Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $81,390
- Median hourly wage: $39.13
- Total employment: 100 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Boise 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 Boise, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Art directors
- Median annual wage: $82,330
- Median hourly wage: $39.58
- Total employment: 110 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $82,390
- Median hourly wage: $39.61
- Total employment: 13,480 people (34.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $82,910
- Median hourly wage: $39.86
- Total employment: 240 people (0.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $83,090
- Median hourly wage: $39.95
- Total employment: 400 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $83,600
- Median hourly wage: $40.19
- Total employment: 1,070 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,830
- Median hourly wage: $40.30
- Total employment: 3,160 people (8.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Freedy // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Surveyors
- Median annual wage: $84,120
- Median hourly wage: $40.44
- Total employment: 110 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $86,320
- Median hourly wage: $41.50
- Total employment: 410 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $87,580
- Median hourly wage: $42.10
- Total employment: 110 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling
- Median annual wage: $88,150
- Median hourly wage: $42.38
- Total employment: 80 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $89,020
- Median hourly wage: $42.80
- Total employment: 110 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,260
- Median hourly wage: $44.36
- Total employment: 470 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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14 / 50#37. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $92,700
- Median hourly wage: $44.57
- Total employment: 190 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $92,960
- Median hourly wage: $44.69
- Total employment: 460 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $93,100
- Median hourly wage: $44.76
- Total employment: 1,010 people (2.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $93,830
- Median hourly wage: $45.11
- Total employment: 6,970 people (18.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Advertising and promotions managers
- Median annual wage: $94,010
- Median hourly wage: $45.20
- Total employment: 40 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $94,670
- Median hourly wage: $45.52
- Total employment: 110 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Soil and plant scientists
- Median annual wage: $95,100
- Median hourly wage: $45.72
- Total employment: Not available
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21 / 50#30. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,710
- Median hourly wage: $46.50
- Total employment: 1,720 people (4.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Physical scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,550
- Median hourly wage: $47.38
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,450
- Median hourly wage: $47.81
- Total employment: 320 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $99,890
- Median hourly wage: $48.02
- Total employment: 320 people (0.83 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: $101,060
- Median hourly wage: $48.59
- Total employment: 30 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $103,170
- Median hourly wage: $49.60
- Total employment: 590 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $105,730
- Median hourly wage: $50.83
- Total employment: 840 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $106,270
- Median hourly wage: $51.09
- Total employment: 500 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $108,610
- Median hourly wage: $52.22
- Total employment: 910 people (2.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $110,500
- Median hourly wage: $53.12
- Total employment: 710 people (1.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,650
- Median hourly wage: $53.68
- Total employment: 250 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $112,230
- Median hourly wage: $53.96
- Total employment: 2,820 people (7.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $116,140
- Median hourly wage: $55.84
- Total employment: 1,090 people (2.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $118,290
- Median hourly wage: $56.87
- Total employment: 680 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $119,480
- Median hourly wage: $57.44
- Total employment: 500 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $119,700
- Median hourly wage: $57.55
- Total employment: 200 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 50#13. Atmospheric and space scientists (tie)
- Median annual wage: $120,640
- Median hourly wage: $58.00
- Total employment: 30 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Natural sciences managers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $120,640
- Median hourly wage: $58.00
- Total employment: 280 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $123,310
- Median hourly wage: $59.29
- Total employment: 360 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $124,920
- Median hourly wage: $60.06
- Total employment: Not available
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $125,940
- Median hourly wage: $60.55
- Total employment: 820 people (2.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $127,430
- Median hourly wage: $61.26
- Total employment: 550 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,670
- Median hourly wage: $61.38
- Total employment: 1,390 people (3.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $127,690
- Median hourly wage: $61.39
- Total employment: 310 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $127,880
- Median hourly wage: $61.48
- Total employment: Not available
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $134,540
- Median hourly wage: $64.69
- Total employment: 310 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $155,660
- Median hourly wage: $74.84
- Total employment: 170 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $156,460
- Median hourly wage: $75.22
- Total employment: 930 people (2.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $163,730
- Median hourly wage: $78.72
- Total employment: 530 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $167,940
- Median hourly wage: $80.74
- Total employment: 530 people (1.37 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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