sabthai // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Budget analysts
- Median annual wage: $82,220
- Median hourly wage: $39.53
- Total employment: 100 people (0.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Columbia 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 Columbia, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $82,610
- Median hourly wage: $39.72
- Total employment: 3,120 people (8.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $84,390
- Median hourly wage: $40.57
- Total employment: 520 people (1.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Social scientists and related workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $84,640
- Median hourly wage: $40.69
- Total employment: 90 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $85,580
- Median hourly wage: $41.14
- Total employment: 2,120 people (5.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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6 / 50#45. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $86,600
- Median hourly wage: $41.64
- Total employment: 880 people (2.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,880
- Median hourly wage: $42.25
- Total employment: 1,950 people (5.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $88,050
- Median hourly wage: $42.33
- Total employment: 210 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $88,770
- Median hourly wage: $42.68
- Total employment: 1,160 people (3.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $90,780
- Median hourly wage: $43.64
- Total employment: 520 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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11 / 50#40. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $91,920
- Median hourly wage: $44.19
- Total employment: 200 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Electronics engineers, except computer
- Median annual wage: $91,960
- Median hourly wage: $44.21
- Total employment: 80 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $93,070
- Median hourly wage: $44.75
- Total employment: 130 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $93,270
- Median hourly wage: $44.84
- Total employment: 230 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $93,720
- Median hourly wage: $45.06
- Total employment: 820 people (2.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Rido // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Social workers, all other
- Median annual wage: $94,720
- Median hourly wage: $45.54
- Total employment: 180 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,070
- Median hourly wage: $46.19
- Total employment: 1,340 people (3.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Education administrators, all other
- Median annual wage: $96,740
- Median hourly wage: $46.51
- Total employment: 130 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $97,300
- Median hourly wage: $46.78
- Total employment: 6,650 people (17.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $97,580
- Median hourly wage: $46.91
- Total employment: 410 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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21 / 50#30. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $100,330
- Median hourly wage: $48.24
- Total employment: 410 people (1.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,350
- Median hourly wage: $48.73
- Total employment: 360 people (0.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SeventyFour // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Computer hardware engineers
- Median annual wage: $101,780
- Median hourly wage: $48.93
- Total employment: 30 people (0.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $101,990
- Median hourly wage: $49.03
- Total employment: 660 people (1.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $102,850
- Median hourly wage: $49.45
- Total employment: 550 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Training and development managers
- Median annual wage: $103,050
- Median hourly wage: $49.54
- Total employment: 150 people (0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
TaLaNoVa // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Sales engineers
- Median annual wage: $103,220
- Median hourly wage: $49.63
- Total employment: 120 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $103,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.71
- Total employment: 2,270 people (5.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Actuaries
- Median annual wage: $104,720
- Median hourly wage: $50.35
- Total employment: 40 people (0.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $104,990
- Median hourly wage: $50.48
- Total employment: 430 people (1.12 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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31 / 50#20. Chemical engineers
- Median annual wage: $105,870
- Median hourly wage: $50.90
- Total employment: 90 people (0.23 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Purchasing managers
- Median annual wage: $106,340
- Median hourly wage: $51.13
- Total employment: 130 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $113,390
- Median hourly wage: $54.51
- Total employment: 1,930 people (5.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,190
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Computer network architects
- Median annual wage: $117,690
- Median hourly wage: $56.58
- Total employment: 260 people (0.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dmitry Lobanov // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Nuclear engineers
- Median annual wage: $117,840
- Median hourly wage: $56.65
- Total employment: 80 people (0.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Database architects
- Median annual wage: $121,880
- Median hourly wage: $58.60
- Total employment: 150 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Computer programmers
- Median annual wage: $122,030
- Median hourly wage: $58.67
- Total employment: 180 people (0.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $122,340
- Median hourly wage: $58.82
- Total employment: 500 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $123,210
- Median hourly wage: $59.24
- Total employment: 1,190 people (3.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $124,380
- Median hourly wage: $59.80
- Total employment: 140 people (0.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Web developers
- Median annual wage: $126,380
- Median hourly wage: $60.76
- Total employment: 300 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $127,520
- Median hourly wage: $61.31
- Total employment: 480 people (1.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
creativemarc // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $128,070
- Median hourly wage: $61.57
- Total employment: Not available
Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $128,730
- Median hourly wage: $61.89
- Total employment: 800 people (2.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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VE.Studio // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $132,600
- Median hourly wage: $63.75
- Total employment: 90 people (0.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PanuShot // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Advertising and promotions managers
- Median annual wage: $135,590
- Median hourly wage: $65.19
- Total employment: 60 people (0.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $137,880
- Median hourly wage: $66.29
- Total employment: 930 people (2.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $147,060
- Median hourly wage: $70.70
- Total employment: 340 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Chief executives
- Median annual wage: $185,390
- Median hourly wage: $89.13
- Total employment: 540 people (1.4 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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