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1 / 50#50. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Median annual wage: $58,890
- Median hourly wage: $28.31
- Total employment: 50 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Dubuque 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 Dubuque, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $58,960
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 470 people (8.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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3 / 50#48. Public relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $59,160
- Median hourly wage: $28.44
- Total employment: 100 people (1.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
- Median annual wage: $59,170
- Median hourly wage: $28.45
- Total employment: 60 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Fundraisers
- Median annual wage: $60,470
- Median hourly wage: $29.07
- Total employment: 40 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Median annual wage: $61,210
- Median hourly wage: $29.43
- Total employment: 310 people (5.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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7 / 50#44. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $61,570
- Median hourly wage: $29.60
- Total employment: 440 people (7.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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8 / 50#43. Commercial and industrial designers
- Median annual wage: $61,910
- Median hourly wage: $29.76
- Total employment: 40 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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9 / 50#41. Training and development specialists (tie)
- Median annual wage: $62,170
- Median hourly wage: $29.89
- Total employment: 110 people (1.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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10 / 50#41. Buyers and purchasing agents (tie)
- Median annual wage: $62,170
- Median hourly wage: $29.89
- Total employment: 230 people (3.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Financial specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $62,340
- Median hourly wage: $29.97
- Total employment: 80 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $63,820
- Median hourly wage: $30.68
- Total employment: 90 people (1.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $66,390
- Median hourly wage: $31.92
- Total employment: 90 people (1.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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14 / 50#37. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $66,600
- Median hourly wage: $32.02
- Total employment: 500 people (8.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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15 / 50#36. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $70,740
- Median hourly wage: $34.01
- Total employment: 1,280 people (21.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $74,210
- Median hourly wage: $35.68
- Total employment: 110 people (1.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $74,540
- Median hourly wage: $35.84
- Total employment: 170 people (2.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $77,000
- Median hourly wage: $37.02
- Total employment: 40 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $77,300
- Median hourly wage: $37.16
- Total employment: 130 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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20 / 50#31. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $79,200
- Median hourly wage: $38.08
- Total employment: 180 people (3.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $79,560
- Median hourly wage: $38.25
- Total employment: 30 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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22 / 50#29. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $79,750
- Median hourly wage: $38.34
- Total employment: 90 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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23 / 50#28. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $80,860
- Median hourly wage: $38.88
- Total employment: 80 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Financial examiners
- Median annual wage: $81,360
- Median hourly wage: $39.12
- Total employment: 70 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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25 / 50#26. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $82,430
- Median hourly wage: $39.63
- Total employment: 250 people (4.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,040
- Median hourly wage: $40.41
- Total employment: 100 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $85,390
- Median hourly wage: $41.05
- Total employment: 50 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $86,070
- Median hourly wage: $41.38
- Total employment: 100 people (1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $87,290
- Median hourly wage: $41.97
- Total employment: 1,290 people (21.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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30 / 50#21. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $88,680
- Median hourly wage: $42.63
- Total employment: 120 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $88,790
- Median hourly wage: $42.69
- Total employment: 80 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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32 / 50#19. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $96,310
- Median hourly wage: $46.30
- Total employment: 60 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $96,360
- Median hourly wage: $46.33
- Total employment: 70 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $97,150
- Median hourly wage: $46.71
- Total employment: 40 people (0.64 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: $97,250
- Median hourly wage: $46.76
- Total employment: 40 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $98,930
- Median hourly wage: $47.56
- Total employment: 230 people (3.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $99,330
- Median hourly wage: $47.76
- Total employment: 300 people (5.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $101,110
- Median hourly wage: $48.61
- Total employment: 420 people (7.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $103,170
- Median hourly wage: $49.60
- Total employment: 160 people (2.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,670
- Median hourly wage: $49.84
- Total employment: 60 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $106,120
- Median hourly wage: $51.02
- Total employment: 210 people (3.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $108,540
- Median hourly wage: $52.18
- Total employment: 60 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $111,580
- Median hourly wage: $53.64
- Total employment: 100 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $111,900
- Median hourly wage: $53.80
- Total employment: 370 people (6.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $112,970
- Median hourly wage: $54.31
- Total employment: 150 people (2.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $118,180
- Median hourly wage: $56.82
- Total employment: 80 people (1.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $129,500
- Median hourly wage: $62.26
- Total employment: 70 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $130,170
- Median hourly wage: $62.58
- Total employment: 120 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $141,770
- Median hourly wage: $68.16
- Total employment: 220 people (3.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $172,860
- Median hourly wage: $83.11
- Total employment: 130 people (2.17 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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