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Jobs That Pay $30 an Hour Without a Degree
58 US jobs pay a median of $30 an hour or more (about $62,400 a year) without needing a college degree. The most common are first-line supervisor of office and administrative support workers ($33.41 an hour), sales representative of services ($33.65 an hour), sales representative, wholesale and manufacturing ($34.65 an hour). 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.
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Jobs That Pay $30 an Hour Without a Degree, ranked
of 58 jobs match.
| # | Job | Median | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First-line supervisor of office and administrative support workers Office and Administrative Support | $69,500 | $33.41 | $104,710 | High school diploma | 1,436,680 |
| 2 | Sales representative of services Sales | $69,990 | $33.65 | $148,840 | High school diploma | 1,256,010 |
| 3 | Sales representative, wholesale and manufacturing Sales | $72,080 | $34.65 | $137,550 | High school diploma | 1,238,190 |
| 4 | First-line supervisor of construction trades and extraction workers Construction and Extraction | $79,920 | $38.42 | $128,260 | High school diploma | 812,210 |
| 5 | Electrician Construction and Extraction | $63,190 | $30.38 | $108,510 | High school diploma | 757,220 |
| 6 | First-line supervisor of production and operating workers Production | $74,450 | $35.79 | $108,750 | High school diploma | 673,430 |
| 7 | Police officer Protective Service | $76,210 | $36.64 | $115,120 | High school diploma | 670,520 |
| 8 | Licensed practical nurse Healthcare Practitioners | $64,400 | $30.96 | $83,440 | Certificate | 648,410 |
| 9 | First-line supervisor of transportation and material moving workers Transportation and Material Moving | $62,890 | $30.23 | $96,150 | High school diploma | 623,640 |
| 10 | First-line supervisor of mechanics, installers, and repairers Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $79,860 | $38.39 | $126,790 | High school diploma | 617,500 |
| 11 | Plumber Construction and Extraction | $63,800 | $30.67 | $108,420 | High school diploma | 465,840 |
| 12 | Executive assistant Office and Administrative Support | $76,590 | $36.82 | $109,850 | High school diploma | 459,910 |
| 13 | Industrial machinery mechanic Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $64,520 | $31.02 | $95,170 | High school diploma | 439,640 |
| 14 | Claims adjuster, examiner, and investigator Business and Financial | $78,000 | $37.50 | $117,040 | High school diploma | 324,230 |
| 15 | Property, real estate, and community association manager Management | $69,990 | $33.65 | $139,680 | High school diploma | 311,180 |
| 16 | Food service manager Management | $69,390 | $33.36 | $107,640 | High school diploma | 238,430 |
| 17 | Transportation, storage, and distribution manager Management | $107,230 | $51.55 | $194,900 | High school diploma | 221,180 |
| 18 | First-line supervisor of non-retail sales workers Sales | $87,520 | $42.08 | $164,070 | High school diploma | 214,390 |
| 19 | Chef and head cook Food Preparation and Serving | $62,470 | $30.03 | $98,560 | High school diploma | 200,040 |
| 20 | Mobile heavy equipment mechanic Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $65,510 | $31.50 | $94,460 | High school diploma | 176,600 |
| 21 | First-line supervisor of police and detectives Protective Service | $106,040 | $50.98 | $165,110 | High school diploma | 154,610 |
| 22 | Construction and building inspector Construction and Extraction | $74,690 | $35.91 | $114,200 | High school diploma | 146,720 |
| 23 | Telecommunications equipment installer and repairer Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $63,890 | $30.72 | $96,730 | Certificate | 140,920 |
| 24 | Aircraft mechanic and service technician Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $79,870 | $38.40 | $128,890 | Certificate | 138,090 |
| 25 | Flight attendant Transportation and Material Moving | $63,580 | – | $136,430 | High school diploma | 131,650 |
| 26 | Electrical power-line installer and repairer Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $95,320 | $45.83 | $128,690 | High school diploma | 131,070 |
| 27 | Surgical technologist Healthcare Practitioners | $64,650 | $31.08 | $96,940 | Certificate | 117,460 |
| 28 | Detective Protective Service | $93,790 | $45.09 | $160,540 | High school diploma | 114,430 |
| 29 | First-line supervisor of firefighting and prevention workers Protective Service | $93,530 | $44.96 | $140,010 | Certificate | 99,140 |
