Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $76,570
- Median hourly wage: $36.81
- Total employment: 240 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Scranton 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 Scranton, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $76,690
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 300 people (1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $77,280
- Median hourly wage: $37.15
- Total employment: 190 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Flamingo Images // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Credit analysts
- Median annual wage: $77,670
- Median hourly wage: $37.34
- Total employment: 110 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $78,170
- Median hourly wage: $37.58
- Total employment: 50 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $78,280
- Median hourly wage: $37.63
- Total employment: 100 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Fundraising managers
- Median annual wage: $78,980
- Median hourly wage: $37.97
- Total employment: 50 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $79,420
- Median hourly wage: $38.19
- Total employment: 160 people (0.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Iam_Anupong // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $79,840
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 120 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $79,950
- Median hourly wage: $38.44
- Total employment: 90 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Environmental scientists and specialists, including health
- Median annual wage: $80,160
- Median hourly wage: $38.54
- Total employment: 70 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $81,450
- Median hourly wage: $39.16
- Total employment: 5,430 people (21.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $82,190
- Median hourly wage: $39.51
- Total employment: 390 people (1.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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14 / 50#37. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $83,040
- Median hourly wage: $39.92
- Total employment: 50 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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15 / 50#36. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $83,130
- Median hourly wage: $39.97
- Total employment: 50 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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16 / 50#35. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $84,260
- Median hourly wage: $40.51
- Total employment: 140 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $84,560
- Median hourly wage: $40.65
- Total employment: 180 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
18 / 50#32. Mechanical engineers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $85,570
- Median hourly wage: $41.14
- Total employment: 390 people (1.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Sales engineers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $85,570
- Median hourly wage: $41.14
- Total employment: 30 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $87,240
- Median hourly wage: $41.94
- Total employment: 70 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $88,600
- Median hourly wage: $42.60
- Total employment: 810 people (3.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $89,210
- Median hourly wage: $42.89
- Total employment: 5,910 people (23.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $89,380
- Median hourly wage: $42.97
- Total employment: 410 people (1.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 510 people (2.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,960
- Median hourly wage: $43.25
- Total employment: 390 people (1.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $90,490
- Median hourly wage: $43.50
- Total employment: 570 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $92,340
- Median hourly wage: $44.39
- Total employment: 150 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $94,220
- Median hourly wage: $45.30
- Total employment: 240 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,030
- Median hourly wage: $48.57
- Total employment: 1,050 people (4.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $101,810
- Median hourly wage: $48.95
- Total employment: 250 people (0.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $102,750
- Median hourly wage: $49.40
- Total employment: 70 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $102,940
- Median hourly wage: $49.49
- Total employment: 430 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $103,740
- Median hourly wage: $49.87
- Total employment: 50 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stokkete // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Music directors and composers
- Median annual wage: $104,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.00
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $104,570
- Median hourly wage: $50.27
- Total employment: 180 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $106,450
- Median hourly wage: $51.18
- Total employment: 580 people (2.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $106,530
- Median hourly wage: $51.22
- Total employment: 110 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $108,730
- Median hourly wage: $52.27
- Total employment: 570 people (2.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $108,740
- Median hourly wage: $52.28
- Total employment: 180 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $110,350
- Median hourly wage: $53.05
- Total employment: 60 people (0.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $110,860
- Median hourly wage: $53.30
- Total employment: 700 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $111,700
- Median hourly wage: $53.70
- Total employment: 180 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $113,950
- Median hourly wage: $54.79
- Total employment: 50 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $116,630
- Median hourly wage: $56.07
- Total employment: 210 people (0.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $119,430
- Median hourly wage: $57.42
- Total employment: 220 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $122,700
- Median hourly wage: $58.99
- Total employment: 120 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $123,280
- Median hourly wage: $59.27
- Total employment: 790 people (3.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $132,870
- Median hourly wage: $63.88
- Total employment: 370 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,380
- Median hourly wage: $70.86
- Total employment: 210 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $201,120
- Median hourly wage: $96.69
- Total employment: 320 people (1.27 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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