A move to Texas bolsters earnings for some, and a new SmartAsset study has revealed the top professions where the median annual earnings in the Lone Star State exceed the national median.

The report, "When it Pays to Work in Texas — and When It Doesn’t," published in April, analyzed over 700 occupations to determine which have the biggest "Texas premium" — meaning jobs where the price-adjusted median annual pay in Texas most exceeds the national median for the same occupation — and which jobs have the biggest “Texas penalty,” where the statewide median annual pay falls furthest below the national median. Salaries were sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and adjusted for regional price parity.

According to the report's findings, geoscientists have the biggest "Texas premium" and make a $159,903 median annual salary. Texas' salary for geoscientists is 61 percent higher than the national median for the same position (after adjusting for regional price parity).

"Texas’s large petroleum industry helps explain why employers in the state retain so many geoscientists," the report's author wrote. "In fact, the Lone Star State is home to more geoscientists than any other state except California."

There are more than 3,600 geoscientists working in Texas, SmartAsset said.

These are the remaining top 10 occupations with the biggest "Texas premiums" (salaries are price-adjusted):

• No. 2 – Commercial pilots: $167,727 median Texas earnings; 37 percent higher than the national median
• No. 3 – Sailors: $67,614 median Texas earnings; 36 percent higher than the national median
• No. 4 – Aircraft structure assemblers: $83,519 median Texas earnings; 35 percent higher than the national median
• No. 5 – Ship captains: $108,905 median Texas earnings; 27 percent higher than the national median
• No. 6 – Nursing instructors (postsecondary): $100,484 median Texas earnings; 26 percent higher than the national median
• No. 7 – Tax preparers: $63,321 median Texas earnings; 25 percent higher than the national median
• No. 8 – Chemists: $104,241 median Texas earnings; 24 percent higher than the national median
• No. 9 – Health instructors (postsecondary): $128,680 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national median
• No. 10 – Engineering instructors (postsecondary): $129,030 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national median

This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.