Highest-paying jobs in Chicago 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 Chicago 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.

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

- Median annual wage: $78,950
- Median hourly wage: $37.96
- Total employment: 7,620 people (1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Meter readers, utilities

- Median annual wage: $79,210
- Median hourly wage: $38.08
- Total employment: 420 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrei Agape // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Avionics technicians

- Median annual wage: $79,560
- Median hourly wage: $38.25
- Total employment: 170 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Vadim Ratnikov // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Earth drillers, except oil and gas

- Median annual wage: $80,030
- Median hourly wage: $38.47
- Total employment: 260 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Paramedics

- Median annual wage: $80,870
- Median hourly wage: $38.88
- Total employment: 2,880 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Kitawit Jitaton // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Telecommunications line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $81,210
- Median hourly wage: $39.04
- Total employment: 1,470 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Motion picture projectionists

- Median annual wage: $81,490
- Median hourly wage: $39.18
- Total employment: Not available

curraheeshutter // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Ship engineers

- Median annual wage: $81,820
- Median hourly wage: $39.34
- Total employment: 60 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Cement masons and concrete finishers

- Median annual wage: $82,190
- Median hourly wage: $39.51
- Total employment: 4,120 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

g-stockstudio // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

- Median annual wage: $82,200
- Median hourly wage: $39.52
- Total employment: 3,740 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Jat306 // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Millwrights

- Median annual wage: $83,180
- Median hourly wage: $39.99
- Total employment: 1,290 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Elizaveta Galitckaia // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Pump operators, except wellhead pumpers

- Median annual wage: $83,770
- Median hourly wage: $40.28
- Total employment: 50 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Lovely Bird // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. Power distributors and dispatchers

- Median annual wage: $83,960
- Median hourly wage: $40.37
- Total employment: 330 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door

- Median annual wage: $84,610
- Median hourly wage: $40.68
- Total employment: 340 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Bigflick // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Correctional officers and jailers

- Median annual wage: $85,400
- Median hourly wage: $41.06
- Total employment: 4,810 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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APChanel // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Railroad conductors and yardmasters

- Median annual wage: $85,560
- Median hourly wage: $41.14
- Total employment: 110 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nordroden // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders

- Median annual wage: $86,300
- Median hourly wage: $41.49
- Total employment: 2,240 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

John Leung // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Brickmasons and blockmasons

- Median annual wage: $86,330
- Median hourly wage: $41.51
- Total employment: 2,480 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Victor Moussa // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Firefighters

- Median annual wage: $88,290
- Median hourly wage: $42.45
- Total employment: 10,560 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BearFotos // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $89,090
- Median hourly wage: $42.83
- Total employment: 320 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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21 / 50

#30. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

- Median annual wage: $89,540
- Median hourly wage: $43.05
- Total employment: 12,560 people (2.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

santi lumubol // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

- Median annual wage: $89,960
- Median hourly wage: $43.25
- Total employment: 2,570 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Radovan1 / Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Plasterers and stucco masons

- Median annual wage: $90,020
- Median hourly wage: $43.28
- Total employment: 210 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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24 / 50

#27. Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers

- Median annual wage: $92,890
- Median hourly wage: $44.66
- Total employment: 70 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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25 / 50

#26. Reinforcing iron and rebar workers

- Median annual wage: $93,190
- Median hourly wage: $44.81
- Total employment: 80 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Postmasters and mail superintendents

- Median annual wage: $95,010
- Median hourly wage: $45.68
- Total employment: 210 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Vera Larina // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Sheet metal workers

- Median annual wage: $97,970
- Median hourly wage: $47.10
- Total employment: 3,080 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Avatar_023 // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators

- Median annual wage: $98,810
- Median hourly wage: $47.51
- Total employment: 30 people (0.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

- Median annual wage: $98,890
- Median hourly wage: $47.54
- Total employment: 14,230 people (3.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Etaphop photo // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Electricians

- Median annual wage: $99,540
- Median hourly wage: $47.86
- Total employment: 16,690 people (3.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Irene Miller // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

- Median annual wage: $101,200
- Median hourly wage: $48.66
- Total employment: 7,760 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nagy-Bagoly Arpad // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Insulation workers, mechanical

- Median annual wage: $101,260
- Median hourly wage: $48.69
- Total employment: Not available

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33 / 50

#18. Detectives and criminal investigators

- Median annual wage: $102,370
- Median hourly wage: $49.22
- Total employment: 2,170 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

N_Sakarin // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Structural iron and steel workers

- Median annual wage: $102,950
- Median hourly wage: $49.50
- Total employment: 2,640 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

michaeljung // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Power plant operators

- Median annual wage: $103,380
- Median hourly wage: $49.70
- Total employment: 600 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sculpies // Shutterstock

36 / 50

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

- Median annual wage: $104,790
- Median hourly wage: $50.38
- Total employment: 14,730 people (3.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Christian Lagerek // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Gas plant operators

- Median annual wage: $104,810
- Median hourly wage: $50.39
- Total employment: 630 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

- Median annual wage: $106,360
- Median hourly wage: $51.13
- Total employment: 570 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. First-line supervisors of correctional officers

- Median annual wage: $106,510
- Median hourly wage: $51.21
- Total employment: 660 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

goodluz // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

- Median annual wage: $108,180
- Median hourly wage: $52.01
- Total employment: 9,320 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Suwin // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay

- Median annual wage: $108,650
- Median hourly wage: $52.24
- Total employment: 410 people (0.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

pio3 // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Police and sheriff's patrol officers

- Median annual wage: $108,890
- Median hourly wage: $52.35
- Total employment: 23,340 people (5.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kirill Lasis // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Tapers

- Median annual wage: $109,870
- Median hourly wage: $52.82
- Total employment: 320 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Stationary engineers and boiler operators

- Median annual wage: $112,230
- Median hourly wage: $53.96
- Total employment: 1,170 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $114,030
- Median hourly wage: $54.82
- Total employment: 2,140 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

motodan // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Hoist and winch operators

- Median annual wage: $116,120
- Median hourly wage: $55.83
- Total employment: 290 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

- Median annual wage: $129,360
- Median hourly wage: $62.19
- Total employment: 1,470 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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48 / 50

#3. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

- Median annual wage: $136,440
- Median hourly wage: $65.60
- Total employment: 4,190 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

49 / 50

#2. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $141,380
- Median hourly wage: $67.97
- Total employment: 720 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Skycolors // Shutterstock

50 / 50

#1. Commercial pilots

- Median annual wage: $160,780
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 640 people (0.14 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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