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Facts About the Income of Graduates
How much more does a college graduate earn than one with just a high school diploma?
Adults—young and old, male and female—who have a bachelor's degree or higher have twice the annual median income than someone with only a high school degree.
Overall, the annual median income of someone with a bachelor's degree or higher has outpaced the earnings of someone with only a high school diploma or equivalent. In fact, over the past decade or two, the annual earnings of someone working full-time who only had a high school diploma declined, relative to the increased earnings of someone with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education pays in higher earnings and lower unemployment rates, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Median Annual Earnings of Adults Age 25 and Over (Full-Time Workers), 2011
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Last Modified Date: March 23, 2012
Looking at the median annual earnings of young adults ages 25 to 34, those who had not completed high school had lower incomes than those of their counterparts who had done so. Even though gaps still persist in median incomes by gender, in 2009, both men and women college graduates earned more than those who completed only high school or a General Education Development Certificate (GED), according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Median Income of Full-time Workers Ages 25-34, 2009
| High School Graduate or GED | Bachelor's Degree or Higher | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | $32,900 | $51,000 | |
| Female | $25,000 | $40,100 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The Condition of Education 2011 (NCES 2011033), Table A-17-1.
