Five private-sector industries in Pierce County recorded average annual pay ranging from roughly $97,500 to $208,300—the highest among the county’s broad industry sectors in the latest full-year federal data.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 county figures reveal a striking divide: the industries leading the paycheck countdown account for only about 9% of Pierce County’s private-sector jobs. Some employ thousands of people locally; others have a considerably smaller footprint.
For comparison, average annual pay across the county’s private sector was $70,489. Here’s which industries finished above the rest, what happens inside them and where local training connects with the work.
These government wage averages combine different occupations, experience levels and work schedules, including covered payments such as bonuses; they are not median earnings, starting salaries, take-home pay or complete benefits packages.
The figures describe covered jobs at county workplaces, rather than the earnings of everyone who lives in Pierce County.
Management of Companies and Enterprises — Average Annual Pay: $97,506
The countdown opens with an industry whose name practically requests a corner office. In 2025, management of companies and enterprises averaged $97,506 across 874 private-sector jobs in Pierce County.
Headquarters Work Has Its Own Category
This sector covers establishments that oversee companies or hold controlling ownership interests, including corporate management operations responsible for organizational planning and decision-making.
It does not collect everyone with “manager” on a business card. A manager working at a retail establishment generally belongs in retail’s industry figures; this category concerns the establishment’s business activity.
That distinction matters because the local employment base is relatively small. Its 2025 average pay increased 5.1% from the previous year, while annual average employment declined 3.6%. A higher average paycheck did not coincide with a larger local workforce.
A Business Degree Close to Home
For readers interested in business operations, Pierce College’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Business Management offers one local education route.
The program builds on an applied business associate degree, with upper-division study organized around a two-year cohort. Classes typically meet in the evenings at the Fort Steilacoom campus in Lakewood, with a virtual attendance option.
That scheduling could matter to someone continuing to work while studying. Business training also applies across many industries, so the useful question is which responsibilities a particular position involves—not simply whether its title includes “management.”
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services — Average Annual Pay: $102,036
This sprawling sector crossed the six-figure threshold in 2025, averaging $102,036 across 13,648 local private-sector jobs. It also had the largest employment base of the five industries featured here.
A Long Name Covering Familiar Businesses
The federal category includes law firms, accounting practices, engineering and architectural services, computer systems design, consulting and other specialized services.
In other words, plenty of work behind the businesses, buildings and everyday transactions Pierce County residents encounter.
A local example is AHBL, which lists a Tacoma office on North 30th Street and provides civil engineering, structural engineering, landscape architecture, land-use planning and surveying services. Its range illustrates how several specialties can sit within one broad industry label.
Employment Grew Alongside Pay
Pierce County’s annual average employment in this sector increased 3.5% from 2024, while average annual pay rose 9% in nominal dollars.
That combination distinguishes it from several other wage leaders, where average pay increased while employment slipped. Employment growth still does not establish how many positions are currently open.
For someone considering the field, the specific profession matters enormously. Engineering design, bookkeeping and computer consulting belong under the same statistical umbrella, but they involve different preparation and responsibilities.
The sector average provides a useful signal about the local concentration of well-paid work. Choosing a route into it requires a closer look at the actual job, its qualifications and its advertised pay.
Finance and Insurance — Average Annual Pay: $119,213
Finance and insurance averaged $119,213 across 7,679 Pierce County private-sector jobs in 2025. The category reaches well beyond the person helping you open a checking account.
More Than the Neighborhood Bank Branch
The finance and insurance sector encompasses banking, lending, investment-related activities and insurance businesses.
Locally, Columbia Bank’s Tacoma locations provide a familiar connection to that broader industry. Branch banking is one visible piece of a sector that also includes work involving financial transactions, risk and insurance coverage.
Those activities bring different occupations and levels of responsibility into the same average. The countywide figure is therefore more useful for understanding an industry than estimating what a particular banking or insurance position pays.
Pay Increased as Employment Declined
Average annual pay rose 13.5% from 2024, while annual average employment fell 2.3%. That is a substantial nominal wage increase, but it should not be mistaken for evidence of expanding employment.
