Lopolo // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $83,600
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 350 people (3.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Highest-paying jobs in Bellingham 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 Bellingham, using annual compensation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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2 / 50#49. Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school
- Median annual wage: $84,900
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 100 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
- Median annual wage: $85,250
- Median hourly wage: $40.98
- Total employment: 40 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Undrey // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Financial and investment analysts
- Median annual wage: $87,560
- Median hourly wage: $42.10
- Total employment: 80 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Photographee.eu // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Special education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $89,990
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 70 people (0.78 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Francesco Scatena // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Cartographers and photogrammetrists
- Median annual wage: $90,230
- Median hourly wage: $43.38
- Total employment: 30 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
James Kirkikis // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Zoologists and wildlife biologists
- Median annual wage: $90,950
- Median hourly wage: $43.73
- Total employment: 30 people (0.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dmytro Zinkevych // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Social and community service managers
- Median annual wage: $92,400
- Median hourly wage: $44.42
- Total employment: 110 people (1.18 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Median annual wage: $93,560
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 900 people (9.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Architects, except landscape and naval
- Median annual wage: $95,990
- Median hourly wage: $46.15
- Total employment: 40 people (0.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Industrial engineers
- Median annual wage: $96,520
- Median hourly wage: $46.40
- Total employment: 50 people (0.54 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Median annual wage: $96,980
- Median hourly wage: $46.63
- Total employment: 40 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Arjuna Kodisinghe // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Network and computer systems administrators
- Median annual wage: $97,700
- Median hourly wage: $46.97
- Total employment: 170 people (1.82 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. Management analysts
- Median annual wage: $98,880
- Median hourly wage: $47.54
- Total employment: 280 people (3.04 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Computer systems analysts
- Median annual wage: $99,600
- Median hourly wage: $47.89
- Total employment: 130 people (1.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
- Median annual wage: $99,990
- Median hourly wage: $48.07
- Total employment: 100 people (1.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
industryviews // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Career/technical education teachers, secondary school
- Median annual wage: $100,560
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 90 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Registered nurses
- Median annual wage: $101,580
- Median hourly wage: $48.84
- Total employment: 1,670 people (18.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Compliance officers
- Median annual wage: $101,870
- Median hourly wage: $48.98
- Total employment: 650 people (7.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Project management specialists
- Median annual wage: $102,350
- Median hourly wage: $49.21
- Total employment: 560 people (6.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Software quality assurance analysts and testers
- Median annual wage: $102,400
- Median hourly wage: $49.23
- Total employment: 60 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
B Brown // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Median annual wage: $102,810
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 420 people (4.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Electrical engineers
- Median annual wage: $102,880
- Median hourly wage: $49.46
- Total employment: 170 people (1.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Aleksandar Karanov // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Occupational health and safety specialists
- Median annual wage: $103,120
- Median hourly wage: $49.58
- Total employment: Not available
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Personal financial advisors
- Median annual wage: $104,000
- Median hourly wage: $50.00
- Total employment: 160 people (1.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
26 / 50#25. Database administrators
- Median annual wage: $104,390
- Median hourly wage: $50.19
- Total employment: 30 people (0.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wutzkohphoto // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Civil engineers
- Median annual wage: $104,730
- Median hourly wage: $50.35
- Total employment: 230 people (2.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Labor relations specialists
- Median annual wage: $104,820
- Median hourly wage: $50.40
- Total employment: 30 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
N.Z.Photography // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Computer occupations, all other
- Median annual wage: $107,100
- Median hourly wage: $51.49
- Total employment: 150 people (1.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pressmaster // Shutterstock
30 / 50#21. Public relations managers
- Median annual wage: $109,990
- Median hourly wage: $52.88
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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creativemarc // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Administrative services managers
- Median annual wage: $111,140
- Median hourly wage: $53.43
- Total employment: 40 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Engineers, all other
- Median annual wage: $113,770
- Median hourly wage: $54.70
- Total employment: 50 people (0.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
create jobs 51 // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Legislators
- Median annual wage: $115,380
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 50 people (0.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Quality Stock Arts // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Facilities managers
- Median annual wage: $119,990
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 70 people (0.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. General and operations managers
- Median annual wage: $120,000
- Median hourly wage: $57.69
- Total employment: 1,400 people (15.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Mechanical engineers
- Median annual wage: $124,440
- Median hourly wage: $59.83
- Total employment: 140 people (1.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Medical and health services managers
- Median annual wage: $126,590
- Median hourly wage: $60.86
- Total employment: 150 people (1.61 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Marketing managers
- Median annual wage: $128,140
- Median hourly wage: $61.61
- Total employment: 160 people (1.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Construction managers
- Median annual wage: $129,570
- Median hourly wage: $62.29
- Total employment: 220 people (2.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Roman Samborskyi // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Software developers
- Median annual wage: $130,600
- Median hourly wage: $62.79
- Total employment: 630 people (6.93 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Sunshine Seeds // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Industrial production managers
- Median annual wage: $130,790
- Median hourly wage: $62.88
- Total employment: 80 people (0.91 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VE.Studio // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Natural sciences managers
- Median annual wage: $131,530
- Median hourly wage: $63.24
- Total employment: 50 people (0.52 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Chaay_Tee // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Data scientists
- Median annual wage: $134,530
- Median hourly wage: $64.68
- Total employment: 40 people (0.44 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SpeedKingz // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Managers, all other
- Median annual wage: $136,850
- Median hourly wage: $65.79
- Total employment: 320 people (3.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
dokurose // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Sales managers
- Median annual wage: $145,200
- Median hourly wage: $69.81
- Total employment: 190 people (2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Jacob Lund // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Human resources managers
- Median annual wage: $145,840
- Median hourly wage: $70.12
- Total employment: 70 people (0.76 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Kanghophoto // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Financial managers
- Median annual wage: $147,830
- Median hourly wage: $71.07
- Total employment: 280 people (3.09 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Frame Stock Footage // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Computer and information systems managers
- Median annual wage: $167,680
- Median hourly wage: $80.62
- Total employment: 210 people (2.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BOY ANTHONY // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Architectural and engineering managers
- Median annual wage: $179,550
- Median hourly wage: $86.32
- Total employment: 80 people (0.87 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: 90 people (0.99 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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