U.S. News Ranks Orthodontist the 72nd Best Job in 2024

Orthodontist ranked among the 100 best jobs in U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 list that looks at the best jobs in several fields.

Orthodontists made the U.S. News & World Report’s best jobs for 2024 report coming in 72nd best job overall while general dentist was ranked 70th.

Among healthcare jobs, orthodontist was ranked 18th and among STEM jobs it was ranked 21st. The top job in healthcare was anesthesiologist and the top STEM job was nurse practitioner.

The highest rank that a career as an orthodontist achieved was on the best-paying jobs coming in 7th based on a median salary of $174,360. According to the list, the highest paying job was anesthesiologist with a median salary of $239,200.

The rankings offer a look at the best jobs across 17 categories – from sectors such as engineering and business – to help job seekers at every level make the most informed career decisions for them. The rankings take into account the most important aspects of a job, including growth potential, work-life balance, job safety, employment rate and salary.

“Healthcare workers are critical to our overall well-being,” said Erika Giovanetti, money expert at U.S. News. “Nurse practitioner rose to the No. 1 spot as this year’s best job. The 10-year outlook for the occupation is strong with one in three of the top 100 jobs being in healthcare – an increase from one in four in the 2023 rankings. Future growth and a high median salary make this career sector appealing as well.”

STEM fields and health care support jobs also continue to rank high among the Careers With the Most Job Security, with these industries capturing all of the list’s top 10 jobs.

To calculate Best Jobs, U.S. News draws data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify jobs with the greatest hiring demand. Jobs are then scored using five component measures: future prospects, wage potential, employment, job safety and stability, and work-life balance. For further details on how the rankings were calculated, see the methodology.

“With the 2024 job market exhibiting an appetite for web development, engineering and science-based professions, it is no surprise that STEM occupations make up nearly one-quarter of the Best Jobs rankings,” said Giovanetti. “The strong future job prospects and salary opportunities for many of these roles are a clear indicator for expansion in this industry.”