pay, browse our 25 dream jobs guide alongside this competition data.

Out-thinking the competition

Labor markets move in cycles. As ManpowerGroup UK Managing Director Mark Cahill noted in a period of recovery: “The headline numbers are steadily moving in the right direction… We are seeing a continued resurgence in key sectors like finance and business giving us reasons to be cheerful.”

More to the point: hiring conditions change, and so can your strategy. There has rarely been a better moment to realign your professional outlook, take a calculated risk, and fine-tune how you hunt. Why not start by applying for a highest-paying job with very little competition?

Methodology & Sources

How did we define the highest-paying roles?

1. Highest-paying roles were defined as the top 15% of earners in the UK (£45,000+) and USA ($75,000+).
2. Salary data for each role was collated from PayScale.

How did we discover the competition for each role?

1. We searched for each job title on LinkedIn Jobs.
2. We took the average number of applicants for each job posting on the first page of results.

This MakeResume analysis combines PayScale compensation figures with LinkedIn Jobs applicant counts to surface high-pay, low-competition opportunities in both markets.