Syda Productions // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Dental assistants
- Median annual wage: $42,830
- Median hourly wage: $20.59
- Total employment: 120 people (2.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Cleveland, Tennessee that don't require a college degree
Gen Z has figured out that college isn't the only way to land a high-paying job. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 2 in 5 (38.6%) of recent high school graduates opted out of college in 2023, up from 33.8% in 2019.
This shift comes at a good time for high school grads, as companies face labor shortages for many jobs that don't require a college degree. Baby boomers retiring and a trend to reopen factories in the United States have both driven demand for young talent. A July 2024 Intelligent report found that 1 in 3 companies have already dropped bachelor's degree requirements across entry-level, mid-tier, and even senior positions to attract more employees.
The need for skilled workers, regardless of educational attainment, means better pay. Median wages for those with a high school degree are at their highest since 1990, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
At $40,000 on average, these wages are still $20,000 lower than those of a college grad. Yet nearly 1 in 5 workers who opt out of college earn more than employees with bachelor's degrees. Two million high school grads across the U.S. make six-figure annual salaries—without the financial burden of attending a four-year university. As of 2025, the average annual cost of college is more than $38,200 per student, and the average college graduate has more than $39,000 in student debt. It's little wonder that, according to a May 2024 survey from Pew Research, 29% of Americans think attending college is not worthwhile.
However, not every career field pays high school grads equally well, and understanding what the good jobs are is the first step to landing one. Stacker ranked the 50 highest-paying jobs that don't require a college degree in Cleveland using annual compensation data from the BLS. The analysis included jobs that listed a high school diploma, a postsecondary nondegree award, or had no formal education requirements for entry-level positions. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.
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Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks
- Median annual wage: $43,050
- Median hourly wage: $20.70
- Total employment: 450 people (10.02 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lucky Business // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
- Median annual wage: $43,320
- Median hourly wage: $20.83
- Total employment: 80 people (1.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Glenn Highcove // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Industrial truck and tractor operators
- Median annual wage: $43,820
- Median hourly wage: $21.07
- Total employment: 560 people (12.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $44,350
- Median hourly wage: $21.32
- Total employment: 360 people (8.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Paramedics
- Median annual wage: $44,430
- Median hourly wage: $21.36
- Total employment: 30 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators
- Median annual wage: $44,700
- Median hourly wage: $21.49
- Total employment: 1,110 people (24.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Production, planning, and expediting clerks
- Median annual wage: $45,380
- Median hourly wage: $21.82
- Total employment: 160 people (3.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Automotive body and related repairers
- Median annual wage: $45,660
- Median hourly wage: $21.95
- Total employment: 70 people (1.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Machinists
- Median annual wage: $45,700
- Median hourly wage: $21.97
- Total employment: 80 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Insurance sales agents
- Median annual wage: $45,970
- Median hourly wage: $22.10
- Total employment: 70 people (1.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lee Charlie // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Court, municipal, and license clerks
- Median annual wage: $46,090
- Median hourly wage: $22.16
- Total employment: 40 people (0.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Cement masons and concrete finishers
- Median annual wage: $46,680
- Median hourly wage: $22.44
- Total employment: 50 people (1.21 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Evgeny Atamanenko // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Maintenance and repair workers, general
- Median annual wage: $46,820
- Median hourly wage: $22.51
- Total employment: 530 people (11.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Automotive service technicians and mechanics
- Median annual wage: $46,910
- Median hourly wage: $22.55
- Total employment: 260 people (5.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chok Chokchai // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders
- Median annual wage: $47,030
- Median hourly wage: $22.61
- Total employment: 40 people (0.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
FabrikaSimf // Shutterstock
17 / 50#33. Carpenters (tie)
- Median annual wage: $47,510
- Median hourly wage: $22.84
- Total employment: 140 people (3.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DC Studio // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance (tie)
- Median annual wage: $47,510
- Median hourly wage: $22.84
- Total employment: 50 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
David Spates // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers
- Median annual wage: $47,520
- Median hourly wage: $22.84
- Total employment: 90 people (2.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Payroll and timekeeping clerks
