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1 / 50#50. Meeting, convention, and event planners
- Median annual wage: $67,180
- Median hourly wage: $32.30
- Total employment: 60 people (0.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in State College 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 State College, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Cost estimators
- Median annual wage: $69,520
- Median hourly wage: $33.42
- Total employment: 120 people (1.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $70,440
- Median hourly wage: $33.87
- Total employment: 190 people (2.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $70,870
- Median hourly wage: $34.07
- Total employment: 50 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lopolo // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $71,790
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 260 people (3.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $75,510
- Median hourly wage: $36.30
- Total employment: 30 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $75,890
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 520 people (7.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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8 / 50#43. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $77,510
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 530 people (7.77 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Photographee.eu // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $77,940
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 80 people (1.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $78,430
- Median hourly wage: $37.71
- Total employment: 80 people (1.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $80,620
- Median hourly wage: $38.76
- Total employment: 1,270 people (18.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $81,490
- Median hourly wage: $39.18
- Total employment: 340 people (4.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
comzeal images // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Loan officers
- Median annual wage: $83,220
- Median hourly wage: $40.01
- Total employment: 180 people (2.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $83,940
- Median hourly wage: $40.36
- Total employment: 220 people (3.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,060
- Median hourly wage: $40.42
- Total employment: 160 people (2.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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fizkes // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $85,180
- Median hourly wage: $40.95
- Total employment: 1,430 people (20.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $85,370
- Median hourly wage: $41.04
- Total employment: 40 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $86,310
- Median hourly wage: $41.50
- Total employment: 40 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $86,450
- Median hourly wage: $41.56
- Total employment: 110 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $87,040
- Median hourly wage: $41.84
- Total employment: 40 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $87,100
- Median hourly wage: $41.88
- Total employment: 790 people (11.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DGLimages // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Community and social service specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $87,960
- Median hourly wage: $42.29
- Total employment: 170 people (2.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $88,050
- Median hourly wage: $42.33
- Total employment: 350 people (5.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,000
- Median hourly wage: $42.79
- Total employment: 150 people (2.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $89,420
- Median hourly wage: $42.99
- Total employment: 190 people (2.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $92,130
- Median hourly wage: $44.29
- Total employment: 200 people (2.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $94,080
- Median hourly wage: $45.23
- Total employment: 40 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $94,480
- Median hourly wage: $45.42
- Total employment: 120 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,040
- Median hourly wage: $46.17
- Total employment: 110 people (1.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $97,120
- Median hourly wage: $46.69
- Total employment: 60 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $98,400
- Median hourly wage: $47.31
- Total employment: 130 people (1.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $99,490
- Median hourly wage: $47.83
- Total employment: 90 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $100,050
- Median hourly wage: $48.10
- Total employment: 70 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $101,620
- Median hourly wage: $48.86
- Total employment: 370 people (5.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $102,050
- Median hourly wage: $49.06
- Total employment: 60 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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36 / 50#15. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $102,100
- Median hourly wage: $49.09
- Total employment: 240 people (3.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $103,380
- Median hourly wage: $49.70
- Total employment: 370 people (5.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Toa55 // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Landscape architects
- Median annual wage: $106,080
- Median hourly wage: $51.00
- Total employment: 30 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $108,050
- Median hourly wage: $51.95
- Total employment: 150 people (2.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $108,490
- Median hourly wage: $52.16
- Total employment: 200 people (2.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $111,210
- Median hourly wage: $53.47
- Total employment: 250 people (3.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $112,560
- Median hourly wage: $54.12
- Total employment: 110 people (1.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $114,280
- Median hourly wage: $54.94
- Total employment: 90 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $117,000
- Median hourly wage: $56.25
- Total employment: 300 people (4.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $122,670
- Median hourly wage: $58.98
- Total employment: 40 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $137,730
- Median hourly wage: $66.22
- Total employment: 70 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $138,450
- Median hourly wage: $66.56
- Total employment: 160 people (2.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,480
- Median hourly wage: $70.90
- Total employment: 130 people (1.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $172,160
- Median hourly wage: $82.77
- Total employment: 90 people (1.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $181,570
- Median hourly wage: $87.29
- Total employment: 350 people (5.14 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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