For prospective students, the Milgard School of Business at the University of Washington Tacoma offers a business administration degree with a finance option, alongside accounting and other concentrations.
It also offers graduate programs, including an MBA and a master’s in accounting. The choices reflect how varied business preparation can be, rather than a single credential everyone in finance must obtain.
For a career changer, comparing the requirements of specific roles would be more revealing than treating the entire sector as one six-figure career.
Utilities — Average Annual Pay: $135,103
Utilities placed second, with average annual pay of $135,103 in 2025. Its local private-sector employment base, however, was just 732 jobs—the smallest in this countdown.
An Essential Industry With a Small Private Workforce
The utilities category covers services including electricity, natural gas, water supply and sewage removal.
Because this comparison uses private-sector data, it excludes government-operated utilities. That distinction is especially relevant in a county where public utilities are part of everyday life.
Puget Sound Energy identifies Pierce County within its electricity and natural-gas service area, providing a local connection to the private utility business.
Pierce County’s average was below the comparable $145,458 statewide private-utilities average in BLS’s Washington data. Locally, average pay increased 5.6%, while employment declined 2.7%.
A Paid Training Route Into Specialized Work
PSE’s Pathway to Apprenticeship program describes paid, full-time entry-level opportunities leading toward apprenticeships in specialties including substation wire, hydroelectric equipment and electric meters.
The company says the pathway includes structured training without tuition or training charges. Candidates enter a qualified pool, with interviews for openings tied to their ranking.
The work can involve outdoor conditions, heights or confined spaces, depending on the specialty. It is a different proposition from an office career—and the program’s existence does not establish that a Pierce County placement is available.
For interested applicants, the specialty, location and selection process deserve as much attention as the industry’s impressive average.
Information — Average Annual Pay: $208,299
At the top of the countdown, information recorded average annual pay of $208,299 across 2,349 Pierce County private-sector jobs in 2025—nearly three times the county’s overall private-sector average.
The Label Covers More Than Software
The information sector includes software publishing, telecommunications, broadcasting, motion pictures, publishing and data-related services.
A tangible local example arrived in November 2025, when broadband provider Lightcurve announced its headquarters relocation to downtown Tacoma. The company identified its new headquarters at 1145 Broadway and a neighboring customer retail location at 1135 Broadway.
That gives the broad industry label a recognizable downtown address. It does not establish what Lightcurve pays or explain the sector’s countywide average.
An Eye-Catching Average With a Sharp Annual Increase
Information’s average annual pay increased 79% from 2024, while annual average employment rose 19.2%. The county totals establish the change but do not identify its cause, so attributing the jump to a particular employer or payment would go beyond the evidence.
For readers exploring related technical work, Tacoma Community College’s networking and cybersecurity associate degree includes hands-on study of systems, data, networking and security.
Those skills can apply across several industries, including employers outside information. A technical occupation and a technology-related industry are different things—a useful distinction when turning this headline-grabbing average into a practical career search.
Pierce County’s Biggest Employers Aren’t Its Wage Leaders
Together, the five sectors accounted for 25,282 of Pierce County’s 276,587 private-sector jobs, or approximately 9.1%, calculated from the same federal dataset.
Health care and social assistance alone averaged 58,750 jobs, more than twice the combined employment of all five wage leaders. Its average annual pay was $77,549, above the county’s private-sector average but below the countdown’s cutoff.
Retail trade accounted for another 35,647 jobs, averaging $51,562 annually. These much larger employment bases help explain why a list of the highest-paying industries looks different from a list of the industries residents encounter most often.
What Could Your Next Move Look Like?
If one of these industries has you thinking about a career change, start with the actual jobs: what they pay, what qualifications they require and whether the hours and commute fit your life.
A paid utility training program offers a different route from heading back to college for finance or building specialized technical skills. The right choice depends on where you’re starting—and what it takes to get there.
An industry average can catch your eye. A job that fits is what makes the numbers matter.
