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As hiring slows across much of the U.S., a handful of jobs are standing out for their resilience.
Roles that rely on hands-on expertise and human connection are proving particularly durable, according to Indeed’s 2026 Best Jobs in the U.S. list. The rankings analyzed thousands of job postings nationwide to identify roles in which workers are most likely to both “get hired and thrive,” according to Indeed.
The job search platform analyzed thousands of job postings nationwide, evaluating jobs using key factors, including above-average pay, immediate demand, wage growth, hiring momentum and remote work flexibility.
Here are the 10 best jobs in the U.S. for 2026, according to Indeed:
1. Cardiac medical tech
- Estimated median annual salary: $133,907
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 224
- Share of remote postings: 2%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 34%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): 34%
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2. Truck driver owner-operator
- Estimated median annual salary: $160,000
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 7,529
- Share of remote postings: 1%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): -5%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): 39%
3. Nurse practitioner
- Estimated median annual salary: $143,183
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 2,874
- Share of remote postings: 10%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 10%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): -2%
4. Speech language pathologist
- Estimated median annual salary: $109,431
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 191
- Share of remote postings: 8%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 14%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): 11%
5. Licensed professional counselor
- Estimated median annual salary: $107,812
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 286
- Share of remote postings: 32%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 33%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): -17%
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6. Licensed clinical social worker
- Estimated median annual salary: $119,618
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 1,016
- Share of remote postings: 32%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 20%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): -32%
7. Physical therapist
- Estimated median annual salary: $110,848
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 6,299
- Share of remote postings: 2%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 8%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years) 0%
8. Occupational therapist
- Estimated median annual salary: $105,580
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 4,147
- Share of remote postings: 3%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 6%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): 13%
9. Radiation therapist
- Estimated median annual salary: $115,923
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 239
- Share of remote postings: 3%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): 26%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): 8%
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10. Data scientist
- Estimated median annual salary: $115,079
- Share of job postings per 1 million on Indeed: 958
- Share of remote postings: 35%
- Wage growth (past 3 years): -3%
- Job postings growth (past 3 years): 15%
Healthcare jobs overwhelmingly dominated the full list, which also includes roles such as sign language interpreter, HVAC technician, attorney, software engineer, field engineer, project manager, business analyst, electrical foreman and more.
“The labor market overall has been in this low-hire, stagnant space for the last year,” Laura Ullrich, North America research director for the Indeed Hiring Lab, said in a statement. “One major exception is healthcare. Only 11% of total jobs are in healthcare, but it represents 72% of the job growth [in the broader job market].”
The ranking comes as the U.S. labor market shows signs of cooling.
The Labor Department reported that employers added 50,000 jobs in December. That figure was cooler than the expectations of economists polled by LSEG, who projected 60,000 jobs would be added for the month.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
