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1 / 50#50. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $74,380
- Median hourly wage: $35.76
- Total employment: 60 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Duluth 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 Duluth, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $76,510
- Median hourly wage: $36.78
- Total employment: 500 people (4.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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3 / 50#48. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $76,670
- Median hourly wage: $36.86
- Total employment: 150 people (1.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $77,380
- Median hourly wage: $37.20
- Total employment: 190 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $77,490
- Median hourly wage: $37.26
- Total employment: 90 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $77,720
- Median hourly wage: $37.37
- Total employment: 110 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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7 / 50#44. Surveyors
- Median annual wage: $77,830
- Median hourly wage: $37.42
- Total employment: 70 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Median annual wage: $78,830
- Median hourly wage: $37.90
- Total employment: Not available
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $78,940
- Median hourly wage: $37.95
- Total employment: 60 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $79,190
- Median hourly wage: $38.07
- Total employment: 80 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $79,720
- Median hourly wage: $38.33
- Total employment: 40 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $80,130
- Median hourly wage: $38.52
- Total employment: 310 people (2.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $80,230
- Median hourly wage: $38.57
- Total employment: 2,690 people (21.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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14 / 50#37. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $80,390
- Median hourly wage: $38.65
- Total employment: 100 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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15 / 50#36. Therapists, all other
- Median annual wage: $81,650
- Median hourly wage: $39.25
- Total employment: 60 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $81,920
- Median hourly wage: $39.39
- Total employment: 190 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $83,270
- Median hourly wage: $40.03
- Total employment: 4,140 people (33.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
- Median annual wage: $83,310
- Median hourly wage: $40.05
- Total employment: 70 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $85,260
- Median hourly wage: $40.99
- Total employment: 150 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $85,930
- Median hourly wage: $41.31
- Total employment: 240 people (1.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $87,920
- Median hourly wage: $42.27
- Total employment: 130 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,880
- Median hourly wage: $43.21
- Total employment: 70 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,080
- Median hourly wage: $43.79
- Total employment: 160 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $92,080
- Median hourly wage: $44.27
- Total employment: 150 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $92,940
- Median hourly wage: $44.69
- Total employment: 460 people (3.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,970
- Median hourly wage: $45.18
- Total employment: 470 people (3.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Taty77 // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers
- Median annual wage: $94,080
- Median hourly wage: $45.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $95,110
- Median hourly wage: $45.72
- Total employment: 60 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,160
- Median hourly wage: $46.71
- Total employment: 240 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,600
- Median hourly wage: $46.92
- Total employment: 160 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,410
- Median hourly wage: $47.31
- Total employment: 60 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $100,530
- Median hourly wage: $48.33
- Total employment: 490 people (3.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,670
- Median hourly wage: $48.88
- Total employment: 510 people (4.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,160
- Median hourly wage: $49.12
- Total employment: 130 people (1.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $103,360
- Median hourly wage: $49.69
- Total employment: 270 people (2.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 130 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $103,480
- Median hourly wage: $49.75
- Total employment: 100 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $104,330
- Median hourly wage: $50.16
- Total employment: 40 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $104,840
- Median hourly wage: $50.40
- Total employment: 220 people (1.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $105,210
- Median hourly wage: $50.58
- Total employment: 30 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $106,910
- Median hourly wage: $51.40
- Total employment: 150 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $108,590
- Median hourly wage: $52.21
- Total employment: 240 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $113,850
- Median hourly wage: $54.73
- Total employment: 30 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $117,290
- Median hourly wage: $56.39
- Total employment: 90 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $120,640
- Median hourly wage: $58.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $126,930
- Median hourly wage: $61.02
- Total employment: 110 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,660
- Median hourly wage: $61.38
- Total employment: 450 people (3.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $129,450
- Median hourly wage: $62.24
- Total employment: 190 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $147,140
- Median hourly wage: $70.74
- Total employment: 250 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $148,820
- Median hourly wage: $71.55
- Total employment: 110 people (0.9 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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