These 8 jobs that don’t require a college degree could drive middle class wealth in America’s heartland

Think tank Heartland Forward’s latest report looks at “opportunity occupations,” such as customer service representatives.

According to a report by Heartland Forward, registered nurses have a lot of job openings in the Heartland region and don’t need a bachelor’s degree. SDI Productions/Getty Images

By Madison Hoff

Some jobs don’t need a college degree, and they can make it possible for Americans to be part of the middle-class and enjoy financial security.

Insider’s previous reporting on wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that some jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree pay pretty well, such as air traffic controllers. Some of these jobs are also expected to grow over the next decade per BLS data.

Some of those types of jobs are especially valuable to boosting the middle class in the middle of the country. A recent report from think tank Heartland Forward, as first reported by Axios, focuses on “opportunity occupations” in the 20 states that make up the “Heartland” region of the US, such as Louisiana and Iowa. These jobs are “those that offer middle-class wages but do not require a bachelor’s degree,” according to Heartland Forward.

“As the cost of obtaining a four-year degree rises, jobs that pay middle-class wages but do not require a bachelor’s degree are becoming critical for class mobility,” Ross DeVol, president and…