Highest-paying jobs in Los Angeles that don't require a college degree

Gen Z has figured out that college isn't the only way to land a high-paying job. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 2 in 5 (38.6%) of recent high school graduates opted out of college in 2023, up from 33.8% in 2019.

This shift comes at a good time for high school grads, as companies face labor shortages for many jobs that don't require a college degree. Baby boomers retiring and a trend to reopen factories in the United States have both driven demand for young talent. A July 2024 Intelligent report found that 1 in 3 companies have already dropped bachelor's degree requirements across entry-level, mid-tier, and even senior positions to attract more employees.

The need for skilled workers, regardless of educational attainment, means better pay. Median wages for those with a high school degree are at their highest since 1990, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

At $40,000 on average, these wages are still $20,000 lower than those of a college grad. Yet nearly 1 in 5 workers who opt out of college earn more than employees with bachelor's degrees. Two million high school grads across the U.S. make six-figure annual salaries—without the financial burden of attending a four-year university. As of 2025, the average annual cost of college is more than $38,200 per student, and the average college graduate has more than $39,000 in student debt. It's little wonder that, according to a May 2024 survey from Pew Research, 29% of Americans think attending college is not worthwhile.

However, not every career field pays high school grads equally well, and understanding what the good jobs are is the first step to landing one. Stacker ranked the 50 highest-paying jobs that don't require a college degree in Los Angeles using annual compensation data from the BLS. The analysis included jobs that listed a high school diploma, a postsecondary nondegree award, or had no formal education requirements for entry-level positions. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.

Magsi // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment

- Median annual wage: $81,770
- Median hourly wage: $39.31
- Total employment: 200 people (0.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

g-stockstudio // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

- Median annual wage: $81,890
- Median hourly wage: $39.37
- Total employment: 7,330 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

muratart // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Pipelayers

- Median annual wage: $82,090
- Median hourly wage: $39.47
- Total employment: 500 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

welcomia // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines

- Median annual wage: $82,640
- Median hourly wage: $39.73
- Total employment: 7,900 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door

- Median annual wage: $82,840
- Median hourly wage: $39.83
- Total employment: 930 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oleksandr Nagaiets // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Lighting technicians

- Median annual wage: $83,200
- Median hourly wage: $40.00
- Total employment: 2,440 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

mrak.hr // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators

- Median annual wage: $84,000
- Median hourly wage: $40.39
- Total employment: 60 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jat306 // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Millwrights

- Median annual wage: $84,010
- Median hourly wage: $40.39
- Total employment: 730 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

LStockStudio // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Brokerage clerks

- Median annual wage: $84,290
- Median hourly wage: $40.52
- Total employment: Not available

santi lumubol // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

- Median annual wage: $85,550
- Median hourly wage: $41.13
- Total employment: 4,860 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

- Median annual wage: $89,730
- Median hourly wage: $43.14
- Total employment: 7,470 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kitawit Jitaton // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Telecommunications line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $89,790
- Median hourly wage: $43.17
- Total employment: 3,340 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BearFotos // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $89,980
- Median hourly wage: $43.26
- Total employment: 740 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

4 PM production // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

- Median annual wage: $92,100
- Median hourly wage: $44.28
- Total employment: 17,390 people (2.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Irene Miller // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

- Median annual wage: $93,220
- Median hourly wage: $44.82
- Total employment: 8,430 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Fortish // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters

- Median annual wage: $94,240
- Median hourly wage: $45.31
- Total employment: 60 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman023_photography // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Riggers

- Median annual wage: $94,540
- Median hourly wage: $45.45
- Total employment: 1,800 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

funnyangel // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Fire inspectors and investigators

- Median annual wage: $95,510
- Median hourly wage: $45.92
- Total employment: 250 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrei Agape // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Avionics technicians

- Median annual wage: $95,990
- Median hourly wage: $46.15
- Total employment: 460 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sculpies // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

