GLRL // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $69,470
- Median hourly wage: $33.40
- Total employment: 120 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Las Cruces 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 Las Cruces, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $69,910
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 150 people (1.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $69,950
- Median hourly wage: $33.63
- Total employment: 80 people (1.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $70,010
- Median hourly wage: $33.66
- Total employment: 50 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Patrizio Martorana // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $70,260
- Median hourly wage: $33.78
- Total employment: 50 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $70,630
- Median hourly wage: $33.96
- Total employment: 110 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $70,740
- Median hourly wage: $34.01
- Total employment: 30 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $71,160
- Median hourly wage: $34.21
- Total employment: 60 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $73,900
- Median hourly wage: $35.53
- Total employment: 270 people (3.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $73,970
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 640 people (8.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $74,760
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 1,260 people (16.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
sabthai // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $74,990
- Median hourly wage: $36.05
- Total employment: 50 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $75,210
- Median hourly wage: $36.16
- Total employment: 200 people (2.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $76,470
- Median hourly wage: $36.76
- Total employment: 40 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $77,050
- Median hourly wage: $37.04
- Total employment: 250 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $77,190
- Median hourly wage: $37.11
- Total employment: 660 people (8.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $79,220
- Median hourly wage: $38.09
- Total employment: 30 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $79,610
- Median hourly wage: $38.28
- Total employment: 130 people (1.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lopolo // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $79,750
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 410 people (5.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $80,450
- Median hourly wage: $38.68
- Total employment: 60 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $80,520
- Median hourly wage: $38.71
- Total employment: 1,320 people (16.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $82,560
- Median hourly wage: $39.69
- Total employment: 100 people (1.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $82,810
- Median hourly wage: $39.81
- Total employment: 50 people (0.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $83,680
- Median hourly wage: $40.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $86,780
- Median hourly wage: $41.72
- Total employment: 1,230 people (15.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $89,130
- Median hourly wage: $42.85
- Total employment: 50 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Biological scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,460
- Median hourly wage: $43.01
- Total employment: 30 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $89,990
- Median hourly wage: $43.26
- Total employment: 150 people (1.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $90,540
- Median hourly wage: $43.53
- Total employment: 170 people (2.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $92,160
- Median hourly wage: $44.31
- Total employment: 90 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $92,290
- Median hourly wage: $44.37
- Total employment: 180 people (2.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $97,900
- Median hourly wage: $47.07
- Total employment: 320 people (4.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $99,140
- Median hourly wage: $47.67
- Total employment: 240 people (3.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $99,990
- Median hourly wage: $48.07
- Total employment: 30 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $101,960
- Median hourly wage: $49.02
- Total employment: 50 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $102,200
- Median hourly wage: $49.14
- Total employment: 40 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $104,030
- Median hourly wage: $50.02
- Total employment: 30 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $104,990
- Median hourly wage: $50.48
- Total employment: 90 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $105,350
- Median hourly wage: $50.65
- Total employment: 130 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $107,720
- Median hourly wage: $51.79
- Total employment: 240 people (3.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,090
- Median hourly wage: $53.41
- Total employment: 90 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $112,670
- Median hourly wage: $54.17
- Total employment: 120 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $113,660
- Median hourly wage: $54.65
- Total employment: 140 people (1.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $117,000
- Median hourly wage: $56.25
- Total employment: 230 people (2.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $119,000
- Median hourly wage: $57.21
- Total employment: 70 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $120,640
- Median hourly wage: $58.00
- Total employment: 320 people (4.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $127,420
- Median hourly wage: $61.26
- Total employment: 70 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $127,980
- Median hourly wage: $61.53
- Total employment: 80 people (1.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
aappp // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Aerospace engineers
- Median annual wage: $133,020
- Median hourly wage: $63.95
- Total employment: Not available
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $170,740
- Median hourly wage: $82.09
- Total employment: 40 people (0.46 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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