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1 / 50#50. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Median annual wage: $75,610
- Median hourly wage: $36.35
- Total employment: 60 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Binghamton 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 Binghamton, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $76,480
- Median hourly wage: $36.77
- Total employment: 210 people (2.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
- Median annual wage: $76,590
- Median hourly wage: $36.82
- Total employment: 60 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $77,060
- Median hourly wage: $37.05
- Total employment: 150 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $78,860
- Median hourly wage: $37.91
- Total employment: 50 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Editors
- Median annual wage: $78,900
- Median hourly wage: $37.93
- Total employment: 40 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $79,100
- Median hourly wage: $38.03
- Total employment: 620 people (6.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $79,650
- Median hourly wage: $38.30
- Total employment: 420 people (4.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $80,440
- Median hourly wage: $38.68
- Total employment: 60 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
anyaivanova // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $80,470
- Median hourly wage: $38.69
- Total employment: 150 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $81,000
- Median hourly wage: $38.94
- Total employment: 270 people (2.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $83,610
- Median hourly wage: $40.20
- Total employment: 220 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $84,820
- Median hourly wage: $40.78
- Total employment: 40 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $88,110
- Median hourly wage: $42.36
- Total employment: 60 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $88,520
- Median hourly wage: $42.56
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $89,380
- Median hourly wage: $42.97
- Total employment: 120 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,610
- Median hourly wage: $43.08
- Total employment: 140 people (1.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $90,570
- Median hourly wage: $43.55
- Total employment: 260 people (2.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,570
- Median hourly wage: $44.51
- Total employment: 130 people (1.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $92,940
- Median hourly wage: $44.68
- Total employment: 1,800 people (18.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $92,990
- Median hourly wage: $44.71
- Total employment: 190 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $95,030
- Median hourly wage: $45.69
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,630
- Median hourly wage: $46.46
- Total employment: 290 people (3.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $97,210
- Median hourly wage: $46.74
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $98,420
- Median hourly wage: $47.32
- Total employment: 2,540 people (26.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $102,070
- Median hourly wage: $49.07
- Total employment: 120 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,340
- Median hourly wage: $49.20
- Total employment: 120 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $103,340
- Median hourly wage: $49.68
- Total employment: 80 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $105,430
- Median hourly wage: $50.69
- Total employment: 50 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $105,780
- Median hourly wage: $50.86
- Total employment: 560 people (5.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $107,940
- Median hourly wage: $51.89
- Total employment: 120 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $108,360
- Median hourly wage: $52.10
- Total employment: 60 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $117,620
- Median hourly wage: $56.55
- Total employment: 110 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $120,440
- Median hourly wage: $57.91
- Total employment: 290 people (3.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $122,360
- Median hourly wage: $58.83
- Total employment: 110 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $129,600
- Median hourly wage: $62.31
- Total employment: 1,130 people (11.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $132,950
- Median hourly wage: $63.92
- Total employment: 200 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $136,760
- Median hourly wage: $65.75
- Total employment: 120 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $137,310
- Median hourly wage: $66.01
- Total employment: 60 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $137,590
- Median hourly wage: $66.15
- Total employment: 70 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $138,450
- Median hourly wage: $66.56
- Total employment: 30 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $140,630
- Median hourly wage: $67.61
- Total employment: 260 people (2.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $143,420
- Median hourly wage: $68.95
- Total employment: Not available
fizkes // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $147,880
- Median hourly wage: $71.09
- Total employment: 120 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $151,370
- Median hourly wage: $72.77
- Total employment: 60 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $160,970
- Median hourly wage: $77.39
- Total employment: 30 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $164,230
- Median hourly wage: $78.96
- Total employment: 110 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $171,190
- Median hourly wage: $82.30
- Total employment: 190 people (1.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $171,880
- Median hourly wage: $82.64
- Total employment: 210 people (2.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $172,530
- Median hourly wage: $82.95
- Total employment: 150 people (1.54 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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