Highest-paying jobs in Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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1 / 50

#50. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers

- Median annual wage: $84,750
- Median hourly wage: $40.74
- Total employment: 60 people (0.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Deemerwha studio // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Conservation scientists

- Median annual wage: $86,730
- Median hourly wage: $41.70
- Total employment: 30 people (0.28 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

fizkes // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Labor relations specialists

- Median annual wage: $86,850
- Median hourly wage: $41.75
- Total employment: 30 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Database administrators

- Median annual wage: $87,270
- Median hourly wage: $41.96
- Total employment: 80 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GaudiLab // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Technical writers

- Median annual wage: $89,860
- Median hourly wage: $43.20
- Total employment: 30 people (0.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

fizkes // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Management analysts

- Median annual wage: $92,340
- Median hourly wage: $44.40
- Total employment: 900 people (7.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Social and community service managers

- Median annual wage: $92,910
- Median hourly wage: $44.67
- Total employment: 80 people (0.72 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Registered nurses

- Median annual wage: $95,180
- Median hourly wage: $45.76
- Total employment: 2,850 people (25.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#42. Civil engineers

- Median annual wage: $95,410
- Median hourly wage: $45.87
- Total employment: 150 people (1.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Rawpixel.com //Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Web developers

- Median annual wage: $96,170
- Median hourly wage: $46.24
- Total employment: 140 people (1.27 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Project management specialists

- Median annual wage: $96,930
- Median hourly wage: $46.60
- Total employment: 920 people (8.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

PR Image Factory // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Operations research analysts

- Median annual wage: $97,220
- Median hourly wage: $46.74
- Total employment: 40 people (0.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. Mechanical engineers

- Median annual wage: $97,520
- Median hourly wage: $46.89
- Total employment: 160 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Network and computer systems administrators

- Median annual wage: $97,620
- Median hourly wage: $46.93
- Total employment: 260 people (2.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GaudiLab // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Personal financial advisors

- Median annual wage: $98,880
- Median hourly wage: $47.54
- Total employment: 180 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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fizkes // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. General and operations managers

- Median annual wage: $102,070
- Median hourly wage: $49.07
- Total employment: 2,300 people (20.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Undrey // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Financial and investment analysts

- Median annual wage: $102,200
- Median hourly wage: $49.14
- Total employment: 180 people (1.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

PIYAWAT WONGOPASS // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Computer programmers

- Median annual wage: $102,350
- Median hourly wage: $49.21
- Total employment: 60 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

creativemarc // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Administrative services managers

- Median annual wage: $103,720
- Median hourly wage: $49.86
- Total employment: 220 people (1.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. Electronics engineers, except computer

- Median annual wage: $104,180
- Median hourly wage: $50.09
- Total employment: 110 people (1.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#30. Construction managers

- Median annual wage: $104,450
- Median hourly wage: $50.22
- Total employment: 260 people (2.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

VE.Studio // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Natural sciences managers

- Median annual wage: $104,840
- Median hourly wage: $50.40
- Total employment: 60 people (0.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Industrial engineers

- Median annual wage: $105,470
- Median hourly wage: $50.71
- Total employment: 90 people (0.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Data scientists

- Median annual wage: $105,660
- Median hourly wage: $50.80
- Total employment: 100 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Computer systems analysts

- Median annual wage: $106,790
- Median hourly wage: $51.34
- Total employment: 490 people (4.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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26 / 50

#25. Facilities managers

- Median annual wage: $107,590
- Median hourly wage: $51.72
- Total employment: 100 people (0.88 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Software quality assurance analysts and testers

- Median annual wage: $108,440
- Median hourly wage: $52.14
- Total employment: 160 people (1.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Electrical engineers

- Median annual wage: $108,850
- Median hourly wage: $52.33
- Total employment: 160 people (1.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

fizkes // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Social scientists and related workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $118,830
- Median hourly wage: $57.13
- Total employment: 360 people (3.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Computer network architects

- Median annual wage: $119,220
- Median hourly wage: $57.32
- Total employment: 110 people (0.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BalanceFormCreative // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Information security analysts

