Discover the cities in the U.S. with the highest paying jobs.

Over 1 million American jobs offer annual salaries exceeding $500,000.

According to a November report from ADP, 1 out of every 127 jobs in the United States pays more than $500,000 annually.

Issi Romem, research fellow at ADP Research, told CNBC Make It that he was not anticipating that high wages would be present in significant numbers across various locations.

The number of high-paying jobs varies depending on the location. In Silicon Valley, around 1 in 48 jobs pay more than $500,000, while in the El Paso metro area, only about 1 in 333 jobs do so, according to ADP research.

Silicon Valley stood out as "exceptionally unique" in terms of the abundance of high-paying jobs, according to Romem. The tech industry played a significant role in this, with companies such as Apple, Google, Cisco, and OpenAI all based in the area. The ADP report highlights that tech jobs typically come with higher salaries due to the intense competition in the industry and the potential for individuals to significantly influence a company's trajectory.

The second and third spots on the list were occupied by the Austin, Texas and New York City metros, respectively. Both cities have a strong tech presence, with Tesla and Dell headquartered in Austin, and New York being notably the financial hub of the United States.

The 10 metros with largest share of high-paying jobs

San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 2.08%

Austin-Round Rock, TX

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 1.16%

New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 1.07%

Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, FL

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 1.02%

Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 1.01%

North Port-Sarasota, FL

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 0.98%

Denver-Aurora, CO

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 0.94%

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 0.93%

Seattle-Tacoma, WA

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 0.90%

Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD

• Share of jobs paying over $500,000/yr: 0.89%

The cost of living effect

High-paying jobs are more prevalent in metro areas with high cost of living, as lower-earning residents are often forced to relocate to more affordable areas, resulting in an increase in the share of higher-income jobs. The ADP report highlighted Silicon Valley as an example of this phenomenon, where the high cost of housing has a significant impact on the distribution of income.

According to a November report from bill payment service Doxo, seven of the ten most expensive cities to live in are the same as those on ADP's list of highest-earning jobs, including San Jose and San Francisco in Silicon Valley, and New York at number two.

Remote work has led to a decrease in the middle and upper-middle class population in expensive areas like the Bay Area, as it allows workers to relocate to lower-cost areas while maintaining their jobs. This may have affected the study's results by reducing the number of standard earners in a city and increasing the share of high earners.

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