Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $65,890
- Median hourly wage: $31.68
- Total employment: 140 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Columbus, Georgia 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 Columbus, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $66,160
- Median hourly wage: $31.81
- Total employment: 70 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $67,420
- Median hourly wage: $32.41
- Total employment: 970 people (8.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $72,090
- Median hourly wage: $34.66
- Total employment: 240 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Flamingo Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Credit analysts
- Median annual wage: $72,710
- Median hourly wage: $34.96
- Total employment: 30 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Public relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $73,460
- Median hourly wage: $35.32
- Total employment: 100 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $74,300
- Median hourly wage: $35.72
- Total employment: 1,820 people (15.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $77,670
- Median hourly wage: $37.34
- Total employment: 2,250 people (19.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $78,200
- Median hourly wage: $37.60
- Total employment: 150 people (1.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $79,100
- Median hourly wage: $38.03
- Total employment: 50 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $79,360
- Median hourly wage: $38.15
- Total employment: 2,680 people (23.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $80,020
- Median hourly wage: $38.47
- Total employment: 70 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $81,660
- Median hourly wage: $39.26
- Total employment: 220 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Financial specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $81,760
- Median hourly wage: $39.31
- Total employment: 90 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $82,370
- Median hourly wage: $39.60
- Total employment: 80 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $84,320
- Median hourly wage: $40.54
- Total employment: 60 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $84,700
- Median hourly wage: $40.72
- Total employment: 60 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $84,920
- Median hourly wage: $40.83
- Total employment: 70 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $87,520
- Median hourly wage: $42.08
- Total employment: 120 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $88,590
- Median hourly wage: $42.59
- Total employment: 400 people (3.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $89,220
- Median hourly wage: $42.90
- Total employment: 170 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $93,410
- Median hourly wage: $44.91
- Total employment: 130 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $93,920
- Median hourly wage: $45.16
- Total employment: 150 people (1.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $94,190
- Median hourly wage: $45.28
- Total employment: 100 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $94,560
- Median hourly wage: $45.46
- Total employment: 400 people (3.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $95,530
- Median hourly wage: $45.93
- Total employment: 40 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $95,680
- Median hourly wage: $46.00
- Total employment: 320 people (2.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,640
- Median hourly wage: $46.46
- Total employment: 190 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,970
- Median hourly wage: $47.10
- Total employment: 100 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $99,670
- Median hourly wage: $47.92
- Total employment: 150 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $100,030
- Median hourly wage: $48.09
- Total employment: 100 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $101,070
- Median hourly wage: $48.59
- Total employment: 60 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $101,210
- Median hourly wage: $48.66
- Total employment: 40 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $109,610
- Median hourly wage: $52.70
- Total employment: 270 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $110,350
- Median hourly wage: $53.05
- Total employment: 650 people (5.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $112,640
- Median hourly wage: $54.16
- Total employment: 60 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $113,210
- Median hourly wage: $54.43
- Total employment: 60 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $113,320
- Median hourly wage: $54.48
- Total employment: 410 people (3.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,340
- Median hourly wage: $54.49
- Total employment: 50 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $113,850
- Median hourly wage: $54.73
- Total employment: 70 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $114,320
- Median hourly wage: $54.96
- Total employment: 1,010 people (8.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $115,730
- Median hourly wage: $55.64
- Total employment: 90 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $118,800
- Median hourly wage: $57.12
- Total employment: 40 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $119,590
- Median hourly wage: $57.50
- Total employment: 60 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $123,850
- Median hourly wage: $59.55
- Total employment: 90 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $130,140
- Median hourly wage: $62.57
- Total employment: 140 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $133,110
- Median hourly wage: $64.00
- Total employment: 370 people (3.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $143,170
- Median hourly wage: $68.83
- Total employment: 160 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $152,300
- Median hourly wage: $73.22
- Total employment: 60 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $155,060
- Median hourly wage: $74.55
- Total employment: 350 people (3.01 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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