Highest-paying jobs in Lewiston 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 Lewiston 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.

Syda Productions // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Dental assistants

- Median annual wage: $45,980
- Median hourly wage: $22.11
- Total employment: 110 people (3.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

guteksk7 // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing

- Median annual wage: $46,000
- Median hourly wage: $22.11
- Total employment: 40 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Insurance sales agents

- Median annual wage: $46,400
- Median hourly wage: $22.31
- Total employment: 70 people (2.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Randy Hergenrether // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Construction laborers

- Median annual wage: $46,540
- Median hourly wage: $22.38
- Total employment: 280 people (9.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Aleksandr Rybalko // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

- Median annual wage: $46,690
- Median hourly wage: $22.45
- Total employment: 110 people (3.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Evgeny Atamanenko // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Maintenance and repair workers, general

- Median annual wage: $46,800
- Median hourly wage: $22.50
- Total employment: 290 people (10.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

ALPA PROD // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants

- Median annual wage: $47,120
- Median hourly wage: $22.65
- Total employment: 90 people (3.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers

- Median annual wage: $47,170
- Median hourly wage: $22.68
- Total employment: 250 people (8.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dragana Gordic // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Pharmacy technicians

- Median annual wage: $47,350
- Median hourly wage: $22.77
- Total employment: 120 people (4.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

LightField Studios // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Bus drivers, school

- Median annual wage: $47,650
- Median hourly wage: $22.91
- Total employment: 50 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

- Median annual wage: $47,690
- Median hourly wage: $22.93
- Total employment: 280 people (10.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dragon Images // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Social and human service assistants

- Median annual wage: $47,780
- Median hourly wage: $22.97
- Total employment: 120 people (4.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

New Africa // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers

- Median annual wage: $47,890
- Median hourly wage: $23.02
- Total employment: 40 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Lee Charlie // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Court, municipal, and license clerks

- Median annual wage: $48,110
- Median hourly wage: $23.13
- Total employment: 60 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

nullplus // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Light truck drivers

- Median annual wage: $48,300
- Median hourly wage: $23.22
- Total employment: 180 people (6.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Lucky Business // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors

- Median annual wage: $48,340
- Median hourly wage: $23.24
- Total employment: 30 people (1.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

XiXinXing // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Medical records specialists

- Median annual wage: $48,680
- Median hourly wage: $23.41
- Total employment: 60 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

4 PM production // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Automotive service technicians and mechanics

- Median annual wage: $48,820
- Median hourly wage: $23.47
- Total employment: 210 people (7.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

- Median annual wage: $49,060
- Median hourly wage: $23.59
- Total employment: 60 people (2.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

FabrikaSimf // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. Carpenters

- Median annual wage: $50,770
- Median hourly wage: $24.41
- Total employment: 100 people (3.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman023_photography // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#30. Riggers

- Median annual wage: $51,420
- Median hourly wage: $24.72
- Total employment: 30 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Virrage Images // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Refuse and recyclable material collectors

- Median annual wage: $51,500
- Median hourly wage: $24.76
- Total employment: 40 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Glenn Highcove // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Industrial truck and tractor operators

- Median annual wage: $51,860
- Median hourly wage: $24.93
- Total employment: 130 people (4.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Erin Deleon // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Postal service mail carriers

- Median annual wage: $52,210
- Median hourly wage: $25.10
- Total employment: 60 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

DC Studio // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

- Median annual wage: $52,250
- Median hourly wage: $25.12
- Total employment: 30 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

worradirek // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Helpers--production workers

- Median annual wage: $53,010
- Median hourly wage: $25.49
- Total employment: 100 people (3.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Philip Lange // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Highway maintenance workers

- Median annual wage: $53,110
- Median hourly wage: $25.53
- Total employment: 60 people (2.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Shift Drive // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Computer user support specialists

- Median annual wage: $53,720
- Median hourly wage: $25.83
- Total employment: 80 people (2.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Cement masons and concrete finishers

- Median annual wage: $54,200
- Median hourly wage: $26.06
- Total employment: 40 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders

- Median annual wage: $55,540
- Median hourly wage: $26.70
- Total employment: 40 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

David Spates // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers

- Median annual wage: $55,570
- Median hourly wage: $26.72
- Total employment: 100 people (3.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Joey Chung // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel

- Median annual wage: $56,090
- Median hourly wage: $26.97
- Total employment: 100 people (3.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Vitpho // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers

- Median annual wage: $56,710
- Median hourly wage: $27.26
- Total employment: 410 people (14.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Zahovaev K // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

- Median annual wage: $58,210
- Median hourly wage: $27.98
- Total employment: 240 people (8.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Stock Rocket // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

- Median annual wage: $58,670
- Median hourly wage: $28.21
- Total employment: 240 people (8.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Machinists

- Median annual wage: $59,120
- Median hourly wage: $28.42
- Total employment: 60 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Production, planning, and expediting clerks

- Median annual wage: $59,440
- Median hourly wage: $28.58
- Total employment: 30 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Syda Productions // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants

- Median annual wage: $60,380
- Median hourly wage: $29.03
- Total employment: 30 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Victor Moussa // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Firefighters

- Median annual wage: $60,780
- Median hourly wage: $29.22
- Total employment: 70 people (2.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GaudiLab // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers

- Median annual wage: $61,890
- Median hourly wage: $29.76
- Total employment: 300 people (10.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Irene Miller // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

- Median annual wage: $61,980
- Median hourly wage: $29.80
- Total employment: 140 people (4.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kot500 // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

- Median annual wage: $62,190
- Median hourly wage: $29.90
- Total employment: 70 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

- Median annual wage: $62,610
- Median hourly wage: $30.10
- Total employment: 100 people (3.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

ALPA PROD // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors

- Median annual wage: $63,420
- Median hourly wage: $30.49
- Total employment: 80 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

welcomia // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines

- Median annual wage: $66,340
- Median hourly wage: $31.89
- Total employment: 40 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

- Median annual wage: $72,660
- Median hourly wage: $34.93
- Total employment: 270 people (9.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Etaphop photo // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Electricians

- Median annual wage: $72,930
- Median hourly wage: $35.06
- Total employment: 230 people (8.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sculpies // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

- Median annual wage: $75,150
- Median hourly wage: $36.13
- Total employment: 160 people (5.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)