luchschenF // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $97,300
- Median hourly wage: $46.78
- Total employment: 60 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Vallejo 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 Vallejo, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $97,670
- Median hourly wage: $46.96
- Total employment: 100 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $98,200
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 1,420 people (9.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $99,960
- Median hourly wage: $48.06
- Total employment: 60 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $100,000
- Median hourly wage: $48.08
- Total employment: 150 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $100,100
- Median hourly wage: $48.13
- Total employment: 80 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $100,140
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 860 people (6.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $100,590
- Median hourly wage: $48.36
- Total employment: 30 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $101,650
- Median hourly wage: $48.87
- Total employment: 200 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $101,760
- Median hourly wage: $48.92
- Total employment: 40 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rido // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $101,910
- Median hourly wage: $49.00
- Total employment: 90 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Recreational therapists
- Median annual wage: $102,640
- Median hourly wage: $49.35
- Total employment: 30 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $103,560
- Median hourly wage: $49.79
- Total employment: 690 people (4.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $104,400
- Median hourly wage: $50.19
- Total employment: 90 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $105,600
- Median hourly wage: $50.77
- Total employment: 250 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $107,650
- Median hourly wage: $51.76
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents
- Median annual wage: $108,370
- Median hourly wage: $52.10
- Total employment: 40 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $108,490
- Median hourly wage: $52.16
- Total employment: 90 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $108,640
- Median hourly wage: $52.23
- Total employment: 670 people (4.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $109,410
- Median hourly wage: $52.60
- Total employment: 200 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,540
- Median hourly wage: $53.62
- Total employment: 130 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Biological scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $111,840
- Median hourly wage: $53.77
- Total employment: 50 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $113,500
- Median hourly wage: $54.57
- Total employment: 370 people (2.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $115,580
- Median hourly wage: $55.57
- Total employment: 2,230 people (15.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $117,490
- Median hourly wage: $56.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $118,180
- Median hourly wage: $56.82
- Total employment: 70 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $118,960
- Median hourly wage: $57.19
- Total employment: 40 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $120,020
- Median hourly wage: $57.70
- Total employment: 250 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $121,800
- Median hourly wage: $58.56
- Total employment: 50 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $122,780
- Median hourly wage: $59.03
- Total employment: 150 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $123,370
- Median hourly wage: $59.31
- Total employment: 40 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $125,290
- Median hourly wage: $60.24
- Total employment: 130 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $131,770
- Median hourly wage: $63.35
- Total employment: 240 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $131,880
- Median hourly wage: $63.41
- Total employment: 380 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $134,570
- Median hourly wage: $64.70
- Total employment: 320 people (2.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $139,840
- Median hourly wage: $67.23
- Total employment: 130 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $140,500
- Median hourly wage: $67.55
- Total employment: 230 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $148,160
- Median hourly wage: $71.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $151,120
- Median hourly wage: $72.65
- Total employment: 40 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $151,240
- Median hourly wage: $72.71
- Total employment: 130 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $152,090
- Median hourly wage: $73.12
- Total employment: 470 people (3.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $152,220
- Median hourly wage: $73.18
- Total employment: 400 people (2.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $155,130
- Median hourly wage: $74.58
- Total employment: 120 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $162,070
- Median hourly wage: $77.92
- Total employment: 80 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $166,260
- Median hourly wage: $79.93
- Total employment: 760 people (5.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $166,580
- Median hourly wage: $80.09
- Total employment: 210 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $182,190
- Median hourly wage: $87.59
- Total employment: 200 people (1.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $190,480
- Median hourly wage: $91.58
- Total employment: 120 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $192,470
- Median hourly wage: $92.53
- Total employment: 4,410 people (30.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 80 people (0.55 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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