- Median annual wage: $120,480
- Median hourly wage: $57.93
- Total employment: 180 people (1.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Medical and health services managers

- Median annual wage: $124,360
- Median hourly wage: $59.79
- Total employment: 340 people (3.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Stock Rocket // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products

- Median annual wage: $124,480
- Median hourly wage: $59.85
- Total employment: 100 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Database architects

- Median annual wage: $125,360
- Median hourly wage: $60.27
- Total employment: 70 people (0.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Software developers

- Median annual wage: $127,910
- Median hourly wage: $61.50
- Total employment: 1,320 people (11.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Physical scientists, all other

- Median annual wage: $133,540
- Median hourly wage: $64.20
- Total employment: 90 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SeventyFour // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. Computer hardware engineers

- Median annual wage: $134,440
- Median hourly wage: $64.64
- Total employment: 30 people (0.3 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Pressmaster // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Public relations managers

- Median annual wage: $134,880
- Median hourly wage: $64.85
- Total employment: 130 people (1.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Training and development managers

- Median annual wage: $135,780
- Median hourly wage: $65.28
- Total employment: 40 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SpeedKingz // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Managers, all other

- Median annual wage: $136,420
- Median hourly wage: $65.59
- Total employment: 450 people (3.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

rawpixel.com // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Purchasing managers

- Median annual wage: $140,280
- Median hourly wage: $67.44
- Total employment: 70 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Computer occupations, all other

- Median annual wage: $142,150
- Median hourly wage: $68.34
- Total employment: 140 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Human resources managers

- Median annual wage: $143,510
- Median hourly wage: $68.99
- Total employment: 160 people (1.4 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Engineers, all other

- Median annual wage: $152,840
- Median hourly wage: $73.48
- Total employment: 70 people (0.59 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

dokurose // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Sales managers

- Median annual wage: $153,490
- Median hourly wage: $73.79
- Total employment: 220 people (1.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kanghophoto // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Financial managers

- Median annual wage: $159,700
- Median hourly wage: $76.78
- Total employment: 520 people (4.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Architectural and engineering managers

- Median annual wage: $162,050
- Median hourly wage: $77.91
- Total employment: 100 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

fizkes // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. Marketing managers

- Median annual wage: $162,390
- Median hourly wage: $78.07
- Total employment: 150 people (1.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock

49 / 50

#2. Computer and information systems managers

- Median annual wage: $163,230
- Median hourly wage: $78.48
- Total employment: 400 people (3.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

50 / 50

#1. Chief executives

- Median annual wage: At least $239,200
- Median hourly wage: At least $115.00
- Total employment: 140 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.

Highest-paying jobs in Charlottesville that require a bachelor's degree

#50. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers

#49. Conservation scientists

#48. Labor relations specialists

#47. Database administrators

#46. Technical writers

#45. Management analysts

#44. Social and community service managers

#43. Registered nurses

#42. Civil engineers

#41. Web developers

#40. Project management specialists

#39. Operations research analysts

#38. Mechanical engineers

#37. Network and computer systems administrators

#36. Personal financial advisors

#35. General and operations managers

#34. Financial and investment analysts

#33. Computer programmers

#32. Administrative services managers

#31. Electronics engineers, except computer

#30. Construction managers

#29. Natural sciences managers

#28. Industrial engineers

#27. Data scientists

#26. Computer systems analysts

#25. Facilities managers

#24. Software quality assurance analysts and testers

#23. Electrical engineers

#22. Social scientists and related workers, all other

#21. Computer network architects

#20. Information security analysts

#19. Medical and health services managers

#18. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products

#17. Database architects

#16. Software developers

#15. Physical scientists, all other

#14. Computer hardware engineers

#13. Public relations managers

#12. Training and development managers

#11. Managers, all other

#10. Purchasing managers

#9. Computer occupations, all other

#8. Human resources managers

#7. Engineers, all other

#6. Sales managers

#5. Financial managers

#4. Architectural and engineering managers

#3. Marketing managers

#2. Computer and information systems managers

#1. Chief executives

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