Highest-Paying Jobs Without a College Degree in South Florida (2025 BLS Data)
- The median wage for all jobs in South Florida was $48,640 in May 2025, below the U.S. median of $50,980.
- The best-paid job here that typically needs only a high school diploma or less was first-line supervisors of police and detectives, at a median of $127,570.
- Short training programs and associate’s degrees open another tier, led by air traffic controllers at $162,140.
You don’t need a four-year degree to earn well in South Florida. Using the federal government’s most recent occupational wage survey (BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL) and the education level BLS lists as typical for entry into each job (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35), here are the best-paying jobs in the metro area that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL had about 2,819,940 wage and salary jobs in the survey.
Top-paying jobs that need a high school diploma or less
Jobs with at least 300 positions in the metro area, ranked by median annual wage. The last column shows the national median for comparison.
| Occupation | South Florida median | Jobs | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives | $127,570 | 2,740 | $106,040 |
| Elevator and Escalator Installers and Repairers | $108,170 | 1,050 | $109,910 |
| Transportation Inspectors | $100,100 | 820 | $92,100 |
| Detectives and Criminal Investigators | $99,080 | 2,110 | $93,790 |
| Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers | $96,240 | 1,370 | $95,320 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers | $82,870 | 4,690 | $87,520 |
| Food Service Managers | $81,170 | 4,350 | $69,390 |
| Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | $79,840 | 14,710 | $76,210 |
| Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators | $78,730 | 5,210 | $78,000 |
| Crane and Tower Operators | $78,100 | 530 | $68,080 |
| Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers | $77,920 | 400 | $65,380 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers | $77,530 | 16,720 | $79,920 |
Many of these jobs pay well because they come with long on-the-job training, licensing, physical risk or irregular hours. Several are skilled trades that train through paid apprenticeships.
Top-paying jobs that need a certificate or associate’s degree
Jobs where BLS lists a postsecondary certificate, some college or an associate’s degree as the typical entry credential:
| Occupation | South Florida median | Jobs | U.S. median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Traffic Controllers | $162,140 | 720 | $148,080 |
| Ship Engineers | $129,700 | 640 | $109,530 |
| Commercial Pilots | $127,360 | 3,440 | $123,220 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers | $120,390 | 3,740 | $93,530 |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | $99,810 | 400 | $101,370 |
| Radiation Therapists | $92,060 | 310 | $105,310 |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists | $91,170 | 800 | $95,480 |
| Fire Inspectors and Investigators | $88,260 | 350 | $75,920 |
The most common jobs in South Florida, for context
The largest occupations by employment, and what they pay locally:
| Occupation | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | $34,330 | 91,370 |
| General and Operations Managers | $105,640 | 74,960 |
| Customer Service Representatives | $39,560 | 63,440 |
| Registered Nurses | $91,380 | 61,670 |
| Office Clerks, General | $44,730 | 61,160 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $36,070 | 57,830 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $29,600 | 56,900 |
| Cashiers | $30,250 | 56,340 |
How to use these numbers
- Medians are midpoints. Half of workers in each job earn more and half earn less; new workers usually start well below the median.
- Overtime is not included. BLS wage estimates exclude overtime pay and shift differentials, so jobs with heavy overtime often pay more in practice (see the OEWS technical notes).
- Check the training path. “Typical entry education” is what most new workers have; licenses and apprenticeships may still be required.
Published October 27, 2026. Sources are linked in the text.
Header image: original chart by JobPayRaise.com using BLS OEWS May 2025 data.
Comments (1)
One more data point from the same survey: the occupation most concentrated in South Florida relative to the nation is airfield operations specialists, with a location quotient of 5.6. That means those jobs make up about 5.6 times as large a share of local employment as they do nationally. There are about 1,530 of them locally, at a median of $58,630. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates for Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL.