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1 / 50#50. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $75,140
- Median hourly wage: $36.13
- Total employment: 60 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Springfield, Illinois 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 Springfield, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $75,550
- Median hourly wage: $36.32
- Total employment: 70 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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3 / 50#48. Credit analysts
- Median annual wage: $76,120
- Median hourly wage: $36.60
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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4 / 50#47. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $76,170
- Median hourly wage: $36.62
- Total employment: 110 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $76,180
- Median hourly wage: $36.63
- Total employment: 40 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $77,670
- Median hourly wage: $37.34
- Total employment: 190 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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7 / 50#44. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $77,760
- Median hourly wage: $37.39
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $79,190
- Median hourly wage: $38.07
- Total employment: 40 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $81,680
- Median hourly wage: $39.27
- Total employment: 4,210 people (40.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $82,170
- Median hourly wage: $39.50
- Total employment: 70 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $82,510
- Median hourly wage: $39.67
- Total employment: 80 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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12 / 50#39. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $83,970
- Median hourly wage: $40.37
- Total employment: 1,580 people (15.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $86,280
- Median hourly wage: $41.48
- Total employment: 480 people (4.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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14 / 50#37. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $91,350
- Median hourly wage: $43.92
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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15 / 50#36. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,120
- Median hourly wage: $44.29
- Total employment: 590 people (5.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Insurance underwriters
- Median annual wage: $92,290
- Median hourly wage: $44.37
- Total employment: 80 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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17 / 50#34. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $93,320
- Median hourly wage: $44.87
- Total employment: 50 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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18 / 50#33. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $93,590
- Median hourly wage: $45.00
- Total employment: 2,290 people (22.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $94,650
- Median hourly wage: $45.51
- Total employment: 2,580 people (25.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $95,260
- Median hourly wage: $45.80
- Total employment: 170 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,990
- Median hourly wage: $46.15
- Total employment: 140 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $96,220
- Median hourly wage: $46.26
- Total employment: 60 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,240
- Median hourly wage: $46.27
- Total employment: 80 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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24 / 50#27. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $96,640
- Median hourly wage: $46.46
- Total employment: 230 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $98,390
- Median hourly wage: $47.30
- Total employment: 40 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,250
- Median hourly wage: $47.72
- Total employment: 90 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,320
- Median hourly wage: $47.75
- Total employment: 60 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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28 / 50#23. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $99,980
- Median hourly wage: $48.07
- Total employment: 110 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $101,020
- Median hourly wage: $48.57
- Total employment: 40 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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30 / 50#21. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $102,230
- Median hourly wage: $49.15
- Total employment: 570 people (5.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,330
- Median hourly wage: $49.20
- Total employment: 450 people (4.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,520
- Median hourly wage: $49.29
- Total employment: 60 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $102,710
- Median hourly wage: $49.38
- Total employment: 690 people (6.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $103,660
- Median hourly wage: $49.84
- Total employment: 230 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $104,300
- Median hourly wage: $50.15
- Total employment: 450 people (4.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $104,470
- Median hourly wage: $50.22
- Total employment: 80 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $105,770
- Median hourly wage: $50.85
- Total employment: 60 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $106,030
- Median hourly wage: $50.97
- Total employment: Not available
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39 / 50#12. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $114,010
- Median hourly wage: $54.81
- Total employment: 40 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $115,740
- Median hourly wage: $55.64
- Total employment: 820 people (7.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $115,860
- Median hourly wage: $55.70
- Total employment: 70 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $122,090
- Median hourly wage: $58.70
- Total employment: 270 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $123,470
- Median hourly wage: $59.36
- Total employment: 130 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $123,660
- Median hourly wage: $59.45
- Total employment: 150 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,500
- Median hourly wage: $60.82
- Total employment: 370 people (3.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $129,270
- Median hourly wage: $62.15
- Total employment: 570 people (5.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $129,620
- Median hourly wage: $62.32
- Total employment: 90 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $133,110
- Median hourly wage: $64.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $135,200
- Median hourly wage: $65.00
- Total employment: 250 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $191,720
- Median hourly wage: $92.17
- Total employment: 80 people (0.76 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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