Fusionstudio // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
- Median annual wage: $39,680
- Median hourly wage: $19.08
- Total employment: 170 people (3.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Anniston for high school graduates
For decades, common wisdom held that earning a bachelor's degree would guarantee a high-paying career. Higher education does still seem to be an advantage: A college graduate's average annual salary of $60,000 in 2024 is roughly $20,000 more than that of a high school graduate, and those with bachelor's degrees can typically expect to earn between $630,000 and $900,000 more over the course of a lifetime. However, recent shifts in higher education and the job market have people wondering—with good reason—whether or not a bachelor's degree will really pay off.
According to a 2024 study from the Pew Research Center, 29% of Americans believe obtaining a college degree isn't worthwhile, a trend reflected in shrinking attendance at universities across the nation. Meanwhile, annual college costs have skyrocketed to an average of $38,270 per student in 2025, often necessitating student loans with steep interest rates.
With these factors in mind, it's natural for recent high school graduates to consider vocational opportunities outside of college. Those who do may be pleasantly surprised—many companies have stopped requiring bachelor's degrees for entry-, mid-, and even senior-level positions. And while college graduates' average earnings may be higher, a 2024 report from Launchpad Jobs found that around 1 in 5 nondegree holders out-earn the $70,000 median wages of someone with a bachelor's degree.
Of course, salaries for high school grads vary widely based on job, industry, and location. Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find the highest-paying jobs in Anniston for high school graduates. The analysis included jobs that listed a high school diploma or had no formal education requirement. 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.
Irene Miller // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $39,980
- Median hourly wage: $19.22
- Total employment: 190 people (4.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $40,000
- Median hourly wage: $19.23
- Total employment: 590 people (13.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nordroden // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders
- Median annual wage: $40,530
- Median hourly wage: $19.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorgev // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. First-line supervisors of security workers
- Median annual wage: $42,440
- Median hourly wage: $20.40
- Total employment: 30 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Alba_alioth // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
- Median annual wage: $43,850
- Median hourly wage: $21.08
- Total employment: 470 people (10.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bigflick // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Correctional officers and jailers
- Median annual wage: $43,990
- Median hourly wage: $21.15
- Total employment: 50 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators
- Median annual wage: $44,580
- Median hourly wage: $21.43
- Total employment: 1,310 people (30.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Joey Chung // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel
- Median annual wage: $44,600
- Median hourly wage: $21.44
- Total employment: 160 people (3.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Loveischiangrai // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
- Median annual wage: $44,770
- Median hourly wage: $21.52
- Total employment: 30 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Automotive body and related repairers
- Median annual wage: $44,860
- Median hourly wage: $21.57
- Total employment: 60 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Akimov Igor // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders
- Median annual wage: $45,060
- Median hourly wage: $21.66
- Total employment: 30 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Vera Larina // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Sheet metal workers
- Median annual wage: $45,070
- Median hourly wage: $21.67
- Total employment: 30 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
FabrikaSimf // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Carpenters
- Median annual wage: $45,760
- Median hourly wage: $22.00
- Total employment: 60 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DC Studio // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance
- Median annual wage: $45,950
- Median hourly wage: $22.09
- Total employment: 40 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
- Median annual wage: $46,100
- Median hourly wage: $22.16
- Total employment: 430 people (10.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders
- Median annual wage: $48,830
- Median hourly wage: $23.48
- Total employment: 230 people (5.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Avatar_023 // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators
- Median annual wage: $49,050
- Median hourly wage: $23.58
- Total employment: 50 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Median annual wage: $49,340
- Median hourly wage: $23.72
- Total employment: 110 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kot500 // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
- Median annual wage: $49,460
- Median hourly wage: $23.78
- Total employment: 90 people (2.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Median annual wage: $50,000
- Median hourly wage: $24.04
- Total employment: 50 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
pio3 // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $50,300
- Median hourly wage: $24.19
- Total employment: 320 people (7.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Daniel M Ernst // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Eligibility interviewers, government programs
- Median annual wage: $50,480
- Median hourly wage: $24.27
- Total employment: 40 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
- Median annual wage: $50,700
- Median hourly wage: $24.38
- Total employment: 350 people (8.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer numerically controlled tool operators
- Median annual wage: $51,720
- Median hourly wage: $24.87
- Total employment: 200 people (4.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zhanna Kavaliova // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Logging equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $52,080
- Median hourly wage: $25.04
- Total employment: 40 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $52,190
- Median hourly wage: $25.09
- Total employment: 170 people (3.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
- Median annual wage: $53,550
- Median hourly wage: $25.75
- Total employment: 40 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Information and record clerks, all other
- Median annual wage: $54,410
- Median hourly wage: $26.16
- Total employment: 60 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nikita M production // Shutterstock
30 / 50#20. Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders (tie)
- Median annual wage: $55,580
- Median hourly wage: $26.72
- Total employment: 30 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Production, planning, and expediting clerks (tie)
- Median annual wage: $55,580
- Median hourly wage: $26.72
- Total employment: 190 people (4.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Industrial machinery mechanics
- Median annual wage: $56,090
- Median hourly wage: $26.97
- Total employment: 430 people (9.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Erin Deleon // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Postal service mail carriers
- Median annual wage: $56,330
- Median hourly wage: $27.08
- Total employment: 140 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ALPA PROD // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors
- Median annual wage: $57,030
- Median hourly wage: $27.42
- Total employment: 230 people (5.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zahovaev K // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
- Median annual wage: $57,510
- Median hourly wage: $27.65
- Total employment: 420 people (9.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Food service managers
- Median annual wage: $57,830
- Median hourly wage: $27.80
- Total employment: 120 people (2.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Africa Studio // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $58,610
- Median hourly wage: $28.18
- Total employment: 160 people (3.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Machinists
- Median annual wage: $59,400
- Median hourly wage: $28.56
- Total employment: 260 people (6.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $60,210
- Median hourly wage: $28.95
- Total employment: 320 people (7.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oleksandr Berezko // Shutterstock
40 / 50#10. Painters, construction and maintenance (tie)
- Median annual wage: $61,480
- Median hourly wage: $29.56
- Total employment: 80 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
welcomia // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines (tie)
- Median annual wage: $61,480
- Median hourly wage: $29.56
- Total employment: 490 people (11.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Fortish // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters
- Median annual wage: $62,050
- Median hourly wage: $29.83
- Total employment: 40 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $62,440
- Median hourly wage: $30.02
- Total employment: 170 people (4.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jat306 // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Millwrights
- Median annual wage: $64,900
- Median hourly wage: $31.20
- Total employment: 80 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Median annual wage: $66,820
- Median hourly wage: $32.13
- Total employment: 380 people (8.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $69,280
- Median hourly wage: $33.31
- Total employment: 40 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $71,230
- Median hourly wage: $34.25
- Total employment: 40 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Insurance sales agents
- Median annual wage: $72,320
- Median hourly wage: $34.77
- Total employment: 110 people (2.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $75,160
- Median hourly wage: $36.14
- Total employment: 50 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $78,020
- Median hourly wage: $37.51
- Total employment: 260 people (6.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Cu Fleshman, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
