Table 5. Average annual percent growth in inflation-adjusted hourly earnings from 1978 to 2004 by educational attainment, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and age
Table 5. Average annual percent growth in inflation-adjusted hourly earnings from 1978-2004
by educational attainment, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and age
Average annual percent growth in hourly earnings
Characteristic Ages 18 Ages 22 Ages 26 Ages 31 Ages 36
to 21 to 25 to 30 to 35 to 40
Total ..................................... 6.3 6.5 4.0 3.6 2.5
Less than a high school diploma ........ 4.6 3.7 2.3 3.0 2.3
High school graduates, no college (1).... 7.0 4.4 2.7 3.2 2.0
Some college or associate degree ........ 6.3 5.4 4.4 3.3 2.8
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ........ 5.7 11.6 6.4 4.7 3.0
Men ....................................... 6.7 6.7 4.1 3.6 2.2
Less than a high school diploma ........ 4.0 3.7 1.8 2.3 1.7
High school graduates, no college (1).... 7.9 4.8 2.6 3.1 1.2
Some college or associate degree ........ 7.9 5.8 4.8 3.0 2.6
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ......... 5.0 12.3 7.1 5.6 3.5
Women ..................................... 5.8 6.2 4.0 3.5 2.9
Less than a high school diploma ......... 6.0 3.6 3.1 4.2 3.2
High school graduates, no college (1).... 6.0 4.0 2.9 3.3 3.0
Some college or associate degree ........ 5.0 5.0 4.1 3.6 3.0
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ........ 6.3 10.9 5.8 3.6 2.4
White non-Hispanic ........................ 6.5 6.7 4.2 3.6 2.5
Less than a high school diploma ......... 4.8 4.2 2.2 3.1 2.3
High school graduates, no college (1).... 7.2 4.5 2.7 3.3 2.0
Some college or associate degree ........ 6.6 5.4 4.7 3.1 2.9
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ........ 5.9 11.5 6.4 4.7 2.9
Black non-Hispanic ........................ 4.9 4.9 3.3 3.4 1.9
Less than a high school diploma ......... 2.8 3.0 3.2 2.9 1.5
High school graduates, no college (1).... 5.5 3.7 2.5 3.0 1.8
Some college or associate degree ........ 4.6 4.9 2.9 3.7 2.3
Bachelor's degree and higher (2) ........ 5.0 10.5 6.4 4.5 2.0
Hispanic or Latino......................... 6.7 5.6 3.3 3.5 2.6
Less than a high school diploma ......... 6.0 2.6 1.1 2.6 2.5
High school graduates, no college (1).... 7.1 4.2 2.7 2.7 1.9
Some college or associate degree ........ 6.9 6.1 4.5 4.8 2.6
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)......... 6.1 13.2 6.0 4.4 4.7
1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
2 Includes persons with a bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
NOTE: The first column excludes individuals who turned age 18 before 1978. The last
column excludes individuals who were not yet age 41 when interviewed in 2004-05.
The CPI-U-RS was used to adjust hourly earnings to 2004 dollars, prior to calculating
the growth rates.
The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 consists of men and women who were born in
the years 1957-64 and were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979. These individuals
were age 39 to 48 in 2004-05. Educational attainment is defined as of the 2004-05 survey.
Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other
race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their
representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically
reliable estimates.
Last Modified Date: August 25, 2006
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