Highest-paying jobs in Lansing 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 Lansing, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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1 / 50

#50. Occupational health and safety specialists

- Median annual wage: $81,500
- Median hourly wage: $39.18
- Total employment: 180 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

- Median annual wage: $82,010
- Median hourly wage: $39.43
- Total employment: 550 people (2.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Electrical engineers

- Median annual wage: $82,020
- Median hourly wage: $39.43
- Total employment: 350 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Social and community service managers

- Median annual wage: $82,030
- Median hourly wage: $39.44
- Total employment: 360 people (1.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Computer systems analysts

- Median annual wage: $82,300
- Median hourly wage: $39.57
- Total employment: 850 people (3.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Data scientists

- Median annual wage: $83,830
- Median hourly wage: $40.30
- Total employment: 380 people (1.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Registered nurses

- Median annual wage: $84,820
- Median hourly wage: $40.78
- Total employment: 3,560 people (16.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Architects, except landscape and naval

- Median annual wage: $85,250
- Median hourly wage: $40.99
- Total employment: 60 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Csomos Attila // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

- Median annual wage: $88,190
- Median hourly wage: $42.40
- Total employment: 90 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

dokurose // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Actuaries

- Median annual wage: $89,190
- Median hourly wage: $42.88
- Total employment: 160 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Database administrators

- Median annual wage: $89,410
- Median hourly wage: $42.99
- Total employment: 70 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sabthai // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Budget analysts

- Median annual wage: $91,830
- Median hourly wage: $44.15
- Total employment: 130 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. Financial risk specialists

- Median annual wage: $92,360
- Median hourly wage: $44.41
- Total employment: 40 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock

14 / 50

#36. Web developers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $92,500
- Median hourly wage: $44.47
- Total employment: 80 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Software developers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $92,500
- Median hourly wage: $44.47
- Total employment: 3,110 people (14.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Environmental engineers

- Median annual wage: $92,620
- Median hourly wage: $44.53
- Total employment: 110 people (0.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Civil engineers

- Median annual wage: $92,680
- Median hourly wage: $44.56
- Total employment: 690 people (3.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Project management specialists

- Median annual wage: $93,420
- Median hourly wage: $44.91
- Total employment: 1,310 people (6.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Information security analysts

- Median annual wage: $94,670
- Median hourly wage: $45.51
- Total employment: 170 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. Network and computer systems administrators

- Median annual wage: $96,140
- Median hourly wage: $46.22
- Total employment: 710 people (3.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#29. Engineers, all other (tie)

- Median annual wage: $96,150
- Median hourly wage: $46.23
- Total employment: 100 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Sales engineers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $96,150
- Median hourly wage: $46.23
- Total employment: 60 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Computer occupations, all other

- Median annual wage: $97,060
- Median hourly wage: $46.67
- Total employment: 310 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Database architects

- Median annual wage: $97,620
- Median hourly wage: $46.93
- Total employment: 90 people (0.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Mechanical engineers

- Median annual wage: $97,690
- Median hourly wage: $46.97
- Total employment: 730 people (3.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Industrial engineers

- Median annual wage: $98,800
- Median hourly wage: $47.50
- Total employment: 770 people (3.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Facilities managers

- Median annual wage: $100,380
- Median hourly wage: $48.26
- Total employment: 250 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GaudiLab // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Personal financial advisors

- Median annual wage: $100,580
- Median hourly wage: $48.36
- Total employment: 220 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

VE.Studio // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Natural sciences managers

- Median annual wage: $104,080
- Median hourly wage: $50.04
- Total employment: 320 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Construction managers

- Median annual wage: $104,660
- Median hourly wage: $50.32
- Total employment: 560 people (2.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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SeventyFour // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Computer hardware engineers

- Median annual wage: $105,510
- Median hourly wage: $50.72
- Total employment: 50 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Industrial production managers

- Median annual wage: $105,540
- Median hourly wage: $50.74
- Total employment: 580 people (2.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Education administrators, all other

- Median annual wage: $105,820
- Median hourly wage: $50.88
- Total employment: 80 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Electronics engineers, except computer

- Median annual wage: $105,940
- Median hourly wage: $50.93
- Total employment: 40 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Training and development managers

- Median annual wage: $106,480
- Median hourly wage: $51.19
- Total employment: 40 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Art directors

- Median annual wage: $107,120
- Median hourly wage: $51.50
- Total employment: Not available

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Medical and health services managers

- Median annual wage: $108,070
- Median hourly wage: $51.96
- Total employment: 570 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

fizkes // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. General and operations managers

- Median annual wage: $110,960
- Median hourly wage: $53.35
- Total employment: Not available

creativemarc // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Administrative services managers

- Median annual wage: $117,840
- Median hourly wage: $56.65
- Total employment: 1,530 people (7.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Pressmaster // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Public relations managers

- Median annual wage: $121,470
- Median hourly wage: $58.40
- Total employment: 150 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Computer network architects

- Median annual wage: $122,280
- Median hourly wage: $58.79
- Total employment: 140 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

dokurose // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Sales managers

- Median annual wage: $122,470
- Median hourly wage: $58.88
- Total employment: 540 people (2.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Purchasing managers

- Median annual wage: $123,490
- Median hourly wage: $59.37
- Total employment: 70 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Human resources managers

- Median annual wage: $124,680
- Median hourly wage: $59.94
- Total employment: 230 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

fizkes // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Marketing managers

- Median annual wage: $125,650
- Median hourly wage: $60.41
- Total employment: 250 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Architectural and engineering managers

- Median annual wage: $128,640
- Median hourly wage: $61.85
- Total employment: 340 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Computer and information systems managers

- Median annual wage: $128,790
- Median hourly wage: $61.92
- Total employment: 850 people (3.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kanghophoto // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. Financial managers

- Median annual wage: $130,930
- Median hourly wage: $62.95
- Total employment: 850 people (3.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SpeedKingz // Shutterstock

49 / 50

#2. Managers, all other

- Median annual wage: $132,960
- Median hourly wage: $63.92
- Total employment: 490 people (2.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

50 / 50

#1. Chief executives

- Median annual wage: $186,580
- Median hourly wage: $89.70
- Total employment: 210 people (0.98 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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Highest-paying jobs in Lansing that require a bachelor's degree

#50. Occupational health and safety specialists

#49. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health

#48. Electrical engineers

#47. Social and community service managers

#46. Computer systems analysts

#45. Data scientists

#44. Registered nurses

#43. Architects, except landscape and naval

#42. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers

#41. Actuaries

#40. Database administrators

#39. Budget analysts

#38. Financial risk specialists

#36. Web developers (tie)

#36. Software developers (tie)

#35. Environmental engineers

#34. Civil engineers

#33. Project management specialists

#32. Information security analysts

#31. Network and computer systems administrators

#29. Engineers, all other (tie)

#29. Sales engineers (tie)

#28. Computer occupations, all other

#27. Database architects

#26. Mechanical engineers

#25. Industrial engineers

#24. Facilities managers

#23. Personal financial advisors

#22. Natural sciences managers

#21. Construction managers

#20. Computer hardware engineers

#19. Industrial production managers

#18. Education administrators, all other

#17. Electronics engineers, except computer

#16. Training and development managers

#15. Art directors

#14. Medical and health services managers

#13. General and operations managers

#12. Administrative services managers

#11. Public relations managers

#10. Computer network architects

#9. Sales managers

#8. Purchasing managers

#7. Human resources managers

#6. Marketing managers

#5. Architectural and engineering managers

#4. Computer and information systems managers

#3. Financial managers

#2. Managers, all other

#1. Chief executives

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