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1 / 50#50. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $79,200
- Median hourly wage: $38.08
- Total employment: 870 people (3.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Lexington 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 Lexington, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $79,470
- Median hourly wage: $38.21
- Total employment: 190 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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3 / 50#48. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $79,860
- Median hourly wage: $38.39
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $80,610
- Median hourly wage: $38.76
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $81,950
- Median hourly wage: $39.40
- Total employment: 230 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $82,630
- Median hourly wage: $39.73
- Total employment: 1,690 people (5.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $82,780
- Median hourly wage: $39.80
- Total employment: 8,110 people (28.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $83,820
- Median hourly wage: $40.30
- Total employment: 790 people (2.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $84,260
- Median hourly wage: $40.51
- Total employment: 390 people (1.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $84,580
- Median hourly wage: $40.67
- Total employment: 110 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Financial examiners
- Median annual wage: $84,850
- Median hourly wage: $40.79
- Total employment: 110 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $85,680
- Median hourly wage: $41.19
- Total employment: 140 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,430
- Median hourly wage: $42.04
- Total employment: 540 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Flamingo Images // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Credit analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,980
- Median hourly wage: $42.30
- Total employment: 60 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,650
- Median hourly wage: $43.10
- Total employment: 130 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $91,670
- Median hourly wage: $44.07
- Total employment: 250 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $95,100
- Median hourly wage: $45.72
- Total employment: 260 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Motortion Films // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling
- Median annual wage: $95,910
- Median hourly wage: $46.11
- Total employment: 40 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,670
- Median hourly wage: $46.96
- Total employment: 80 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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20 / 50#31. Insurance underwriters
- Median annual wage: $98,160
- Median hourly wage: $47.19
- Total employment: 150 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,180
- Median hourly wage: $47.68
- Total employment: 280 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $100,360
- Median hourly wage: $48.25
- Total employment: 130 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,160
- Median hourly wage: $48.63
- Total employment: 270 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $102,550
- Median hourly wage: $49.30
- Total employment: 60 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $102,710
- Median hourly wage: $49.38
- Total employment: 280 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,910
- Median hourly wage: $49.48
- Total employment: Not available
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,350
- Median hourly wage: $49.69
- Total employment: 620 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,460
- Median hourly wage: $49.74
- Total employment: 1,050 people (3.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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29 / 50#22. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $103,490
- Median hourly wage: $49.75
- Total employment: 130 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $103,570
- Median hourly wage: $49.80
- Total employment: 50 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,770
- Median hourly wage: $50.37
- Total employment: 90 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,940
- Median hourly wage: $50.45
- Total employment: 810 people (2.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $105,020
- Median hourly wage: $50.49
- Total employment: 120 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $105,800
- Median hourly wage: $50.87
- Total employment: 280 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $106,390
- Median hourly wage: $51.15
- Total employment: 590 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $106,920
- Median hourly wage: $51.40
- Total employment: 330 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Therapists, all other
- Median annual wage: $108,140
- Median hourly wage: $51.99
- Total employment: 100 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $109,460
- Median hourly wage: $52.63
- Total employment: 1,250 people (4.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $110,060
- Median hourly wage: $52.91
- Total employment: 1,060 people (3.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $110,420
- Median hourly wage: $53.09
- Total employment: 120 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $117,350
- Median hourly wage: $56.42
- Total employment: 250 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $119,360
- Median hourly wage: $57.38
- Total employment: 310 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $123,210
- Median hourly wage: $59.24
- Total employment: 1,330 people (4.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,360
- Median hourly wage: $60.75
- Total employment: 320 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $126,910
- Median hourly wage: $61.01
- Total employment: 60 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $128,110
- Median hourly wage: $61.59
- Total employment: 110 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $131,180
- Median hourly wage: $63.07
- Total employment: 960 people (3.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $131,780
- Median hourly wage: $63.36
- Total employment: 60 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $140,320
- Median hourly wage: $67.46
- Total employment: 450 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $156,300
- Median hourly wage: $75.14
- Total employment: 310 people (1.09 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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