Movement in the job market has been sluggish over the last year, save for one exception: health care. So it stands to reason this field makes up the majority of Indeed’s latest report on the best jobs of 2026.
Though health-care roles make up just 11% of total jobs in the U.S., they represent 72% of job growth in the broader market, said Laura Ullrich, North America research director for the Indeed Hiring Lab, in a release.
Cardiac medical techs were named the No. 1 best job of the year thanks to six-figure median annual salaries and high growth in both wages and postings over the last three years. Indeed researchers note the growing demand reflects chronic health conditions, an aging population and that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the CDC.
The report ranked jobs based on pay, demand, growth in wages and posting son Indeed, and flexibility factors like the ability to work from home.
Here are Indeed’s top 10 jobs for the year:
1. Cardiac medical tech
- Estimated median annual salary: $133,907
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 224
- Wage growth since 2022: 34%
- Postings growth since 2022: 34%
- Share of remote postings: 2%
2. Truck driver owner-operator
- Estimated median annual salary: $160,000
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 7,529
- Wage growth since 2022: -5%
- Postings growth since 2022: 39%
- Share of remote postings: 1%
3. Nurse practitioner
- Estimated median annual salary: $143,183
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 2,874
- Wage growth since 2022: 10%
- Postings growth since 2022: -2%
- Share of remote postings: 10%
4. Speech language pathologist
- Estimated median annual salary: $109,431
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 191
- Wage growth since 2022: 14%
- Postings growth since 2022: 11%
- Share of remote postings: 8%
5. Licensed professional counselor
- Estimated median annual salary: $107,812
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 286
- Wage growth since 2022: 33%
- Postings growth since 2022: -17%
- Share of remote postings: 32%
6. Licensed clinical social worker
- Estimated median annual salary: $119,618
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 1,016
- Wage growth since 2022: 20%
- Postings growth since 2022: -32%
- Share of remote postings: 32%
7. Physical therapist
- Estimated median annual salary: $110,848
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 6,299
- Wage growth since 2022: 8%
- Postings growth since 2022: 0%
- Share of remote postings: 2%
8. Occupational therapist
- Estimated median annual salary: $105,580
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 4,147
- Wage growth since 2022: 6%
- Postings growth since 2022: 13%
- Share of remote postings: 3%
9. Radiation therapist
- Estimated median annual salary: $115,923
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 239
- Wage growth since 2022: 26%
- Postings growth since 2022: 8%
- Share of remote postings: 3%
10. Data scientist
- Estimated median annual salary: $115,079
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 958
- Wage growth since 2022: -3%
- Postings growth since 2022: 15%
- Share of remote postings: 35%
Overall, jobs in health care, tech and skilled trades make up the majority of Indeed’s 50 best roles for strong pay and career longevity.
Experts say health-care jobs continue to be in demand, no matter what the economy is doing, because it’s an essential need to support the general population, as well as an aging demographic. Pew Research Center estimates the number of centenarians in the U.S. will quadruple in the next 30 years.
Several of Indeed’s best jobs in health care offer a relatively low barrier to entry with workers generally needing a certificate or associate’s degree to get started, including sign language interpreter (No. 11), radiologic technician (No. 18) and massage therapist (No. 44).
Other health-care roles require specialized training that require human-to-human interaction, including speech language pathologist (No. 4), occupational therapist (No. 8) and music therapist (No. 36). Indeed researchers say this points to a broader shift toward specialization within care-based work.
Far and away, registered nurses (No. 22) are among the most in-demand for hiring, with 12,330 open roles on Indeed per 1 million postings on the site. The Bureau of Labor Statistic projects there’ll be 189,100 openings for registered nurses each year, on average, over the decade; the field is expected to grow to 3.3 million RNs by 2032.
Tech jobs like solutions architects (No. 20), SAP consultants (No. 24) and enterprise architects (No. 41) also offer strong six-figure salaries and high chances of being able to work remotely, but fall lower in the ranking due to negative wage growth and postings growth in the last three years.
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