Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers
- Median annual wage: $93,180
- Median hourly wage: $44.80
- Total employment: 120 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Reno 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 Reno, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $93,600
- Median hourly wage: $45.00
- Total employment: 260 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Francesco Scatena // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Cartographers and photogrammetrists
- Median annual wage: $94,900
- Median hourly wage: $45.63
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $95,400
- Median hourly wage: $45.87
- Total employment: 160 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors
- Median annual wage: $95,840
- Median hourly wage: $46.08
- Total employment: 70 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Freedy // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Surveyors
- Median annual wage: $95,890
- Median hourly wage: $46.10
- Total employment: 90 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
REDPIXEL.PL // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Commercial and industrial designers
- Median annual wage: $95,930
- Median hourly wage: $46.12
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $95,950
- Median hourly wage: $46.13
- Total employment: 710 people (2.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $96,260
- Median hourly wage: $46.28
- Total employment: 1,570 people (5.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $96,670
- Median hourly wage: $46.48
- Total employment: 470 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $96,720
- Median hourly wage: $46.50
- Total employment: 80 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
H_Ko // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Materials scientists
- Median annual wage: $97,460
- Median hourly wage: $46.85
- Total employment: 40 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $98,490
- Median hourly wage: $47.35
- Total employment: 450 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $98,740
- Median hourly wage: $47.47
- Total employment: 90 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $98,760
- Median hourly wage: $47.48
- Total employment: 260 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $99,330
- Median hourly wage: $47.75
- Total employment: 660 people (2.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,750
- Median hourly wage: $47.96
- Total employment: 390 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $99,800
- Median hourly wage: $47.98
- Total employment: 370 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $100,040
- Median hourly wage: $48.09
- Total employment: 600 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
FrameStockFootages // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Special effects artists and animators
- Median annual wage: $100,060
- Median hourly wage: $48.11
- Total employment: 90 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $100,170
- Median hourly wage: $48.16
- Total employment: 850 people (3.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Csomos Attila // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Hydrologists
- Median annual wage: $100,790
- Median hourly wage: $48.46
- Total employment: 70 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $101,800
- Median hourly wage: $48.94
- Total employment: 80 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $102,320
- Median hourly wage: $49.19
- Total employment: 8,150 people (29.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $102,440
- Median hourly wage: $49.25
- Total employment: 220 people (0.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $103,620
- Median hourly wage: $49.82
- Total employment: 4,860 people (17.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $103,770
- Median hourly wage: $49.89
- Total employment: 130 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $104,650
- Median hourly wage: $50.31
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Toa55 // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Landscape architects
- Median annual wage: $105,050
- Median hourly wage: $50.51
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $106,290
- Median hourly wage: $51.10
- Total employment: 830 people (3.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Advertising and promotions managers
- Median annual wage: $108,370
- Median hourly wage: $52.10
- Total employment: Not available
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $110,410
- Median hourly wage: $53.08
- Total employment: 110 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $112,860
- Median hourly wage: $54.26
- Total employment: 1,180 people (4.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Atmospheric and space scientists
- Median annual wage: $113,320
- Median hourly wage: $54.48
- Total employment: 60 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $113,380
- Median hourly wage: $54.51
- Total employment: 190 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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dokurose // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $114,330
- Median hourly wage: $54.97
- Total employment: 960 people (3.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $116,170
- Median hourly wage: $55.85
- Total employment: 40 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $119,990
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 90 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $120,410
- Median hourly wage: $57.89
- Total employment: 530 people (1.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
40 / 50#10. Aerospace engineers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $123,350
- Median hourly wage: $59.30
- Total employment: 50 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Sales engineers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $123,350
- Median hourly wage: $59.31
- Total employment: 50 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $126,150
- Median hourly wage: $60.65
- Total employment: 720 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $126,240
- Median hourly wage: $60.69
- Total employment: 100 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $127,620
- Median hourly wage: $61.36
- Total employment: 1,440 people (5.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $129,290
- Median hourly wage: $62.16
- Total employment: 1,170 people (4.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $135,050
- Median hourly wage: $64.93
- Total employment: 150 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $140,670
- Median hourly wage: $67.63
- Total employment: Not available
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $141,440
- Median hourly wage: $68.00
- Total employment: 540 people (1.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $142,290
- Median hourly wage: $68.41
- Total employment: 110 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $159,790
- Median hourly wage: $76.82
- Total employment: 270 people (0.97 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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