Rido // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Opticians, dispensing
- Median annual wage: $47,550
- Median hourly wage: $22.86
- Total employment: 40 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Yuma 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 Yuma 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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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Cement masons and concrete finishers
- Median annual wage: $47,600
- Median hourly wage: $22.88
- Total employment: 130 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zahovaev K // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
- Median annual wage: $48,050
- Median hourly wage: $23.10
- Total employment: 140 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Public safety telecommunicators
- Median annual wage: $48,300
- Median hourly wage: $23.22
- Total employment: 60 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Nicola Forenza // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Legal secretaries and administrative assistants
- Median annual wage: $48,790
- Median hourly wage: $23.46
- Total employment: 60 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bigflick // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Correctional officers and jailers
- Median annual wage: $49,070
- Median hourly wage: $23.59
- Total employment: 1,670 people (24.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Chefs and head cooks
- Median annual wage: $49,190
- Median hourly wage: $23.65
- Total employment: 60 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dagmara_K // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Drywall and ceiling tile installers
- Median annual wage: $49,400
- Median hourly wage: $23.75
- Total employment: 60 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kot500 // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
- Median annual wage: $49,450
- Median hourly wage: $23.78
- Total employment: 150 people (2.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Freedomz // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Health technologists and technicians, all other
- Median annual wage: $50,140
- Median hourly wage: $24.11
- Total employment: 70 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Joey Chung // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel
- Median annual wage: $50,490
- Median hourly wage: $24.27
- Total employment: 230 people (3.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Victor Moussa // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Firefighters
- Median annual wage: $50,650
- Median hourly wage: $24.35
- Total employment: 250 people (3.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Median annual wage: $50,860
- Median hourly wage: $24.45
- Total employment: 80 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Office and administrative support workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $51,980
- Median hourly wage: $24.99
- Total employment: 50 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Erin Deleon // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Postal service mail carriers
- Median annual wage: $52,210
- Median hourly wage: $25.10
- Total employment: 170 people (2.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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David Spates // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers
- Median annual wage: $52,720
- Median hourly wage: $25.35
- Total employment: 270 people (3.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Shift Drive // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer user support specialists
- Median annual wage: $52,920
- Median hourly wage: $25.44
- Total employment: 200 people (2.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
- Median annual wage: $53,110
- Median hourly wage: $25.53
- Total employment: 500 people (7.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Irene Miller // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $53,360
- Median hourly wage: $25.65
- Total employment: 230 people (3.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
- Median annual wage: $54,000
- Median hourly wage: $25.96
- Total employment: 100 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Loveischiangrai // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
- Median annual wage: $54,960
- Median hourly wage: $26.42
- Total employment: 30 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
welcomia // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Farm equipment mechanics and service technicians
- Median annual wage: $56,240
- Median hourly wage: $27.04
- Total employment: Not available
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
- Median annual wage: $56,450
- Median hourly wage: $27.14
- Total employment: 610 people (8.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $56,790
- Median hourly wage: $27.30
- Total employment: 330 people (4.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Industrial machinery mechanics
- Median annual wage: $56,910
- Median hourly wage: $27.36
- Total employment: 130 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorgev // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. First-line supervisors of security workers
- Median annual wage: $57,310
- Median hourly wage: $27.56
- Total employment: 40 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Machinists
- Median annual wage: $57,880
- Median hourly wage: $27.83
- Total employment: 60 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Food service managers
- Median annual wage: $58,040
- Median hourly wage: $27.90
- Total employment: 110 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ALPA PROD // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors
- Median annual wage: $58,950
- Median hourly wage: $28.34
- Total employment: 250 people (3.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Socrates471 // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Audio and video technicians
- Median annual wage: $60,630
- Median hourly wage: $29.15
- Total employment: 70 people (0.94 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: $62,450
- Median hourly wage: $30.02
- Total employment: 280 people (4.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kmpzzz // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Construction and building inspectors
- Median annual wage: $62,940
- Median hourly wage: $30.26
- Total employment: 80 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rlat // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Postal service clerks
- Median annual wage: $63,180
- Median hourly wage: $30.38
- Total employment: 50 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Median annual wage: $64,530
- Median hourly wage: $31.03
- Total employment: 220 people (3.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $65,120
- Median hourly wage: $31.31
- Total employment: 360 people (5.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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pio3 // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $65,690
- Median hourly wage: $31.58
- Total employment: 440 people (6.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
welcomia // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines
- Median annual wage: $67,220
- Median hourly wage: $32.32
- Total employment: 170 people (2.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sculpies // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $68,410
- Median hourly wage: $32.89
- Total employment: 320 people (4.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Median annual wage: $69,350
- Median hourly wage: $33.34
- Total employment: 100 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers
- Median annual wage: $69,950
- Median hourly wage: $33.63
- Total employment: 70 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. First-line supervisors of correctional officers
- Median annual wage: $70,630
- Median hourly wage: $33.96
- Total employment: 110 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
santi lumubol // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
- Median annual wage: $75,650
- Median hourly wage: $36.37
- Total employment: 110 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Peter Braakmann // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers
- Median annual wage: $76,950
- Median hourly wage: $36.99
- Total employment: 250 people (3.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SatawatK // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers
- Median annual wage: $79,530
- Median hourly wage: $38.23
- Total employment: 60 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $80,470
- Median hourly wage: $38.69
- Total employment: 40 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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goodluz // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Real estate sales agents
- Median annual wage: $82,560
- Median hourly wage: $39.69
- Total employment: Not available
Prath // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Detectives and criminal investigators
- Median annual wage: $95,640
- Median hourly wage: $45.98
- Total employment: 740 people (10.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $97,670
- Median hourly wage: $46.96
- Total employment: 70 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers
- Median annual wage: $102,300
- Median hourly wage: $49.19
- Total employment: 50 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $102,510
- Median hourly wage: $49.28
- Total employment: 110 people (1.62 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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