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1 / 50#50. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $61,290
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 290 people (5.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Jackson, Michigan 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 Jackson, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $61,310
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 640 people (11.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VH-studio // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Child, family, and school social workers
- Median annual wage: $61,900
- Median hourly wage: $29.76
- Total employment: 230 people (4.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lopolo // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $62,560
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 210 people (3.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Median annual wage: $63,310
- Median hourly wage: $30.44
- Total employment: 170 people (3.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $63,480
- Median hourly wage: $30.52
- Total employment: 300 people (5.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $71,100
- Median hourly wage: $34.19
- Total employment: 40 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $71,620
- Median hourly wage: $34.43
- Total employment: 80 people (1.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $72,230
- Median hourly wage: $34.73
- Total employment: 140 people (2.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DGLimages // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school
- Median annual wage: $72,270
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 30 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#39. Computer programmers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $72,520
- Median hourly wage: $34.87
- Total employment: 30 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Public relations specialists (tie)
- Median annual wage: $72,520
- Median hourly wage: $34.86
- Total employment: 70 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Median annual wage: $73,580
- Median hourly wage: $35.38
- Total employment: 60 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GLRL // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $74,200
- Median hourly wage: $35.67
- Total employment: 150 people (2.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $74,740
- Median hourly wage: $35.94
- Total employment: 490 people (8.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $75,990
- Median hourly wage: $36.54
- Total employment: 100 people (1.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $76,760
- Median hourly wage: $36.90
- Total employment: 80 people (1.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ermolaev Alexander // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Special education teachers, all other
- Median annual wage: $77,240
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $78,370
- Median hourly wage: $37.68
- Total employment: 30 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $79,080
- Median hourly wage: $38.02
- Total employment: 230 people (4.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,990
- Median hourly wage: $40.86
- Total employment: 70 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $87,660
- Median hourly wage: $42.14
- Total employment: 190 people (3.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $88,190
- Median hourly wage: $42.40
- Total employment: 50 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $91,060
- Median hourly wage: $43.78
- Total employment: 50 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,510
- Median hourly wage: $44.00
- Total employment: 120 people (2.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,060
- Median hourly wage: $44.74
- Total employment: 320 people (5.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $93,330
- Median hourly wage: $44.87
- Total employment: 1,000 people (17.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $93,380
- Median hourly wage: $44.90
- Total employment: 60 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $93,790
- Median hourly wage: $45.09
- Total employment: 50 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $96,950
- Median hourly wage: $46.61
- Total employment: 50 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $98,160
- Median hourly wage: $47.19
- Total employment: 150 people (2.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $99,290
- Median hourly wage: $47.74
- Total employment: 180 people (3.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,160
- Median hourly wage: $49.11
- Total employment: 30 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $103,000
- Median hourly wage: $49.52
- Total employment: 50 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.00
- Total employment: 90 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,430
- Median hourly wage: $50.21
- Total employment: 280 people (5.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $104,450
- Median hourly wage: $50.22
- Total employment: 190 people (3.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $107,450
- Median hourly wage: $51.66
- Total employment: 290 people (5.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $110,390
- Median hourly wage: $53.07
- Total employment: 60 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $113,130
- Median hourly wage: $54.39
- Total employment: 80 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $113,320
- Median hourly wage: $54.48
- Total employment: 70 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $120,840
- Median hourly wage: $58.10
- Total employment: 250 people (4.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $125,540
- Median hourly wage: $60.36
- Total employment: 140 people (2.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $126,980
- Median hourly wage: $61.05
- Total employment: 60 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $130,210
- Median hourly wage: $62.60
- Total employment: 70 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $130,340
- Median hourly wage: $62.66
- Total employment: 220 people (3.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $130,890
- Median hourly wage: $62.93
- Total employment: 140 people (2.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $143,870
- Median hourly wage: $69.17
- Total employment: 140 people (2.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $151,780
- Median hourly wage: $72.97
- Total employment: 60 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $166,550
- Median hourly wage: $80.07
- Total employment: 40 people (0.74 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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