- Median annual wage: $47,570
- Median hourly wage: $22.87
- Total employment: 30 people (0.71 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Joey Chung // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel
- Median annual wage: $48,010
- Median hourly wage: $23.08
- Total employment: 150 people (3.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Zahovaev K // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
- Median annual wage: $48,050
- Median hourly wage: $23.10
- Total employment: 150 people (3.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Irene Miller // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
- Median annual wage: $48,100
- Median hourly wage: $23.13
- Total employment: 170 people (3.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kot500 // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
- Median annual wage: $48,650
- Median hourly wage: $23.39
- Total employment: 90 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Food service managers
- Median annual wage: $48,710
- Median hourly wage: $23.42
- Total employment: 70 people (1.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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26 / 50#25. Computer user support specialists
- Median annual wage: $49,260
- Median hourly wage: $23.69
- Total employment: 110 people (2.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
pio3 // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Police and sheriff's patrol officers
- Median annual wage: $49,600
- Median hourly wage: $23.85
- Total employment: 200 people (4.53 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Computer numerically controlled tool operators
- Median annual wage: $49,930
- Median hourly wage: $24.00
- Total employment: 60 people (1.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Vitpho // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
- Median annual wage: $49,980
- Median hourly wage: $24.03
- Total employment: 990 people (22.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
- Median annual wage: $50,490
- Median hourly wage: $24.27
- Total employment: 80 people (1.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
- Median annual wage: $52,470
- Median hourly wage: $25.22
- Total employment: 280 people (6.24 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Erin Deleon // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Postal service mail carriers
- Median annual wage: $53,390
- Median hourly wage: $25.67
- Total employment: 120 people (2.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $53,730
- Median hourly wage: $25.83
- Total employment: 240 people (5.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Industrial machinery mechanics
- Median annual wage: $55,490
- Median hourly wage: $26.68
- Total employment: 250 people (5.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Avatar_023 // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators
- Median annual wage: $57,210
- Median hourly wage: $27.51
- Total employment: 50 people (1.19 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Etaphop photo // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Electricians
- Median annual wage: $58,350
- Median hourly wage: $28.05
- Total employment: 160 people (3.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
- Median annual wage: $59,610
- Median hourly wage: $28.66
- Total employment: 690 people (15.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- Median annual wage: $60,210
- Median hourly wage: $28.95
- Total employment: 470 people (10.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
ALPA PROD // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors
- Median annual wage: $61,190
- Median hourly wage: $29.42
- Total employment: 270 people (5.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Median annual wage: $61,230
- Median hourly wage: $29.44
- Total employment: 80 people (1.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Pixel B // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Tool and die makers
- Median annual wage: $63,610
- Median hourly wage: $30.58
- Total employment: 40 people (0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
- Median annual wage: $64,730
- Median hourly wage: $31.12
- Total employment: 50 people (1.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Property, real estate, and community association managers
- Median annual wage: $67,900
- Median hourly wage: $32.64
- Total employment: 30 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
- Median annual wage: $68,310
- Median hourly wage: $32.84
- Total employment: 90 people (2.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
- Median annual wage: $72,490
- Median hourly wage: $34.85
- Total employment: 200 people (4.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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sculpies // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Median annual wage: $73,040
- Median hourly wage: $35.11
- Total employment: 240 people (5.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
- Median annual wage: $76,300
- Median hourly wage: $36.68
- Total employment: 40 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
goodluz // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
- Median annual wage: $83,730
- Median hourly wage: $40.25
- Total employment: 60 people (1.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SatawatK // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers
- Median annual wage: $85,960
- Median hourly wage: $41.33
- Total employment: 70 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Electrical power-line installers and repairers
- Median annual wage: $94,010
- Median hourly wage: $45.20
- Total employment: 70 people (1.55 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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