Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $63,130
- Median hourly wage: $30.35
- Total employment: 60 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Panama City 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 Panama City, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Median annual wage: $64,580
- Median hourly wage: $31.05
- Total employment: 250 people (2.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $64,740
- Median hourly wage: $31.12
- Total employment: 210 people (2.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $68,240
- Median hourly wage: $32.81
- Total employment: 560 people (6.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GLRL // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $68,710
- Median hourly wage: $33.03
- Total employment: 360 people (4.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $70,910
- Median hourly wage: $34.09
- Total employment: 30 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $71,010
- Median hourly wage: $34.14
- Total employment: 160 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Financial specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $75,550
- Median hourly wage: $36.32
- Total employment: 80 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $76,120
- Median hourly wage: $36.59
- Total employment: 190 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $78,140
- Median hourly wage: $37.57
- Total employment: 70 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Teachers and instructors, all other
- Median annual wage: $78,300
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 100 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $78,620
- Median hourly wage: $37.80
- Total employment: 1,600 people (18.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $81,240
- Median hourly wage: $39.06
- Total employment: 60 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $81,460
- Median hourly wage: $39.16
- Total employment: 120 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Biological scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $82,220
- Median hourly wage: $39.53
- Total employment: 30 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $82,990
- Median hourly wage: $39.90
- Total employment: 380 people (4.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,810
- Median hourly wage: $40.29
- Total employment: 120 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $84,290
- Median hourly wage: $40.53
- Total employment: 50 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $84,300
- Median hourly wage: $40.53
- Total employment: 240 people (2.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $84,350
- Median hourly wage: $40.55
- Total employment: 140 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $84,510
- Median hourly wage: $40.63
- Total employment: 780 people (8.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $84,800
- Median hourly wage: $40.77
- Total employment: 560 people (6.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $84,870
- Median hourly wage: $40.81
- Total employment: 2,050 people (23.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $91,800
- Median hourly wage: $44.13
- Total employment: 280 people (3.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $91,980
- Median hourly wage: $44.22
- Total employment: 50 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $92,870
- Median hourly wage: $44.65
- Total employment: 210 people (2.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $93,950
- Median hourly wage: $45.17
- Total employment: 200 people (2.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,290
- Median hourly wage: $45.81
- Total employment: 280 people (3.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $95,640
- Median hourly wage: $45.98
- Total employment: 290 people (3.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $98,330
- Median hourly wage: $47.28
- Total employment: 320 people (3.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $99,210
- Median hourly wage: $47.70
- Total employment: 70 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $100,060
- Median hourly wage: $48.10
- Total employment: 50 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $101,440
- Median hourly wage: $48.77
- Total employment: 60 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,030
- Median hourly wage: $49.05
- Total employment: 340 people (3.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $102,900
- Median hourly wage: $49.47
- Total employment: 200 people (2.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,990
- Median hourly wage: $49.52
- Total employment: 90 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $103,380
- Median hourly wage: $49.70
- Total employment: 70 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,800
- Median hourly wage: $49.91
- Total employment: 70 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,680
- Median hourly wage: $50.33
- Total employment: 60 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $111,940
- Median hourly wage: $53.82
- Total employment: 60 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $114,550
- Median hourly wage: $55.07
- Total employment: 90 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $115,170
- Median hourly wage: $55.37
- Total employment: 440 people (4.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $117,270
- Median hourly wage: $56.38
- Total employment: 330 people (3.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $118,620
- Median hourly wage: $57.03
- Total employment: 210 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $121,470
- Median hourly wage: $58.40
- Total employment: 160 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $121,700
- Median hourly wage: $58.51
- Total employment: 70 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $123,760
- Median hourly wage: $59.50
- Total employment: 250 people (2.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $129,020
- Median hourly wage: $62.03
- Total employment: 120 people (1.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $130,160
- Median hourly wage: $62.58
- Total employment: 30 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $142,560
- Median hourly wage: $68.54
- Total employment: 100 people (1.1 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.
