Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare
- Median annual wage: $48,650
- Median hourly wage: $23.39
- Total employment: 30 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Burlington, North Carolina 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 Burlington, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
- Median annual wage: $49,210
- Median hourly wage: $23.66
- Total employment: 1,830 people (26.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DGLimages // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Community and social service specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $49,240
- Median hourly wage: $23.68
- Total employment: 50 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $49,920
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 390 people (5.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $51,200
- Median hourly wage: $24.62
- Total employment: 150 people (2.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Child, family, and school social workers
- Median annual wage: $56,020
- Median hourly wage: $26.93
- Total employment: 150 people (2.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DGLimages // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school
- Median annual wage: $56,700
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Public relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $57,070
- Median hourly wage: $27.44
- Total employment: 70 people (1.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Special education teachers, middle school
- Median annual wage: $59,330
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $62,400
- Median hourly wage: $30.00
- Total employment: 60 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Fundraisers
- Median annual wage: $62,830
- Median hourly wage: $30.21
- Total employment: 50 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rido // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Human resources specialists
- Median annual wage: $63,270
- Median hourly wage: $30.42
- Total employment: 260 people (3.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GLRL // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Buyers and purchasing agents
- Median annual wage: $63,650
- Median hourly wage: $30.60
- Total employment: 160 people (2.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Mongta Studio // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $64,750
- Median hourly wage: $31.13
- Total employment: 90 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Market research analysts and marketing specialists
- Median annual wage: $65,430
- Median hourly wage: $31.46
- Total employment: 170 people (2.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $70,830
- Median hourly wage: $34.05
- Total employment: 260 people (3.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $71,300
- Median hourly wage: $34.28
- Total employment: 50 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $75,140
- Median hourly wage: $36.12
- Total employment: 60 people (0.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Accountants and auditors
- Median annual wage: $75,640
- Median hourly wage: $36.37
- Total employment: 420 people (6.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $77,010
- Median hourly wage: $37.02
- Total employment: 70 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $80,820
- Median hourly wage: $38.86
- Total employment: 240 people (3.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $81,370
- Median hourly wage: $39.12
- Total employment: 100 people (1.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $84,690
- Median hourly wage: $40.72
- Total employment: 190 people (2.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $85,960
- Median hourly wage: $41.33
- Total employment: 90 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Web and digital interface designers
- Median annual wage: $86,290
- Median hourly wage: $41.49
- Total employment: 40 people (0.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $87,110
- Median hourly wage: $41.88
- Total employment: 1,070 people (15.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 80 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $91,590
- Median hourly wage: $44.04
- Total employment: 40 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $94,050
- Median hourly wage: $45.22
- Total employment: 950 people (13.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $96,420
- Median hourly wage: $46.36
- Total employment: 80 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $96,490
- Median hourly wage: $46.39
- Total employment: 130 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $96,610
- Median hourly wage: $46.45
- Total employment: 40 people (0.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $101,020
- Median hourly wage: $48.57
- Total employment: 150 people (2.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $101,400
- Median hourly wage: $48.75
- Total employment: 60 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $101,810
- Median hourly wage: $48.95
- Total employment: 180 people (2.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $102,810
- Median hourly wage: $49.43
- Total employment: 60 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $103,470
- Median hourly wage: $49.75
- Total employment: 30 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $104,640
- Median hourly wage: $50.31
- Total employment: 40 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,250
- Median hourly wage: $50.60
- Total employment: 50 people (0.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $105,930
- Median hourly wage: $50.93
- Total employment: 250 people (3.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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41 / 50#10. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $106,420
- Median hourly wage: $51.16
- Total employment: 190 people (2.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $110,600
- Median hourly wage: $53.18
- Total employment: 220 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $114,510
- Median hourly wage: $55.06
- Total employment: 260 people (3.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $116,120
- Median hourly wage: $55.83
- Total employment: 50 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $126,240
- Median hourly wage: $60.69
- Total employment: 30 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $128,770
- Median hourly wage: $61.91
- Total employment: 180 people (2.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $130,250
- Median hourly wage: $62.62
- Total employment: 150 people (2.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $134,060
- Median hourly wage: $64.45
- Total employment: 40 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $139,230
- Median hourly wage: $66.94
- Total employment: 50 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $157,110
- Median hourly wage: $75.54
- Total employment: 180 people (2.63 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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