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1 / 50#50. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $72,260
- Median hourly wage: $34.74
- Total employment: 1,300 people (11.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Topeka 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 Topeka, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $72,530
- Median hourly wage: $34.87
- Total employment: 710 people (6.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $73,670
- Median hourly wage: $35.42
- Total employment: 60 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $74,660
- Median hourly wage: $35.89
- Total employment: 1,090 people (9.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $75,180
- Median hourly wage: $36.15
- Total employment: 30 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $76,050
- Median hourly wage: $36.56
- Total employment: 200 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $76,150
- Median hourly wage: $36.61
- Total employment: 120 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $76,540
- Median hourly wage: $36.80
- Total employment: 130 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $76,720
- Median hourly wage: $36.88
- Total employment: 140 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $78,790
- Median hourly wage: $37.88
- Total employment: 70 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $78,870
- Median hourly wage: $37.92
- Total employment: 3,170 people (28.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $79,330
- Median hourly wage: $38.14
- Total employment: 60 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $79,400
- Median hourly wage: $38.17
- Total employment: 160 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $81,060
- Median hourly wage: $38.97
- Total employment: 60 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $81,600
- Median hourly wage: $39.23
- Total employment: 2,520 people (22.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $82,910
- Median hourly wage: $39.86
- Total employment: 230 people (2.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $84,860
- Median hourly wage: $40.80
- Total employment: 50 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $85,380
- Median hourly wage: $41.05
- Total employment: 380 people (3.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $87,980
- Median hourly wage: $42.30
- Total employment: 250 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $88,420
- Median hourly wage: $42.51
- Total employment: 130 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $89,250
- Median hourly wage: $42.91
- Total employment: 40 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,420
- Median hourly wage: $43.95
- Total employment: 310 people (2.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Insurance underwriters
- Median annual wage: $92,520
- Median hourly wage: $44.48
- Total employment: 90 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $93,600
- Median hourly wage: $45.00
- Total employment: Not available
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $94,200
- Median hourly wage: $45.29
- Total employment: 160 people (1.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $94,990
- Median hourly wage: $45.67
- Total employment: 160 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $96,230
- Median hourly wage: $46.26
- Total employment: 260 people (2.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $96,320
- Median hourly wage: $46.31
- Total employment: 330 people (2.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $96,740
- Median hourly wage: $46.51
- Total employment: 30 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,250
- Median hourly wage: $47.24
- Total employment: 100 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $101,920
- Median hourly wage: $49.00
- Total employment: 100 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $102,240
- Median hourly wage: $49.15
- Total employment: 1,220 people (10.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,680
- Median hourly wage: $50.81
- Total employment: 120 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $106,500
- Median hourly wage: $51.20
- Total employment: 390 people (3.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $106,530
- Median hourly wage: $51.21
- Total employment: 270 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $106,720
- Median hourly wage: $51.31
- Total employment: 280 people (2.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $109,250
- Median hourly wage: $52.53
- Total employment: 120 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $111,200
- Median hourly wage: $53.46
- Total employment: 100 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $116,950
- Median hourly wage: $56.23
- Total employment: 90 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $117,950
- Median hourly wage: $56.71
- Total employment: 40 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Actuaries
- Median annual wage: $120,200
- Median hourly wage: $57.79
- Total employment: 90 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $122,040
- Median hourly wage: $58.67
- Total employment: 300 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $123,010
- Median hourly wage: $59.14
- Total employment: 100 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $123,700
- Median hourly wage: $59.47
- Total employment: 180 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $124,580
- Median hourly wage: $59.90
- Total employment: 140 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $135,970
- Median hourly wage: $65.37
- Total employment: 330 people (2.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $136,100
- Median hourly wage: $65.43
- Total employment: 370 people (3.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $142,490
- Median hourly wage: $68.51
- Total employment: 90 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $142,770
- Median hourly wage: $68.64
- Total employment: 70 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $151,580
- Median hourly wage: $72.87
- Total employment: 300 people (2.67 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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