sabthai // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $77,030
- Median hourly wage: $37.03
- Total employment: 100 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Cape Coral that require a bachelor's degree
Between rising tuition and a tight job market, getting a bachelor's degree is an increasingly daunting prospect these days. Per a May 2024 Pew Research Center survey, just 1 in 4 adults believe a college degree is necessary to secure a high-paying job.
Many second-guess the value of college because of the cost. For the 2024-2025 school year, annual tuition and fees averaged more than $11,600 at in-state public universities, a nearly 3% increase from the previous year. Tuition at private schools increased by roughly 4% in the same time period.
Besides financial concerns, there are career opportunities to consider. Though the job market in the United States shifts from month to month, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates aged 22 to 27 reached 5.8% in March 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For context, that's more than double the unemployment rate of all college graduates.
These factors all contribute to the belief that college may not be the answer for everyone. However, research shows that a bachelor's degree still pays off in the long run. As of 2024, the most recent year with available data, the $60,000 median salary for a recent college graduate is $20,000 more than the median earnings for someone with only a high school diploma.
Although high school grads can make a decent salary without taking on student loan debt, lifetime earnings range between $630,000 and $900,000 more for those with a bachelor's degree. Graduate degree holders, meanwhile, may earn $1.1 million to $1.5 million more than high school graduates.
With this in mind, many different jobs make a degree worth the cost of tuition. Stacker ranked the highest-paying jobs that require a bachelor's degree in Cape Coral, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $78,250
- Median hourly wage: $37.62
- Total employment: Not available
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $78,960
- Median hourly wage: $37.96
- Total employment: 120 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Insurance underwriters
- Median annual wage: $79,760
- Median hourly wage: $38.34
- Total employment: Not available
fizkes // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $80,160
- Median hourly wage: $38.54
- Total employment: 1,410 people (4.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $81,160
- Median hourly wage: $39.02
- Total employment: 80 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $83,720
- Median hourly wage: $40.25
- Total employment: 160 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,940
- Median hourly wage: $40.36
- Total employment: 2,070 people (6.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,140
- Median hourly wage: $40.45
- Total employment: 120 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $84,930
- Median hourly wage: $40.83
- Total employment: 80 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $85,200
- Median hourly wage: $40.96
- Total employment: 130 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $86,090
- Median hourly wage: $41.39
- Total employment: 6,560 people (21.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $88,870
- Median hourly wage: $42.73
- Total employment: 200 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $89,830
- Median hourly wage: $43.19
- Total employment: 80 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $90,660
- Median hourly wage: $43.59
- Total employment: 130 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $91,110
- Median hourly wage: $43.80
- Total employment: 7,660 people (25.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $91,520
- Median hourly wage: $44.00
- Total employment: 160 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $93,700
- Median hourly wage: $45.05
- Total employment: 420 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $94,330
- Median hourly wage: $45.35
- Total employment: 200 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $94,660
- Median hourly wage: $45.51
- Total employment: 490 people (1.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $94,760
- Median hourly wage: $45.56
- Total employment: 1,380 people (4.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $94,880
- Median hourly wage: $45.61
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $95,320
- Median hourly wage: $45.83
- Total employment: 450 people (1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $96,050
- Median hourly wage: $46.18
- Total employment: 1,030 people (3.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $96,180
- Median hourly wage: $46.24
- Total employment: 430 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,260
- Median hourly wage: $46.76
- Total employment: 620 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $97,310
- Median hourly wage: $46.79
- Total employment: 70 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,430
- Median hourly wage: $46.84
- Total employment: 100 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,940
- Median hourly wage: $47.09
- Total employment: 30 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Motortion Films // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling
- Median annual wage: $99,200
- Median hourly wage: $47.69
- Total employment: 80 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $103,300
- Median hourly wage: $49.67
- Total employment: 500 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $103,680
- Median hourly wage: $49.84
- Total employment: 190 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $104,210
- Median hourly wage: $50.10
- Total employment: 50 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
possohh // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Emergency management directors
- Median annual wage: $104,730
- Median hourly wage: $50.35
- Total employment: 40 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $105,380
- Median hourly wage: $50.66
- Total employment: 1,040 people (3.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $105,980
- Median hourly wage: $50.95
- Total employment: 280 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $106,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.96
- Total employment: 160 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $107,020
- Median hourly wage: $51.45
- Total employment: 380 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $107,570
- Median hourly wage: $51.71
- Total employment: 210 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $107,900
- Median hourly wage: $51.87
- Total employment: 1,000 people (3.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $108,460
- Median hourly wage: $52.14
- Total employment: 40 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $117,190
- Median hourly wage: $56.34
- Total employment: 60 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $124,390
- Median hourly wage: $59.80
- Total employment: 100 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $125,420
- Median hourly wage: $60.30
- Total employment: 1,090 people (3.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $129,470
- Median hourly wage: $62.25
- Total employment: 140 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $140,490
- Median hourly wage: $67.54
- Total employment: 560 people (1.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $140,570
- Median hourly wage: $67.58
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,130
- Median hourly wage: $70.73
- Total employment: 90 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $150,700
- Median hourly wage: $72.45
- Total employment: 1,000 people (3.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $153,600
- Median hourly wage: $73.85
- Total employment: 480 people (1.6 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.
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