Rido // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $68,990
- Median hourly wage: $33.17
- Total employment: 250 people (4.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Ames 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 Ames, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $72,920
- Median hourly wage: $35.06
- Total employment: 1,100 people (19.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $73,300
- Median hourly wage: $35.24
- Total employment: 40 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $75,780
- Median hourly wage: $36.43
- Total employment: 180 people (3.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $76,250
- Median hourly wage: $36.66
- Total employment: 560 people (9.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Fundraisers
- Median annual wage: $76,380
- Median hourly wage: $36.72
- Total employment: 90 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $77,200
- Median hourly wage: $37.11
- Total employment: 110 people (1.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $78,030
- Median hourly wage: $37.52
- Total employment: 80 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $78,200
- Median hourly wage: $37.60
- Total employment: 50 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Biological scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $79,170
- Median hourly wage: $38.06
- Total employment: 180 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $79,410
- Median hourly wage: $38.18
- Total employment: 70 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $79,710
- Median hourly wage: $38.32
- Total employment: 70 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $80,910
- Median hourly wage: $38.90
- Total employment: 60 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $83,210
- Median hourly wage: $40.00
- Total employment: 80 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $83,440
- Median hourly wage: $40.12
- Total employment: 170 people (3.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,870
- Median hourly wage: $40.32
- Total employment: 300 people (5.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $84,930
- Median hourly wage: $40.83
- Total employment: 30 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $85,550
- Median hourly wage: $41.13
- Total employment: 1,150 people (20.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $86,390
- Median hourly wage: $41.53
- Total employment: 110 people (1.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $89,600
- Median hourly wage: $43.08
- Total employment: 40 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $90,220
- Median hourly wage: $43.37
- Total employment: 60 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $91,350
- Median hourly wage: $43.92
- Total employment: 100 people (1.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,100
- Median hourly wage: $44.28
- Total employment: 200 people (3.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $93,240
- Median hourly wage: $44.83
- Total employment: 100 people (1.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $94,550
- Median hourly wage: $45.46
- Total employment: 80 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#24. Chemists (tie)
- Median annual wage: $94,990
- Median hourly wage: $45.67
- Total employment: 40 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Financial and investment analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $94,990
- Median hourly wage: $45.67
- Total employment: 50 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $99,740
- Median hourly wage: $47.95
- Total employment: 40 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $99,850
- Median hourly wage: $48.01
- Total employment: 260 people (4.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $100,400
- Median hourly wage: $48.27
- Total employment: 120 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,290
- Median hourly wage: $48.70
- Total employment: 270 people (4.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,380
- Median hourly wage: $48.74
- Total employment: 140 people (2.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,020
- Median hourly wage: $49.53
- Total employment: 160 people (2.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $104,010
- Median hourly wage: $50.00
- Total employment: 110 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $104,530
- Median hourly wage: $50.26
- Total employment: 90 people (1.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,450
- Median hourly wage: $51.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $106,470
- Median hourly wage: $51.19
- Total employment: 30 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $106,800
- Median hourly wage: $51.35
- Total employment: 120 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
angellodeco // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Microbiologists
- Median annual wage: $108,040
- Median hourly wage: $51.94
- Total employment: 80 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $119,630
- Median hourly wage: $57.51
- Total employment: 30 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $120,000
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 230 people (4.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $126,810
- Median hourly wage: $60.97
- Total employment: 150 people (2.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $126,950
- Median hourly wage: $61.04
- Total employment: 90 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $127,040
- Median hourly wage: $61.08
- Total employment: 440 people (7.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $127,190
- Median hourly wage: $61.15
- Total employment: 90 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $128,100
- Median hourly wage: $61.59
- Total employment: 90 people (1.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $131,240
- Median hourly wage: $63.10
- Total employment: 50 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $136,380
- Median hourly wage: $65.57
- Total employment: 110 people (1.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $140,910
- Median hourly wage: $67.75
- Total employment: 110 people (2.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $168,570
- Median hourly wage: $81.04
- Total employment: 130 people (2.28 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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