Highest-paying jobs in Bremerton 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 Bremerton 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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David Spates // Shutterstock

1 / 50

#50. Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers

- Median annual wage: $67,350
- Median hourly wage: $32.38
- Total employment: 220 people (2.36 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

ALPA PROD // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors

- Median annual wage: $67,710
- Median hourly wage: $32.55
- Total employment: 280 people (2.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock

3 / 50

#48. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

- Median annual wage: $69,010
- Median hourly wage: $33.18
- Total employment: 200 people (2.16 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Philip Lange // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Highway maintenance workers

- Median annual wage: $69,060
- Median hourly wage: $33.20
- Total employment: 90 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Zahovaev K // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

- Median annual wage: $69,140
- Median hourly wage: $33.24
- Total employment: 770 people (8.25 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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SatawatK // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers

- Median annual wage: $69,420
- Median hourly wage: $33.38
- Total employment: 60 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Alba_alioth // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#41. Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic (tie)

- Median annual wage: $72,950
- Median hourly wage: $35.07
- Total employment: 190 people (2.0 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

welcomia // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#41. Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines (tie)

- Median annual wage: $72,950
- Median hourly wage: $35.07
- Total employment: 120 people (1.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nagy-Bagoly Arpad // Shutterstock

9 / 50

#41. Insulation workers, mechanical (tie)

- Median annual wage: $72,950
- Median hourly wage: $35.07
- Total employment: 190 people (2.01 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

branislavpudar // Shutterstock

10 / 50

#41. Hazardous materials removal workers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $72,950
- Median hourly wage: $35.07
- Total employment: 40 people (0.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Bannafarsai_Stock // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Cement masons and concrete finishers

- Median annual wage: $73,030
- Median hourly wage: $35.11
- Total employment: 80 people (0.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

muratart // Shutterstock

12 / 50

#39. Pipelayers

- Median annual wage: $73,610
- Median hourly wage: $35.39
- Total employment: 30 people (0.32 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Nejron Photo // Shutterstock

13 / 50

#38. First-line supervisors of gambling services workers

- Median annual wage: $74,290
- Median hourly wage: $35.72
- Total employment: 40 people (0.38 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Production, planning, and expediting clerks

- Median annual wage: $74,360
- Median hourly wage: $35.75
- Total employment: 480 people (5.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Irene Miller // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

- Median annual wage: $74,400
- Median hourly wage: $35.77
- Total employment: 140 people (1.51 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

flywish // Shutterstock

16 / 50

#35. Structural metal fabricators and fitters

- Median annual wage: $74,520
- Median hourly wage: $35.83
- Total employment: 40 people (0.41 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

GaudiLab // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers

- Median annual wage: $75,340
- Median hourly wage: $36.22
- Total employment: 770 people (8.2 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Syda Productions // Shutterstock

18 / 50

#33. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants

- Median annual wage: $75,540
- Median hourly wage: $36.32
- Total employment: 170 people (1.84 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman023_photography // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#29. Riggers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $75,750
- Median hourly wage: $36.42
- Total employment: 580 people (6.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#29. Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (tie)

- Median annual wage: $75,750
- Median hourly wage: $36.42
- Total employment: 990 people (10.55 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Etaphop photo // Shutterstock

21 / 50

#29. Electricians (tie)

- Median annual wage: $75,750
- Median hourly wage: $36.42
- Total employment: 1,110 people (11.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Africa Studio // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other (tie)

- Median annual wage: $75,750
- Median hourly wage: $36.42
- Total employment: 1,340 people (14.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Avatar_023 // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#27. Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators (tie)

- Median annual wage: $76,620
- Median hourly wage: $36.84
- Total employment: 90 people (0.98 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Stock Rocket // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products (tie)

- Median annual wage: $76,620
- Median hourly wage: $36.84
- Total employment: 340 people (3.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Vera Larina // Shutterstock

25 / 50

#26. Sheet metal workers

- Median annual wage: $76,770
- Median hourly wage: $36.91
- Total employment: 190 people (2.03 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Joey Chung // Shutterstock

