Kzenon // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Training and development specialists
- Median annual wage: $71,240
- Median hourly wage: $34.25
- Total employment: 260 people (2.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Rido // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $72,250
- Median hourly wage: $34.74
- Total employment: 500 people (4.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
- Median annual wage: $73,780
- Median hourly wage: $35.47
- Total employment: 60 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $73,960
- Median hourly wage: $35.56
- Total employment: 120 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $74,850
- Median hourly wage: $35.99
- Total employment: 180 people (1.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents
- Median annual wage: $74,900
- Median hourly wage: $36.01
- Total employment: 240 people (2.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $75,660
- Median hourly wage: $36.38
- Total employment: 860 people (8.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Median annual wage: $75,820
- Median hourly wage: $36.45
- Total employment: 60 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $76,210
- Median hourly wage: $36.64
- Total employment: 40 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Interpreters and translators
- Median annual wage: $76,500
- Median hourly wage: $36.78
- Total employment: 70 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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AlesiaKan // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Health education specialists
- Median annual wage: $76,600
- Median hourly wage: $36.83
- Total employment: 70 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Property appraisers and assessors
- Median annual wage: $76,940
- Median hourly wage: $36.99
- Total employment: 40 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Dietitians and nutritionists
- Median annual wage: $78,760
- Median hourly wage: $37.86
- Total employment: 60 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $81,210
- Median hourly wage: $39.04
- Total employment: 210 people (2.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $82,290
- Median hourly wage: $39.56
- Total employment: 120 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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comzeal images // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $85,030
- Median hourly wage: $40.88
- Total employment: 280 people (2.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $85,100
- Median hourly wage: $40.91
- Total employment: 320 people (3.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
18 / 50#32. Financial and investment analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $85,450
- Median hourly wage: $41.08
- Total employment: 130 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health (tie)
- Median annual wage: $85,450
- Median hourly wage: $41.08
- Total employment: 40 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,060
- Median hourly wage: $41.86
- Total employment: 290 people (2.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $87,210
- Median hourly wage: $41.93
- Total employment: 290 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $87,320
- Median hourly wage: $41.98
- Total employment: 2,300 people (22.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $88,020
- Median hourly wage: $42.32
- Total employment: 30 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $88,590
- Median hourly wage: $42.59
- Total employment: 140 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,040
- Median hourly wage: $42.81
- Total employment: 110 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $89,050
- Median hourly wage: $42.81
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $89,690
- Median hourly wage: $43.12
- Total employment: 390 people (3.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $90,590
- Median hourly wage: $43.56
- Total employment: 50 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $91,000
- Median hourly wage: $43.75
- Total employment: 120 people (1.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $91,950
- Median hourly wage: $44.21
- Total employment: 210 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $91,990
- Median hourly wage: $44.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $93,190
- Median hourly wage: $44.80
- Total employment: 40 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Median annual wage: $93,640
- Median hourly wage: $45.02
- Total employment: 70 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,700
- Median hourly wage: $46.01
- Total employment: 80 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,660
- Median hourly wage: $47.43
- Total employment: 90 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $100,100
- Median hourly wage: $48.12
- Total employment: 210 people (2.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $100,110
- Median hourly wage: $48.13
- Total employment: 380 people (3.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $102,850
- Median hourly wage: $49.45
- Total employment: 80 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $103,890
- Median hourly wage: $49.95
- Total employment: 2,940 people (28.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $108,870
- Median hourly wage: $52.34
- Total employment: 260 people (2.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $116,290
- Median hourly wage: $55.91
- Total employment: 380 people (3.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $119,540
- Median hourly wage: $57.47
- Total employment: 100 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $126,350
- Median hourly wage: $60.74
- Total employment: 330 people (3.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $131,940
- Median hourly wage: $63.43
- Total employment: 150 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $134,080
- Median hourly wage: $64.46
- Total employment: 110 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $135,270
- Median hourly wage: $65.03
- Total employment: 480 people (4.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $135,760
- Median hourly wage: $65.27
- Total employment: 90 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $137,420
- Median hourly wage: $66.07
- Total employment: 180 people (1.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $149,140
- Median hourly wage: $71.70
- Total employment: 50 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $194,060
- Median hourly wage: $93.30
- Total employment: 190 people (1.84 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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