| 30 | Telecommunications line installer and repairer Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $74,330 | $35.73 | $103,680 | High school diploma | 97,720 |
| 31 | Advertising sales agent Sales | $64,820 | $31.16 | $146,010 | High school diploma | 91,700 |
| 32 | Structural iron and steel worker Construction and Extraction | $62,780 | $30.18 | $108,260 | High school diploma | 68,380 |
| 33 | Electrical and electronics repairer, commercial and industrial equipment Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $74,090 | $35.62 | $105,590 | Certificate | 65,010 |
| 34 | Tool and die maker Production | $64,050 | $30.79 | $92,680 | Certificate | 56,930 |
| 35 | First-line supervisor of correctional officers Protective Service | $77,970 | $37.49 | $127,780 | High school diploma | 53,380 |
| 36 | Transportation security screener Protective Service | $66,770 | $32.10 | $78,350 | High school diploma | 50,290 |
| 37 | Control and valve installer and repairer Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $74,340 | $35.74 | $112,500 | High school diploma | 48,240 |
| 38 | Commercial pilot Transportation and Material Moving | $123,220 | – | $266,620 | Certificate | 47,630 |
| 39 | Railroad conductor and yardmaster Transportation and Material Moving | $78,000 | $37.50 | $109,770 | High school diploma | 46,440 |
| 40 | Real estate broker Sales | $73,220 | $35.20 | $143,300 | High school diploma | 46,100 |
| 41 | Crane and tower operator Transportation and Material Moving | $68,080 | $32.73 | $103,570 | High school diploma | 42,890 |
| 42 | Lodging manager Management | $69,250 | $33.29 | $128,880 | High school diploma | 42,620 |
| 43 | Millwright Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $65,700 | $31.59 | $93,600 | High school diploma | 40,330 |
| 44 | Captains, mates, and pilot of water vessels Transportation and Material Moving | $92,460 | $44.45 | $170,640 | Certificate | 36,850 |
| 45 | Brokerage clerk Office and Administrative Support | $65,750 | $31.61 | $102,010 | High school diploma | 35,940 |
| 46 | Aircraft structure, surface, rigging, and systems assembler Production | $65,380 | $31.43 | $107,500 | High school diploma | 34,020 |
| 47 | Locomotive engineer Transportation and Material Moving | $81,410 | $39.14 | $109,220 | High school diploma | 33,470 |
| 48 | Petroleum pump system operator, refinery operator, and gauger Production | $96,710 | $46.50 | $115,880 | High school diploma | 33,160 |
| 49 | Power plant operator Production | $102,040 | $49.06 | $131,940 | High school diploma | 29,320 |
| 50 | Computer numerically controlled tool programmer Production | $68,120 | $32.75 | $100,320 | Certificate | 28,500 |
| 51 | Stationary engineer and boiler operator Production | $78,620 | $37.80 | $125,390 | High school diploma | 28,250 |
| 52 | First-line supervisor of gambling services workers Personal Care and Service | $63,820 | $30.68 | $84,750 | High school diploma | 26,010 |
| 53 | Transportation inspector Transportation and Material Moving | $92,100 | $44.28 | $138,670 | High school diploma | 24,500 |
| 54 | Elevator and escalator installer and repairer Construction and Extraction | $109,910 | $52.84 | $158,890 | High school diploma | 23,790 |
| 55 | Rigger Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $62,640 | $30.12 | $97,850 | High school diploma | 22,530 |
| 56 | Surgical assistant Healthcare Practitioners | $66,800 | $32.11 | $107,610 | Certificate | 22,270 |
| 57 | Rail car repairer Installation, Maintenance and Repair | $67,530 | $32.46 | $95,100 | High school diploma | 21,350 |
| 58 | 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 $30 an hour without a degree?
58 jobs have a median pay of $30 an hour or more. The most common are first-line supervisor of office and administrative support workers ($33.41 an hour), sales representative of services ($33.65 an hour), sales representative, wholesale and manufacturing ($34.65 an hour), first-line supervisor of construction trades and extraction workers ($38.42 an hour), electrician ($30.38 an hour).
How much is $30 an hour a year?
$30 an hour is $62,400 a year for a full-time 40-hour week (2,080 hours), or about $5,200 a month before tax.
Which jobs pay $30 an hour with no experience?
These need no college degree and no experience in a related job to start: sales representative of services ($33.65 an hour), sales representative, wholesale and manufacturing ($34.65 an hour), electrician ($30.38 an hour), police officer ($36.64 an hour), licensed practical nurse ($30.96 an hour). 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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