26 / 50

#25. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel

- Median annual wage: $76,870
- Median hourly wage: $36.96
- Total employment: 430 people (4.58 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Bigflick // Shutterstock

27 / 50

#24. Correctional officers and jailers

- Median annual wage: $78,400
- Median hourly wage: $37.69
- Total employment: 130 people (1.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

BigPixel Photo // Shutterstock

28 / 50

#23. Machinists

- Median annual wage: $78,580
- Median hourly wage: $37.78
- Total employment: 320 people (3.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock

29 / 50

#22. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

- Median annual wage: $79,440
- Median hourly wage: $38.19
- Total employment: 60 people (0.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Jacob Lund // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

- Median annual wage: $79,580
- Median hourly wage: $38.26
- Total employment: 200 people (2.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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NDAB Creativity // Shutterstock

31 / 50

#20. Massage therapists

- Median annual wage: $79,870
- Median hourly wage: $38.40
- Total employment: 50 people (0.49 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kmpzzz // Shutterstock

32 / 50

#19. Construction and building inspectors

- Median annual wage: $80,380
- Median hourly wage: $38.65
- Total employment: 70 people (0.73 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Roman Zaiets // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment

- Median annual wage: $81,410
- Median hourly wage: $39.14
- Total employment: 260 people (2.8 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Kot500 // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

- Median annual wage: $82,500
- Median hourly wage: $39.66
- Total employment: 150 people (1.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

SritanaN // Shutterstock

35 / 50

#16. Industrial machinery mechanics

- Median annual wage: $84,770
- Median hourly wage: $40.76
- Total employment: 270 people (2.94 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Luisa Leal Photography // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Electrical power-line installers and repairers

- Median annual wage: $84,780
- Median hourly wage: $40.76
- Total employment: 80 people (0.9 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

g-stockstudio // Shutterstock

37 / 50

#14. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers

- Median annual wage: $86,700
- Median hourly wage: $41.68
- Total employment: 60 people (0.63 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Josep Suria // Shutterstock

38 / 50

#13. Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other

- Median annual wage: $86,960
- Median hourly wage: $41.81
- Total employment: 30 people (0.34 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Paolo Bona // Shutterstock

39 / 50

#12. Food service managers

- Median annual wage: $93,090
- Median hourly wage: $44.75
- Total employment: 60 people (0.66 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Victor Moussa // Shutterstock

40 / 50

#11. Firefighters

- Median annual wage: $100,040
- Median hourly wage: $48.09
- Total employment: 420 people (4.47 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

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Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#9. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $102,420
- Median hourly wage: $49.24
- Total employment: 480 people (5.13 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

sculpies // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (tie)

- Median annual wage: $102,420
- Median hourly wage: $49.24
- Total employment: 740 people (7.96 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

pio3 // Shutterstock

43 / 50

#8. Police and sheriff's patrol officers

- Median annual wage: $102,640
- Median hourly wage: $49.34
- Total employment: 280 people (3.05 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Igor Kardasov // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels

- Median annual wage: $107,000
- Median hourly wage: $51.44
- Total employment: 60 people (0.62 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: $110,140
- Median hourly wage: $52.95
- Total employment: 1,090 people (11.68 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Prath // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Detectives and criminal investigators

- Median annual wage: $113,590
- Median hourly wage: $54.61
- Total employment: 40 people (0.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Leszek Glasner // Shutterstock

47 / 50

#4. Property, real estate, and community association managers

- Median annual wage: $115,770
- Median hourly wage: $55.66
- Total employment: 50 people (0.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

48 / 50

#3. Paramedics

- Median annual wage: $120,870
- Median hourly wage: $58.11
- Total employment: 110 people (1.14 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Ground Picture // Shutterstock

49 / 50

#2. First-line supervisors of police and detectives

- Median annual wage: $124,170
- Median hourly wage: $59.70
- Total employment: 90 people (0.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)

Tyler Olson // Shutterstock

50 / 50

#1. First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers

- Median annual wage: $127,490
- Median hourly wage: $61.29
- Total employment: 200 people (2.12 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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