Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $82,940
- Median hourly wage: $39.88
- Total employment: 40 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Barnstable Town 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 Barnstable Town, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Median annual wage: $83,570
- Median hourly wage: $40.18
- Total employment: 60 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Iam_Anupong // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $85,170
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $85,230
- Median hourly wage: $40.97
- Total employment: 830 people (8.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $85,650
- Median hourly wage: $41.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Photographee.eu // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $85,860
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 170 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Freedy // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Surveyors
- Median annual wage: $86,010
- Median hourly wage: $41.35
- Total employment: 40 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $88,270
- Median hourly wage: $42.44
- Total employment: 80 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $90,630
- Median hourly wage: $43.57
- Total employment: 40 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $91,840
- Median hourly wage: $44.15
- Total employment: 160 people (1.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,240
- Median hourly wage: $44.34
- Total employment: 80 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $93,340
- Median hourly wage: $44.88
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $94,850
- Median hourly wage: $45.60
- Total employment: 90 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Motortion Films // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling
- Median annual wage: $95,120
- Median hourly wage: $45.73
- Total employment: 30 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $96,010
- Median hourly wage: $46.16
- Total employment: 110 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Special education teachers, middle school
- Median annual wage: $96,170
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $96,780
- Median hourly wage: $46.53
- Total employment: 40 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lopolo // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $97,480
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 420 people (4.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $97,500
- Median hourly wage: $46.87
- Total employment: 40 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $97,750
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 850 people (9.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $98,110
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 800 people (8.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $99,010
- Median hourly wage: $47.60
- Total employment: 3,180 people (33.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $99,170
- Median hourly wage: $47.68
- Total employment: 1,910 people (20.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $99,370
- Median hourly wage: $47.78
- Total employment: 150 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $101,790
- Median hourly wage: $48.94
- Total employment: 200 people (2.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,480
- Median hourly wage: $49.27
- Total employment: 80 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,940
- Median hourly wage: $49.49
- Total employment: 240 people (2.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $103,640
- Median hourly wage: $49.83
- Total employment: 220 people (2.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,840
- Median hourly wage: $49.92
- Total employment: 60 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,900
- Median hourly wage: $50.43
- Total employment: 90 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $105,320
- Median hourly wage: $50.64
- Total employment: 50 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $106,220
- Median hourly wage: $51.07
- Total employment: 160 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $106,540
- Median hourly wage: $51.22
- Total employment: 110 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $111,900
- Median hourly wage: $53.80
- Total employment: 60 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $111,940
- Median hourly wage: $53.82
- Total employment: 210 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $115,120
- Median hourly wage: $55.34
- Total employment: 430 people (4.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $119,250
- Median hourly wage: $57.33
- Total employment: 120 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $123,020
- Median hourly wage: $59.14
- Total employment: 60 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $128,730
- Median hourly wage: $61.89
- Total employment: 110 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $129,300
- Median hourly wage: $62.17
- Total employment: 260 people (2.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $130,220
- Median hourly wage: $62.61
- Total employment: 100 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $130,340
- Median hourly wage: $62.67
- Total employment: 300 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $135,000
- Median hourly wage: $64.91
- Total employment: 110 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $135,230
- Median hourly wage: $65.01
- Total employment: 60 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $141,290
- Median hourly wage: $67.93
- Total employment: 340 people (3.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $147,970
- Median hourly wage: $71.14
- Total employment: 100 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $153,060
- Median hourly wage: $73.59
- Total employment: 80 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $169,840
- Median hourly wage: $81.65
- Total employment: 140 people (1.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $169,890
- Median hourly wage: $81.68
- Total employment: 70 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $172,850
- Median hourly wage: $83.10
- Total employment: 90 people (1.01 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.
