DGLimages // Shutterstock
1 / 50#49. Healthcare support workers, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $50,650
- Median hourly wage: $24.35
- Total employment: 60 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Montgomery that don't require a college degree
Gen Z has figured out that college isn't the only way to land a high-paying job. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 2 in 5 (38.6%) of recent high school graduates opted out of college in 2023, up from 33.8% in 2019.
This shift comes at a good time for high school grads, as companies face labor shortages for many jobs that don't require a college degree. Baby boomers retiring and a trend to reopen factories in the United States have both driven demand for young talent. A July 2024 Intelligent report found that 1 in 3 companies have already dropped bachelor's degree requirements across entry-level, mid-tier, and even senior positions to attract more employees.
The need for skilled workers, regardless of educational attainment, means better pay. Median wages for those with a high school degree are at their highest since 1990, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
At $40,000 on average, these wages are still $20,000 lower than those of a college grad. Yet nearly 1 in 5 workers who opt out of college earn more than employees with bachelor's degrees. Two million high school grads across the U.S. make six-figure annual salaries—without the financial burden of attending a four-year university. As of 2025, the average annual cost of college is more than $38,200 per student, and the average college graduate has more than $39,000 in student debt. It's little wonder that, according to a May 2024 survey from Pew Research, 29% of Americans think attending college is not worthwhile.
However, not every career field pays high school grads equally well, and understanding what the good jobs are is the first step to landing one. Stacker ranked the 50 highest-paying jobs that don't require a college degree in Montgomery using annual compensation data from the BLS. The analysis included jobs that listed a high school diploma, a postsecondary nondegree award, or had no formal education requirements for entry-level positions. 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.
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Stokkete // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Information and record clerks, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $50,650
- Median hourly wage: $24.35
- Total employment: 110 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
alexdov // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood
- Median annual wage: $50,690
- Median hourly wage: $24.37
- Total employment: 70 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
David Spates // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers
- Median annual wage: $50,990
- Median hourly wage: $24.52
- Total employment: 490 people (3.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
manine99 // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Maintenance workers, machinery
- Median annual wage: $51,000
- Median hourly wage: $24.52
- Total employment: 120 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Avatar_023 // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators
- Median annual wage: $51,620
- Median hourly wage: $24.82
- Total employment: 190 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Machinists
- Median annual wage: $51,820
- Median hourly wage: $24.91
- Total employment: 370 people (2.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Median annual wage: $51,880
- Median hourly wage: $24.94
- Total employment: 840 people (5.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
welcomia // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Farm equipment mechanics and service technicians
- Median annual wage: $52,150
- Median hourly wage: $25.07
- Total employment: 60 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kot500 // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
- Median annual wage: $52,160
- Median hourly wage: $25.08
- Total employment: 400 people (2.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Erin Deleon // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Postal service mail carriers
- Median annual wage: $52,210
- Median hourly wage: $25.10
- Total employment: 500 people (3.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
RossHelen // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders
- Median annual wage: $52,660
- Median hourly wage: $25.32
- Total employment: 200 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Photographers
- Median annual wage: $53,640
- Median hourly wage: $25.79
- Total employment: 30 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bigflick // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Correctional officers and jailers
- Median annual wage: $54,280
- Median hourly wage: $26.10
- Total employment: 890 people (5.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Joey Chung // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel
- Median annual wage: $54,460
- Median hourly wage: $26.18
- Total employment: 740 people (4.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Zhanna Kavaliova // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Logging equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $56,060
- Median hourly wage: $26.95
- Total employment: 50 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Indypendenz // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators
- Median annual wage: $56,450
- Median hourly wage: $27.14
- Total employment: 260 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SatawatK // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers
- Median annual wage: $57,310
- Median hourly wage: $27.55
- Total employment: 210 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Food service managers
- Median annual wage: $57,540
- Median hourly wage: $27.66
- Total employment: 430 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Median annual wage: $58,180
- Median hourly wage: $27.97
- Total employment: 270 people (1.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
- Median annual wage: $58,290
- Median hourly wage: $28.03
- Total employment: 1,690 people (10.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Production, planning, and expediting clerks
- Median annual wage: $58,650
- Median hourly wage: $28.20
- Total employment: 170 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kitawit Jitaton // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Telecommunications line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $58,880
- Median hourly wage: $28.31
- Total employment: 60 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GolF2532 // Shutterstock
24 / 50#26. Security and fire alarm systems installers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $59,580
- Median hourly wage: $28.64
- Total employment: 120 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer numerically controlled tool programmers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $59,580
- Median hourly wage: $28.65
- Total employment: 40 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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ALPA PROD // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors
- Median annual wage: $60,110
- Median hourly wage: $28.90
- Total employment: 900 people (5.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Chefs and head cooks
- Median annual wage: $60,140
- Median hourly wage: $28.92
- Total employment: 120 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Industrial machinery mechanics
- Median annual wage: $60,730
- Median hourly wage: $29.20
- Total employment: 1,140 people (6.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Insurance sales agents
- Median annual wage: $60,780
- Median hourly wage: $29.22
- Total employment: 360 people (2.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kmpzzz // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Construction and building inspectors
- Median annual wage: $60,840
- Median hourly wage: $29.25
- Total employment: 110 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $60,900
- Median hourly wage: $29.28
- Total employment: 1,190 people (7.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pixel B // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Tool and die makers
- Median annual wage: $60,970
- Median hourly wage: $29.31
- Total employment: 40 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rlat // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Postal service clerks
- Median annual wage: $61,110
- Median hourly wage: $29.38
- Total employment: 100 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $62,220
- Median hourly wage: $29.91
- Total employment: 830 people (5.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $62,500
- Median hourly wage: $30.05
- Total employment: 200 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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welcomia // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines
- Median annual wage: $62,520
- Median hourly wage: $30.06
- Total employment: 240 people (1.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
- Median annual wage: $64,120
- Median hourly wage: $30.83
- Total employment: 340 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
- Median annual wage: $66,020
- Median hourly wage: $31.74
- Total employment: 570 people (3.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $67,690
- Median hourly wage: $32.54
- Total employment: 130 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Prath // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $69,320
- Median hourly wage: $33.33
- Total employment: 220 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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4 PM production // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $69,950
- Median hourly wage: $33.63
- Total employment: 990 people (6.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Median annual wage: $71,090
- Median hourly wage: $34.18
- Total employment: 1,480 people (9.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Zaiets // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment
- Median annual wage: $73,800
- Median hourly wage: $35.48
- Total employment: 70 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
santi lumubol // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
- Median annual wage: $74,400
- Median hourly wage: $35.77
- Total employment: 130 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $74,660
- Median hourly wage: $35.90
- Total employment: 90 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Lodging managers
- Median annual wage: $80,120
- Median hourly wage: $38.52
- Total employment: 60 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. First-line supervisors of correctional officers
- Median annual wage: $82,620
- Median hourly wage: $39.72
- Total employment: 110 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Skycolors // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Commercial pilots
- Median annual wage: $82,710
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $94,630
- Median hourly wage: $45.50
- Total employment: 150 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $101,670
- Median hourly wage: $48.88
- Total employment: 80 people (0.5 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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