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Six-Figure Jobs Without a Degree
6 US jobs pay a median of $100,000 a year or more (about $48.08 an hour) without needing a college degree. The most common are transportation, storage, and distribution manager ($107,230), first-line supervisor of police and detectives ($106,040), commercial pilot ($123,220). They are listed below with the most workers first, so the jobs with the most openings come first; sort them by pay if you prefer. Figures are BLS medians from May 2025: half the workers in each job earn more, and starting pay is usually lower.
Test yourself first: the 60-second over-or-under game below shows how well you know which jobs clear the line.
Over or under $100,000 a year?
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60 seconds. Does each job’s median pay clear the line? Tap Over or Under, or use the arrow keys.
Six-Figure Jobs Without a Degree, ranked
of 6 jobs match.
| # | Job | Median | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transportation, storage, and distribution manager Management | $107,230 | $51.55 | $194,900 | High school diploma | 221,180 |
| 2 | First-line supervisor of police and detectives Protective Service | $106,040 | $50.98 | $165,110 | High school diploma | 154,610 |
| 3 | Commercial pilot Transportation and Material Moving | $123,220 | – | $266,620 | Certificate | 47,630 |
| 4 | Power plant operator Production | $102,040 | $49.06 | $131,940 | High school diploma | 29,320 |
| 5 | Elevator and escalator installer and repairer Construction and Extraction | $109,910 | $52.84 | $158,890 | High school diploma | 23,790 |
| 6 | Electrical and electronics repairer, powerhouse, substation, and relay Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $103,020 | $49.53 | $129,920 | Certificate | 20,720 |
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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (published 2026), and Employment Projections education and training assignments (2025). Salaries are yearly medians before tax for wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. The median for all US jobs is $50,980. Jobs with fewer than 20,000 workers nationally are not listed.
About the Highest Paying Jobs
Highest Paying Jobs ranks 515 US jobs by what they actually pay, using the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025, published 2026). Filter the list by field, by the education a job needs to start, or by a minimum salary, and sort it by median pay, average pay, what the top 10% earn, hourly wage or the number of people in the job. Ready-made rankings answer the common questions: the highest paying jobs without a degree, with only a high school diploma, with an associate, bachelor’s or master’s degree, entry-level and trade jobs, the best-paid jobs in healthcare, tech, engineering and ten other fields, and the highest paying jobs in each of the 50 states and Washington DC. Every job links to its own salary page with hourly pay, the full pay range and pay by state.
How to use it
- 1 Start with the full ranking, or pick a ready-made list such as jobs without a degree, a field or your state.
- 2 Narrow it down with the field, education and minimum pay filters, or search for a job.
- 3 Sort by median salary, top 10% pay, hourly wage or most workers.
- 4 Open any job to see its pay range, hourly and monthly pay and salary in every state.
Frequently asked questions
What jobs pay $100,000 a year without a degree?
6 jobs have a median pay of $100,000 a year or more. The most common are transportation, storage, and distribution manager ($107,230), first-line supervisor of police and detectives ($106,040), commercial pilot ($123,220), power plant operator ($102,040), elevator and escalator installer and repairer ($109,910).
How much is $100,000 a year a year?
$100,000 a year is about $48.08 an hour for a full-time 40-hour week, or $8,333 a month before tax.
Which jobs pay $100,000 a year with no experience?
These need no college degree and no experience in a related job to start: commercial pilot ($123,220), power plant operator ($102,040), elevator and escalator installer and repairer ($109,910). Pay usually starts below the median and rises with training.
What is the best-paid job on this list?
Commercial pilot has the highest median, $123,220 a year.
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