Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $85,690
- Median hourly wage: $41.20
- Total employment: 320 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Albuquerque 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 Albuquerque, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $89,590
- Median hourly wage: $43.07
- Total employment: 9,890 people (24.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $89,680
- Median hourly wage: $43.11
- Total employment: 2,010 people (5.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $90,130
- Median hourly wage: $43.33
- Total employment: 590 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $90,790
- Median hourly wage: $43.65
- Total employment: 270 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $92,850
- Median hourly wage: $44.64
- Total employment: 480 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Hydrologists
- Median annual wage: $93,360
- Median hourly wage: $44.88
- Total employment: 70 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $93,720
- Median hourly wage: $45.06
- Total employment: 30 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $94,830
- Median hourly wage: $45.59
- Total employment: 410 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $94,850
- Median hourly wage: $45.60
- Total employment: 290 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $95,330
- Median hourly wage: $45.83
- Total employment: 110 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $95,640
- Median hourly wage: $45.98
- Total employment: 1,480 people (3.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $97,750
- Median hourly wage: $47.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $100,350
- Median hourly wage: $48.25
- Total employment: 7,580 people (18.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $100,510
- Median hourly wage: $48.32
- Total employment: 900 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $100,660
- Median hourly wage: $48.39
- Total employment: 70 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $100,770
- Median hourly wage: $48.45
- Total employment: 180 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $103,090
- Median hourly wage: $49.56
- Total employment: 2,630 people (6.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,410
- Median hourly wage: $50.20
- Total employment: 270 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,820
- Median hourly wage: $50.39
- Total employment: 630 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $105,320
- Median hourly wage: $50.64
- Total employment: 210 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $105,440
- Median hourly wage: $50.69
- Total employment: 550 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $107,240
- Median hourly wage: $51.56
- Total employment: 170 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $108,330
- Median hourly wage: $52.08
- Total employment: 90 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $109,160
- Median hourly wage: $52.48
- Total employment: 240 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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dokurose // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $109,420
- Median hourly wage: $52.61
- Total employment: 720 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $112,260
- Median hourly wage: $53.97
- Total employment: Not available
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $113,070
- Median hourly wage: $54.36
- Total employment: 420 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Atmospheric and space scientists
- Median annual wage: $114,230
- Median hourly wage: $54.92
- Total employment: 30 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $115,610
- Median hourly wage: $55.58
- Total employment: 160 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $118,320
- Median hourly wage: $56.89
- Total employment: 400 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $120,970
- Median hourly wage: $58.16
- Total employment: 90 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $121,380
- Median hourly wage: $58.36
- Total employment: 350 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $121,910
- Median hourly wage: $58.61
- Total employment: 210 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $125,450
- Median hourly wage: $60.31
- Total employment: 2,830 people (7.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $125,480
- Median hourly wage: $60.33
- Total employment: 580 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $126,230
- Median hourly wage: $60.69
- Total employment: 1,470 people (3.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,420
- Median hourly wage: $61.26
- Total employment: 1,340 people (3.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $131,030
- Median hourly wage: $62.99
- Total employment: 1,640 people (4.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $132,570
- Median hourly wage: $63.74
- Total employment: 120 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $136,290
- Median hourly wage: $65.52
- Total employment: 970 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $137,740
- Median hourly wage: $66.22
- Total employment: 160 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $139,610
- Median hourly wage: $67.12
- Total employment: 320 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
- Median annual wage: $141,190
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $142,240
- Median hourly wage: $68.39
- Total employment: 730 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dmitry Lobanov // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Nuclear engineers
- Median annual wage: $142,640
- Median hourly wage: $68.58
- Total employment: Not available
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $143,050
- Median hourly wage: $68.78
- Total employment: 1,080 people (2.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $143,660
- Median hourly wage: $69.07
- Total employment: 610 people (1.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $143,850
- Median hourly wage: $69.16
- Total employment: 1,270 people (3.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $162,050
- Median hourly wage: $77.91
- Total employment: 210 people (0.51 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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