Highest-paying jobs in Minneapolis that don't require a college degree

Gen Z has figured out that college isn't the only way to land a high-paying job. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 2 in 5 (38.6%) of recent high school graduates opted out of college in 2023, up from 33.8% in 2019.

This shift comes at a good time for high school grads, as companies face labor shortages for many jobs that don't require a college degree. Baby boomers retiring and a trend to reopen factories in the United States have both driven demand for young talent. A July 2024 Intelligent report found that 1 in 3 companies have already dropped bachelor's degree requirements across entry-level, mid-tier, and even senior positions to attract more employees.

The need for skilled workers, regardless of educational attainment, means better pay. Median wages for those with a high school degree are at their highest since 1990, according to the New York Federal Reserve.

At $40,000 on average, these wages are still $20,000 lower than those of a college grad. Yet nearly 1 in 5 workers who opt out of college earn more than employees with bachelor's degrees. Two million high school grads across the U.S. make six-figure annual salaries—without the financial burden of attending a four-year university. As of 2025, the average annual cost of college is more than $38,200 per student, and the average college graduate has more than $39,000 in student debt. It's little wonder that, according to a May 2024 survey from Pew Research, 29% of Americans think attending college is not worthwhile.

However, not every career field pays high school grads equally well, and understanding what the good jobs are is the first step to landing one. Stacker ranked the 50 highest-paying jobs that don't require a college degree in Minneapolis using annual compensation data from the BLS. The analysis included jobs that listed a high school diploma, a postsecondary nondegree award, or had no formal education requirements for entry-level positions. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.

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branislavpudar // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Hazardous materials removal workers

- Median annual wage: $76,950
- Median hourly wage: $37.00
- Total employment: 330 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Peter Braakmann // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers

- Median annual wage: $77,010
- Median hourly wage: $37.02
- Total employment: 120 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

welcomia // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines

- Median annual wage: $77,580
- Median hourly wage: $37.30
- Total employment: 1,660 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Stock Rocket // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

- Median annual wage: $77,700
- Median hourly wage: $37.36
- Total employment: 21,410 people (11.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

- Median annual wage: $78,320
- Median hourly wage: $37.66
- Total employment: 3,930 people (2.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

- Median annual wage: $78,780
- Median hourly wage: $37.88
- Total employment: 1,120 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Akarawut // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#42. Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $78,960
- Median hourly wage: $37.96
- Total employment: 140 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Syda Productions // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#42. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants (tie)

- Median annual wage: $78,960
- Median hourly wage: $37.96
- Total employment: 5,960 people (3.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BearFotos // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other (tie)

- Median annual wage: $78,960
- Median hourly wage: $37.96
- Total employment: 150 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

brizmaker // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Roofers

- Median annual wage: $79,040
- Median hourly wage: $38.00
- Total employment: 1,330 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

- Median annual wage: $79,230
- Median hourly wage: $38.09
- Total employment: 8,680 people (4.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Josep Suria // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $79,550
- Median hourly wage: $38.25
- Total employment: 420 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman Zaiets // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment

- Median annual wage: $79,640
- Median hourly wage: $38.29
- Total employment: 820 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kzenon // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining

- Median annual wage: $79,830
- Median hourly wage: $38.38
- Total employment: 390 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

g-stockstudio // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

- Median annual wage: $80,110
- Median hourly wage: $38.52
- Total employment: 1,920 people (1.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GolF2532 // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Security and fire alarm systems installers

- Median annual wage: $80,610
- Median hourly wage: $38.76
- Total employment: 510 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gerain0812 // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Surgical technologists

- Median annual wage: $80,900
- Median hourly wage: $38.89
- Total employment: 1,000 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rezoff // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Plant and system operators, all other

- Median annual wage: $81,140
- Median hourly wage: $39.01
- Total employment: 80 people (0.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

funnyangel // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Fire inspectors and investigators

- Median annual wage: $81,200
- Median hourly wage: $39.04
- Total employment: 130 people (0.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Irene Miller // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