- Median annual wage: $97,730
- Median hourly wage: $46.98
- Total employment: 19,320 people (3.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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21 / 50

#30. Media and communication workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $97,980
- Median hourly wage: $47.10
- Total employment: 7,570 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Victor Moussa // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Firefighters

- Median annual wage: $99,210
- Median hourly wage: $47.70
- Total employment: 7,200 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

NancyS // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists

- Median annual wage: $99,600
- Median hourly wage: $47.89
- Total employment: 60 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Washburn HM // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Transportation inspectors

- Median annual wage: $100,440
- Median hourly wage: $48.29
- Total employment: Not available

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25 / 50

#26. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

- Median annual wage: $101,090
- Median hourly wage: $48.60
- Total employment: 100 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Linda Zupanc // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Costume attendants

- Median annual wage: $101,860
- Median hourly wage: $48.97
- Total employment: 1,290 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kmpzzz // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Construction and building inspectors

- Median annual wage: $103,480
- Median hourly wage: $49.75
- Total employment: 3,730 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Parilov // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Pile driver operators

- Median annual wage: $103,790
- Median hourly wage: $49.90
- Total employment: 260 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

goodluz // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

- Median annual wage: $104,600
- Median hourly wage: $50.29
- Total employment: 11,660 people (1.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Lovely Bird // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Power distributors and dispatchers

- Median annual wage: $105,200
- Median hourly wage: $50.58
- Total employment: 330 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jordi C // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Wind turbine service technicians

- Median annual wage: $105,370
- Median hourly wage: $50.66
- Total employment: 60 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

michaeljung // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Power plant operators

- Median annual wage: $106,030
- Median hourly wage: $50.98
- Total employment: 450 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

- Median annual wage: $107,270
- Median hourly wage: $51.57
- Total employment: 1,770 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

prochasson frederic // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Boilermakers

- Median annual wage: $107,600
- Median hourly wage: $51.73
- Total employment: 400 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Postmasters and mail superintendents

- Median annual wage: $108,240
- Median hourly wage: $52.04
- Total employment: 130 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nagy-Bagoly Arpad // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Insulation workers, mechanical

- Median annual wage: $109,360
- Median hourly wage: $52.58
- Total employment: 320 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Suwin // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay

- Median annual wage: $110,140
- Median hourly wage: $52.95
- Total employment: 590 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

curraheeshutter // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Ship engineers

- Median annual wage: $113,440
- Median hourly wage: $54.54
- Total employment: Not available

pio3 // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Police and sheriff's patrol officers

- Median annual wage: $115,630
- Median hourly wage: $55.59
- Total employment: 24,310 people (3.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Motion picture projectionists

- Median annual wage: $119,090
- Median hourly wage: $57.25
- Total employment: 120 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

HannaTor // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Gambling managers

- Median annual wage: $119,310
- Median hourly wage: $57.36
- Total employment: 70 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. First-line supervisors of correctional officers

- Median annual wage: $123,670
- Median hourly wage: $59.46
- Total employment: 240 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Christian Lagerek // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Gas plant operators

- Median annual wage: $124,100
- Median hourly wage: $59.66
- Total employment: 190 people (0.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $127,810
- Median hourly wage: $61.45
- Total employment: 2,840 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Prath // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Detectives and criminal investigators

- Median annual wage: $127,980
- Median hourly wage: $61.53
- Total employment: 3,070 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Kokulina // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance

- Median annual wage: $132,900
- Median hourly wage: $63.89
- Total employment: Not available

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $136,920
- Median hourly wage: $65.83
- Total employment: 1,400 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

- Median annual wage: $169,590
- Median hourly wage: $81.53
- Total employment: 4,800 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

49 / 50

#2. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

- Median annual wage: $171,390
- Median hourly wage: $82.40
- Total employment: 2,220 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Skycolors // Shutterstock

50 / 50

#1. Commercial pilots

- Median annual wage: $177,300
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 2,110 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.