Career Ranking
Low-Stress Jobs That Pay Well
"Pay well" and "low stress" are usually framed as a trade-off — as if real money requires real misery. The data doesn't fully agree. Plenty of roles pay comfortably while running below the catalogue's average on stress. These are those roles: filtered to below-average stress, then ranked by pay.
Two honest caveats. "Lower stress" is a property of the typical role, not a guarantee — a bad manager can make any job stressful. And the very highest-paying roles do skew higher-stress, so this list trades a little ceiling for a lot of sustainability. For most people that's a good trade.
- 1Optometrist$92K – $195K$125k · 48/100 stress
- 2UX Researcher$78K – $215K$118k · 52/100 stress
- 3Actuary$72K – $245K$115k · 50/100 stress
- 4UX Designer$70K – $195K$105k · 54/100 stress
- 5Statistician$72K – $215K$105k · 50/100 stress
- 6UX Writer$72K – $195K$105k · 46/100 stress
- 7Brand Designer$62K – $185K$95k · 52/100 stress
- 8Data Analyst$65K – $165K$92k · 48/100 stress
- 9QA Engineer$65K – $178K$92k · 54/100 stress
- 10Motion Designer$60K – $178K$92k · 54/100 stress
- 11Occupational Therapist$72K – $138K$92k · 54/100 stress
- 12Audiologist$72K – $148K$92k · 44/100 stress
- 13Content Strategist$58K – $160K$88k · 52/100 stress
- 14Technical Writer$62K – $168K$88k · 44/100 stress
- 15Compensation Analyst$62K – $175K$88k · 50/100 stress
- 16Speech-Language Pathologist$65K – $132K$84k · 50/100 stress
- 17Copywriter$52K – $172K$82k · 52/100 stress
- 18Marketing Analyst$58K – $165K$82k · 50/100 stress
- 19Dental Hygienist$62K – $115K$82k · 46/100 stress
- 20Instructional Designer$58K – $148K$82k · 48/100 stress
- 21Chemist$58K – $162K$82k · 52/100 stress
- 22Geologist$58K – $168K$82k · 52/100 stress
- 23Industrial Designer$58K – $165K$82k · 54/100 stress
- 24Food Scientist$58K – $165K$82k · 50/100 stress
- 25Chiropractor$60K – $148K$78k · 50/100 stress
Filtered to roles below average on stress (stress level ≤ 55/100), then ranked by median salary. Figures calibrated to public 2024-2026 US labor signals. Stress is a property of the typical role; individual experience varies by employer and team.
Other rankings
Which of these fits you?
A high rank means nothing if the work fights your wiring.
The free 12-question diagnostic ranks every role by how well it fits your traits — not just one metric. About 3 minutes.