- Median annual wage: $81,770
- Median hourly wage: $39.31
- Total employment: 4,060 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#30. Insurance sales agents

- Median annual wage: $81,890
- Median hourly wage: $39.37
- Total employment: 6,610 people (3.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorgev // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. First-line supervisors of security workers

- Median annual wage: $83,150
- Median hourly wage: $39.98
- Total employment: 890 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

- Median annual wage: $83,340
- Median hourly wage: $40.07
- Total employment: 620 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Prath // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Detectives and criminal investigators

- Median annual wage: $84,340
- Median hourly wage: $40.55
- Total employment: 1,140 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

michaeljung // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Power plant operators

- Median annual wage: $84,520
- Median hourly wage: $40.64
- Total employment: 320 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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santi lumubol // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

- Median annual wage: $86,640
- Median hourly wage: $41.66
- Total employment: 2,000 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kirill Lasis // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Tapers

- Median annual wage: $86,990
- Median hourly wage: $41.82
- Total employment: 190 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kmpzzz // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Construction and building inspectors

- Median annual wage: $88,100
- Median hourly wage: $42.36
- Total employment: 870 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

muratart // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Pipelayers

- Median annual wage: $88,910
- Median hourly wage: $42.75
- Total employment: Not available

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30 / 50

#21. Brickmasons and blockmasons

- Median annual wage: $89,590
- Median hourly wage: $43.07
- Total employment: 800 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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4 PM production // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers

- Median annual wage: $90,480
- Median hourly wage: $43.50
- Total employment: 5,480 people (2.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Postmasters and mail superintendents

- Median annual wage: $91,310
- Median hourly wage: $43.90
- Total employment: 110 people (0.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

N_Sakarin // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Structural iron and steel workers

- Median annual wage: $94,200
- Median hourly wage: $45.29
- Total employment: 720 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Etaphop photo // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Electricians

- Median annual wage: $95,090
- Median hourly wage: $45.71
- Total employment: 8,110 people (4.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rebekah Zemansky // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. First-line supervisors of correctional officers

- Median annual wage: $95,350
- Median hourly wage: $45.84
- Total employment: 390 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Christian Lagerek // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Gas plant operators

- Median annual wage: $95,370
- Median hourly wage: $45.85
- Total employment: 40 people (0.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

pio3 // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Police and sheriff's patrol officers

- Median annual wage: $95,920
- Median hourly wage: $46.12
- Total employment: 5,300 people (2.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nagy-Bagoly Arpad // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Insulation workers, mechanical

- Median annual wage: $96,650
- Median hourly wage: $46.46
- Total employment: 210 people (0.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

- Median annual wage: $97,020
- Median hourly wage: $46.65
- Total employment: 5,070 people (2.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Oil and Gas Photographer // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

- Median annual wage: $98,720
- Median hourly wage: $47.46
- Total employment: 510 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sculpies // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

- Median annual wage: $101,290
- Median hourly wage: $48.70
- Total employment: 7,470 people (3.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

prochasson frederic // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Boilermakers

- Median annual wage: $102,740
- Median hourly wage: $49.39
- Total employment: Not available

goodluz // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers

- Median annual wage: $106,500
- Median hourly wage: $51.20
- Total employment: 2,820 people (1.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

- Median annual wage: $108,040
- Median hourly wage: $51.94
- Total employment: 2,580 people (1.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $109,590
- Median hourly wage: $52.69
- Total employment: 800 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Yulai Studio // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Surgical assistants

- Median annual wage: $116,140
- Median hourly wage: $55.84
- Total employment: 100 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Suwin // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay

- Median annual wage: $117,520
- Median hourly wage: $56.50
- Total employment: 60 people (0.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Lovely Bird // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. Power distributors and dispatchers

- Median annual wage: $123,890
- Median hourly wage: $59.56
- Total employment: 100 people (0.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

49 / 50

#2. Elevator and escalator installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $124,740
- Median hourly wage: $59.97
- Total employment: 350 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Skycolors // Shutterstock

50 / 50

#1. Commercial pilots

- Median annual wage: $130,560
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 1,160 people (0.6 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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