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1 / 50#50. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Median annual wage: $57,860
- Median hourly wage: $27.82
- Total employment: 160 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Decatur 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 Decatur, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $58,460
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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3 / 50#48. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $59,680
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 600 people (10.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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4 / 50#47. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $60,900
- Median hourly wage: $29.28
- Total employment: 170 people (2.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $61,490
- Median hourly wage: $29.56
- Total employment: 270 people (4.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Median annual wage: $62,090
- Median hourly wage: $29.85
- Total employment: 110 people (1.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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7 / 50#44. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $62,150
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 550 people (9.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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8 / 50#43. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $63,490
- Median hourly wage: $30.52
- Total employment: 210 people (3.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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9 / 50#42. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $63,600
- Median hourly wage: $30.58
- Total employment: 80 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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10 / 50#41. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $66,250
- Median hourly wage: $31.85
- Total employment: 520 people (8.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Teachers and instructors, all other
- Median annual wage: $66,490
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 40 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $67,010
- Median hourly wage: $32.22
- Total employment: 760 people (12.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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13 / 50#38. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $69,640
- Median hourly wage: $33.48
- Total employment: 110 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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14 / 50#37. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $70,660
- Median hourly wage: $33.97
- Total employment: 70 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $72,830
- Median hourly wage: $35.01
- Total employment: 70 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $75,760
- Median hourly wage: $36.42
- Total employment: 110 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $76,580
- Median hourly wage: $36.82
- Total employment: 30 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $77,920
- Median hourly wage: $37.46
- Total employment: 90 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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19 / 50#32. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $80,770
- Median hourly wage: $38.83
- Total employment: 40 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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20 / 50#31. Training and development specialists
- Median annual wage: $81,510
- Median hourly wage: $39.19
- Total employment: 120 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $84,390
- Median hourly wage: $40.57
- Total employment: Not available
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22 / 50#29. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,490
- Median hourly wage: $40.62
- Total employment: 50 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $85,350
- Median hourly wage: $41.04
- Total employment: 180 people (3.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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24 / 50#27. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $86,820
- Median hourly wage: $41.74
- Total employment: 50 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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25 / 50#26. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $89,200
- Median hourly wage: $42.88
- Total employment: 120 people (1.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $93,040
- Median hourly wage: $44.73
- Total employment: 60 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $93,060
- Median hourly wage: $44.74
- Total employment: 210 people (3.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $98,550
- Median hourly wage: $47.38
- Total employment: 30 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,560
- Median hourly wage: $47.87
- Total employment: 80 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $101,890
- Median hourly wage: $48.99
- Total employment: 70 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $103,360
- Median hourly wage: $49.69
- Total employment: 70 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $105,830
- Median hourly wage: $50.88
- Total employment: 140 people (2.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,140
- Median hourly wage: $51.03
- Total employment: 440 people (7.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $106,410
- Median hourly wage: $51.16
- Total employment: 40 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $107,730
- Median hourly wage: $51.79
- Total employment: 950 people (16.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $109,420
- Median hourly wage: $52.60
- Total employment: 150 people (2.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $111,360
- Median hourly wage: $53.54
- Total employment: 90 people (1.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $112,190
- Median hourly wage: $53.94
- Total employment: 320 people (5.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
eldar nurkovic // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $113,180
- Median hourly wage: $54.41
- Total employment: 80 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,670
- Median hourly wage: $54.65
- Total employment: 80 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $122,010
- Median hourly wage: $58.66
- Total employment: 60 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $123,440
- Median hourly wage: $59.35
- Total employment: 160 people (2.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $124,010
- Median hourly wage: $59.62
- Total employment: 80 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $126,100
- Median hourly wage: $60.63
- Total employment: 40 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $128,610
- Median hourly wage: $61.83
- Total employment: 90 people (1.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $128,660
- Median hourly wage: $61.86
- Total employment: 30 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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47 / 50#4. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $130,550
- Median hourly wage: $62.77
- Total employment: 50 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $134,850
- Median hourly wage: $64.83
- Total employment: 140 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $146,990
- Median hourly wage: $70.67
- Total employment: 210 people (3.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $159,500
- Median hourly wage: $76.68
- Total employment: 130 people (2.18 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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