The average college graduate in 2020 earned $1,305 a week, while the average high school graduate takes home just $781, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Of course, college isn’t for everyone. There are many reasons high-school graduates may choose to not continue on to college, not the least of which is cost. Average tuition costs continue to rise each year, the exception being the 2020-2021 school year, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Average tuition at a public, in-state university comes in at $9,687; tuition for out-of-state students at public schools, and for everyone at private universities, is significantly higher at $21,874 and $35,087, respectively.
Stacker compiled a list of the highest-paying jobs for high school graduates in California-Lexington Park, MD using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by the 2021 annual mean wage.
Keep reading to see which jobs in your city pay the most for high school graduates.
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
#50. Tellers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $35,840
– #103 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $32,960
– Employment: 423,570
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($45,040)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($43,490)
— Napa, CA ($42,000)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
#49. Social and human service assistants
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $38,280
– #196 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90
National
– Annual mean salary: $38,230
– Employment: 399,920
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT ($56,140)
— North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area ($55,360)
— Danbury, CT ($54,870)
Ruslan Galiullin // Shutterstock
#48. Office clerks, general
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $38,970
– #144 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 360
National
– Annual mean salary: $37,770
– Employment: 2,788,090
– Metros with the highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($49,980)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($49,740)
— Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO ($48,850)
zhu difeng // Shutterstock
#47. Merchandise displayers and window trimmers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $39,150
– #24 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $34,550
– Employment: 134,660
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($45,950)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($45,550)
— Portland-South Portland, ME ($44,840)
#46. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $39,410
– #136 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 330
National
– Annual mean salary: $37,880
– Employment: 891,540
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($52,950)
— Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area ($52,620)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($52,140)
ALPA PROD // Shutterstock
#45. Medical secretaries and administrative assistants
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $41,110
– #78 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 80
National
– Annual mean salary: $39,000
– Employment: 597,100
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($56,010)
— Napa, CA ($52,630)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($52,300)
Fusionstudio // Shutterstock
#44. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $41,400
– #43 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 100
National
– Annual mean salary: $37,210
– Employment: 727,640
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Fairbanks, AK ($51,470)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($48,440)
— Anchorage, AK ($47,150)
Daniel M Ernst // Shutterstock
#43. Eligibility interviewers, government programs
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $42,460
– #232 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $47,990
– Employment: 138,820
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($75,570)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($67,900)
— New Haven, CT ($63,790)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
#42. Interviewers, except eligibility and loan
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $43,260
– #45 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 80
National
– Annual mean salary: $37,640
– Employment: 173,800
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($57,820)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($53,920)
— Salinas, CA ($52,980)
Pixabay
#41. Maintenance and repair workers, general
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $43,980
– #172 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 250
National
– Annual mean salary: $43,790
– Employment: 1,357,630
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($60,230)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($59,870)
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($56,650)
G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock
#40. Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $44,040
– #69 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 770
National
– Annual mean salary: $40,420
– Employment: 1,850,360
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($56,720)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($54,730)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($54,450)
#39. Security guards
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $44,910
– #15 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 200
National
– Annual mean salary: $34,360
– Employment: 1,054,400
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Idaho Falls, ID ($70,350)
— San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA ($58,440)
— Western Washington nonmetropolitan area ($57,480)
New Africa // Shutterstock
#38. First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $44,920
– #140 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $45,500
– Employment: 141,260
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($60,770)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($60,250)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($59,160)
fizkes // Shutterstock
#37. Public safety telecommunicators
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $45,010
– #160 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30
National
– Annual mean salary: $45,800
– Employment: 93,290
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($97,380)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($92,790)
— Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($76,950)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
#36. Billing and posting clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $46,190
– #38 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $41,610
– Employment: 445,160
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($55,850)
— Santa Rosa, CA ($55,130)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($54,960)
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection // Wikimedia Commons
#35. Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $46,810
– #131 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30
National
– Annual mean salary: $44,860
– Employment: 188,450
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Alaska nonmetropolitan area ($64,510)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($64,140)
— Decatur, IL ($60,740)
#34. First-line supervisors of retail sales workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $48,140
– #105 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 430
National
– Annual mean salary: $47,300
– Employment: 1,063,110
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($57,830)
— Boulder, CO ($56,520)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($55,930)
Canva
#33. Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $48,650
– #292 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90
National
– Annual mean salary: $55,280
– Employment: 402,870
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($92,910)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($91,860)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($91,120)
Efired // Shutterstock
#32. Bill and account collectors
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $49,690
– #16 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: data not available
National
– Annual mean salary: $40,630
– Employment: 222,030
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($58,700)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($58,610)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($55,940)
Lee Charlie // Shutterstock
#31. Court, municipal, and license clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $50,230
– #56 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 50
National
– Annual mean salary: $43,490
– Employment: 156,100
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($66,520)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($62,040)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($60,730)
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Erin Deleon // Shutterstock
#30. Postal service mail carriers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $51,200
– #498 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 120
National
– Annual mean salary: $53,180
– Employment: 333,570
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Modesto, CA ($57,160)
— Bismarck, ND ($57,090)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($56,820)
Kot500 // Shutterstock
#29. Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $51,440
– #178 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $52,090
– Employment: 253,010
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($75,900)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($73,400)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($70,480)
Bigflick // Shutterstock
#28. Correctional officers and jailers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $51,740
– #112 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70
National
– Annual mean salary: $52,340
– Employment: 405,870
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($96,580)
— Salinas, CA ($89,100)
— Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($86,260)
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
#27. Payroll and timekeeping clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $52,140
– #64 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $48,290
