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1 / 50#50. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $79,120
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 550 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Lancaster 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 Lancaster, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $79,220
- Median hourly wage: $38.09
- Total employment: 260 people (1.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Flamingo Images // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Credit analysts
- Median annual wage: $80,100
- Median hourly wage: $38.51
- Total employment: 90 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Natee K Jindakum // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Financial examiners
- Median annual wage: $80,560
- Median hourly wage: $38.73
- Total employment: 40 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Biological scientists, all other
- Median annual wage: $80,990
- Median hourly wage: $38.94
- Total employment: 30 people (0.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $83,180
- Median hourly wage: $39.99
- Total employment: 5,120 people (20.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $84,970
- Median hourly wage: $40.85
- Total employment: 520 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $85,260
- Median hourly wage: $40.99
- Total employment: 240 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $85,420
- Median hourly wage: $41.07
- Total employment: 110 people (0.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,350
- Median hourly wage: $42.00
- Total employment: 280 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $87,470
- Median hourly wage: $42.05
- Total employment: 200 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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12 / 50#39. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,620
- Median hourly wage: $42.13
- Total employment: 240 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $88,060
- Median hourly wage: $42.34
- Total employment: 50 people (0.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $88,790
- Median hourly wage: $42.69
- Total employment: 440 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $91,400
- Median hourly wage: $43.94
- Total employment: 400 people (1.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $91,690
- Median hourly wage: $44.08
- Total employment: 160 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $92,050
- Median hourly wage: $44.25
- Total employment: 60 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $92,190
- Median hourly wage: $44.32
- Total employment: 1,380 people (5.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $92,630
- Median hourly wage: $44.53
- Total employment: 250 people (1.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $93,380
- Median hourly wage: $44.90
- Total employment: 90 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $94,130
- Median hourly wage: $45.26
- Total employment: 6,650 people (26.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
science photo // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Food scientists and technologists
- Median annual wage: $95,110
- Median hourly wage: $45.73
- Total employment: 30 people (0.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $95,220
- Median hourly wage: $45.78
- Total employment: 500 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $96,580
- Median hourly wage: $46.43
- Total employment: 100 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $98,040
- Median hourly wage: $47.13
- Total employment: 150 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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THICHA SATAPITANON // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Financial risk specialists
- Median annual wage: $99,740
- Median hourly wage: $47.95
- Total employment: 40 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $100,160
- Median hourly wage: $48.15
- Total employment: 190 people (0.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $100,760
- Median hourly wage: $48.44
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $100,910
- Median hourly wage: $48.51
- Total employment: 40 people (0.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $100,920
- Median hourly wage: $48.52
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $101,000
- Median hourly wage: $48.56
- Total employment: 350 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $101,390
- Median hourly wage: $48.74
- Total employment: 130 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,170
- Median hourly wage: $49.12
- Total employment: 530 people (2.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $103,180
- Median hourly wage: $49.61
- Total employment: 990 people (3.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $103,530
- Median hourly wage: $49.78
- Total employment: 660 people (2.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $104,560
- Median hourly wage: $50.27
- Total employment: 70 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $106,330
- Median hourly wage: $51.12
- Total employment: 300 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $107,100
- Median hourly wage: $51.49
- Total employment: 550 people (2.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $107,390
- Median hourly wage: $51.63
- Total employment: 90 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $109,230
- Median hourly wage: $52.51
- Total employment: Not available
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41 / 50#10. Advertising and promotions managers
- Median annual wage: $109,660
- Median hourly wage: $52.72
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $110,710
- Median hourly wage: $53.23
- Total employment: 110 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $121,400
- Median hourly wage: $58.36
- Total employment: 250 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $121,610
- Median hourly wage: $58.47
- Total employment: 350 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $125,240
- Median hourly wage: $60.21
- Total employment: 790 people (3.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $130,100
- Median hourly wage: $62.55
- Total employment: 1,060 people (4.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $133,490
- Median hourly wage: $64.18
- Total employment: 40 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $136,740
- Median hourly wage: $65.74
- Total employment: 250 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $137,080
- Median hourly wage: $65.90
- Total employment: 450 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $206,840
- Median hourly wage: $99.44
- Total employment: 320 people (1.3 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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