Pakorn Khantiyaporn // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Logisticians
- Median annual wage: $79,790
- Median hourly wage: $38.36
- Total employment: 590 people (3.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in York 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 York, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $79,870
- Median hourly wage: $38.40
- Total employment: 70 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
industryviews // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Career/technical education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $80,390
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 140 people (0.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Photographee.eu // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $80,650
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 300 people (1.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
luchschenF // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Chemists
- Median annual wage: $81,490
- Median hourly wage: $39.18
- Total employment: 120 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Information security analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,070
- Median hourly wage: $40.42
- Total employment: 50 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $85,440
- Median hourly wage: $41.08
- Total employment: 430 people (2.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $85,800
- Median hourly wage: $41.25
- Total employment: 3,700 people (20.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
AlesiaKan // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Health education specialists
- Median annual wage: $86,420
- Median hourly wage: $41.55
- Total employment: 50 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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10 / 50#41. Materials engineers
- Median annual wage: $86,530
- Median hourly wage: $41.60
- Total employment: 50 people (0.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
11 / 50#39. Computer systems analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $87,480
- Median hourly wage: $42.06
- Total employment: 220 people (1.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Mechanical engineers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $87,480
- Median hourly wage: $42.06
- Total employment: 680 people (3.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $87,490
- Median hourly wage: $42.06
- Total employment: 500 people (2.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $88,010
- Median hourly wage: $42.31
- Total employment: 30 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
boonchoke // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Business operations specialists, all other
- Median annual wage: $88,920
- Median hourly wage: $42.75
- Total employment: 810 people (4.44 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: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 90 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $90,760
- Median hourly wage: $43.64
- Total employment: 170 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
kittirat roekburi // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Environmental engineers
- Median annual wage: $91,250
- Median hourly wage: $43.87
- Total employment: 40 people (0.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,720
- Median hourly wage: $45.06
- Total employment: 100 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $93,770
- Median hourly wage: $45.08
- Total employment: 130 people (0.7 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $93,780
- Median hourly wage: $45.09
- Total employment: 90 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $96,880
- Median hourly wage: $46.58
- Total employment: 70 people (0.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $96,940
- Median hourly wage: $46.61
- Total employment: 4,550 people (24.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $97,260
- Median hourly wage: $46.76
- Total employment: 80 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $98,650
- Median hourly wage: $47.43
- Total employment: 50 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $99,200
- Median hourly wage: $47.69
- Total employment: 160 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $99,310
- Median hourly wage: $47.74
- Total employment: 1,140 people (6.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $99,580
- Median hourly wage: $47.88
- Total employment: 330 people (1.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Toa55 // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Landscape architects
- Median annual wage: $100,780
- Median hourly wage: $48.45
- Total employment: Not available
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,080
- Median hourly wage: $48.59
- Total employment: 650 people (3.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $101,980
- Median hourly wage: $49.03
- Total employment: 110 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $103,310
- Median hourly wage: $49.67
- Total employment: 480 people (2.62 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,330
- Median hourly wage: $49.68
- Total employment: 320 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
34 / 50#16. Management analysts (tie)
- Median annual wage: $105,810
- Median hourly wage: $50.87
- Total employment: 420 people (2.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Financial specialists, all other (tie)
- Median annual wage: $105,810
- Median hourly wage: $50.87
- Total employment: 100 people (0.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $106,530
- Median hourly wage: $51.22
- Total employment: 440 people (2.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PR Image Factory // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Operations research analysts
- Median annual wage: $108,430
- Median hourly wage: $52.13
- Total employment: 30 people (0.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $119,300
- Median hourly wage: $57.36
- Total employment: 40 people (0.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $119,820
- Median hourly wage: $57.60
- Total employment: 560 people (3.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $121,850
- Median hourly wage: $58.58
- Total employment: 520 people (2.85 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $122,510
- Median hourly wage: $58.90
- Total employment: 30 people (0.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $123,650
- Median hourly wage: $59.45
- Total employment: 250 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $124,670
- Median hourly wage: $59.94
- Total employment: 110 people (0.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $128,000
- Median hourly wage: $61.54
- Total employment: 180 people (0.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $129,090
- Median hourly wage: $62.06
- Total employment: 190 people (1.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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46 / 50#5. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $129,750
- Median hourly wage: $62.38
- Total employment: 590 people (3.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $134,310
- Median hourly wage: $64.57
- Total employment: 640 people (3.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $136,870
- Median hourly wage: $65.80
- Total employment: 330 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $140,080
- Median hourly wage: $67.35
- Total employment: 320 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $206,380
- Median hourly wage: $99.22
- Total employment: 240 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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