– Employment: 133,870
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($66,600)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($66,240)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($60,930)
rlat // Shutterstock
#26. Postal service clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $52,430
– #250 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $51,200
– Employment: 86,950
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Houma-Thibodaux, LA ($59,410)
— Florence, SC ($59,360)
— Monroe, MI ($59,320)
#25. Carpenters
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $53,760
– #119 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 120
National
– Annual mean salary: $54,200
– Employment: 699,300
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($81,730)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($78,680)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($78,280)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
#24. Procurement clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $54,090
– #8 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $45,400
– Employment: 61,000
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area ($58,310)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($56,800)
— Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($56,330)
evgenii mitroshin // Shutterstock
#23. Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $57,040
– #1 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $38,750
– Employment: 283,800
– Metros with highest average pay:
— California-Lexington Park, MD ($57,040)
— Lima, OH ($56,660)
— Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD ($50,510)
Canva
#22. Construction and building inspectors
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $57,640
– #246 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $66,470
– Employment: 113,770
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New Haven, CT ($121,510)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($107,330)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($106,190)
#21. Electricians
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $58,320
– #225 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 150
National
– Annual mean salary: $61,550
– Employment: 656,510
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($93,900)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($91,090)
— Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI ($86,600)
Brian S. Hagberg // Wikimedia Commons
#20. Self-enrichment teachers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $58,730
– #12 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $47,930
– Employment: 222,700
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($70,350)
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($66,650)
— Utica-Rome, NY ($63,470)
SritanaN // Shutterstock
#19. Industrial machinery mechanics
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $58,930
– #171 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $57,350
– Employment: 385,980
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Fairbanks, AK ($85,900)
— Lake Charles, LA ($85,360)
— Anchorage, AK ($82,890)
G-Stock Studio // Shutterstock
#18. Production, planning, and expediting clerks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $59,070
– #34 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90
National
– Annual mean salary: $52,000
– Employment: 362,090
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Idaho Falls, ID ($74,970)
— Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI ($71,160)
— West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area ($67,770)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
#17. Insurance sales agents
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $61,300
– #230 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $69,100
– Employment: 409,950
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($104,230)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,470)
— Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA ($95,620)
Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
#16. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $61,370
– #9 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 70
National
– Annual mean salary: $44,580
– Employment: 549,200
– Metros with highest average pay:
— West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area ($88,150)
— Alaska nonmetropolitan area ($80,420)
— Odessa, TX ($70,950)
#15. Machinists
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $62,930
– #8 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 50
National
– Annual mean salary: $47,800
– Employment: 360,340
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Alaska nonmetropolitan area ($76,230)
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($71,070)
— Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($69,300)
GaudiLab // Shutterstock
#14. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $63,980
– #81 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 360
National
– Annual mean salary: $62,010
– Employment: 1,427,260
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($82,050)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($79,520)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($78,430)
sculpies // Shutterstock
#13. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $66,570
– #307 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 150
National
– Annual mean salary: $72,990
– Employment: 614,080
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($112,020)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($103,820)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($101,210)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
#12. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $68,030
– #50 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 140
National
– Annual mean salary: $65,230
– Employment: 503,390
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($94,590)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($87,760)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($87,420)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
#11. Food service managers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $68,730
– #61 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $61,000
– Employment: 197,010
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Trenton, NJ ($91,320)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($89,860)
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($87,750)
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Vera Larina // Shutterstock
#10. Sheet metal workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $69,870
– #31 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $55,320
– Employment: 128,220
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Fairbanks, AK ($101,150)
— Kennewick-Richland, WA ($94,930)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($93,840)
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
#9. Chefs and head cooks
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $71,320
– #9 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $58,740
– Employment: 101,490
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Leominster-Gardner, MA ($81,020)
— Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area ($79,820)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($79,600)
g-stockstudio // Shutterstock
#8. First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $73,010
– #350 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30
National
– Annual mean salary: $90,120
– Employment: 240,290
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Portland-South Portland, ME ($129,860)
— Durham-Chapel Hill, NC ($121,360)
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($121,250)
4 PM production // Shutterstock
#7. First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $73,560
– #148 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 150
National
– Annual mean salary: $73,100
– Employment: 475,000
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Bremerton-Silverdale, WA ($93,830)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($93,030)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($92,870)
Stock Rocket // Shutterstock
#6. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $74,910
– #65 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $73,500
– Employment: 1,278,670
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($102,280)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($92,660)
— Napa, CA ($92,620)
#5. Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $76,040
– #27 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 230
National
– Annual mean salary: $70,490
– Employment: 977,070
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($103,810)
— Boulder, CO ($101,630)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($97,360)
Oleg Golovnev // Shutterstock
#4. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $76,950
– #35 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $66,800
– Employment: 599,900
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Baton Rouge, LA ($98,170)
— Lake Charles, LA ($97,910)
— West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area ($96,900)
Canva
#3. First-line supervisors of police and detectives
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $100,550
– #103 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110
National
– Annual mean salary: $97,180
– Employment: 122,310
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($182,700)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($170,740)
— Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA ($164,600)
Kelly Ogden // Wikimedia Commons
#2. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $111,830
– #40 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 30
National
– Annual mean salary: $105,100
– Employment: 132,210
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($159,890)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($154,170)
— Trenton, NJ ($144,620)
Skycolors // Shutterstock
#1. Commercial pilots
California-Lexington Park, MD
– Annual mean salary: $175,650
– #4 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 130
National
– Annual mean salary: $110,830
– Employment: 37,120
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($185,920)
— Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($184,260)
— Savannah, GA ($177,450)
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