Bureau of Labor Statistics > Employment Projections > Data

Education pays

Table 5.1 Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment, 2025
Educational attainment	Median usual weekly earnings ($)	Unemployment rate (%)
Doctoral degree	2,307	1.8
Professional degree	2,294	1.9
Master's degree	1,876	2.6
Bachelor's degree	1,578	2.8
Associate's degree	1,135	3.0
Some college, no degree	1,062	3.8
High school diploma	966	4.3
Less than a high school diploma	770	6.1
Total	1,268	3.4
Note: Data are from the Current Population Survey. Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earnings are for full-time wage and salary workers. Annual estimates for 2025 are 11-month averages that exclude October. (Data for October 2025 were not collected due to the federal government shutdown.) As a result, 2025 annual estimates are not strictly comparable with annual averages for other years. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This table is also available as a chart.

These education categories reflect only the highest level of educational attainment. They do not take into account completion of training programs in the form of apprenticeships and other on-the-job training, which may also influence earnings and unemployment rates. For more information on training, see: https://www.bls.gov/emp/documentation/education-training-system.htm.

BLS has some data on the employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 25 years and over by educational attainment, sex, race, and Hispanic origin online.

The Census Bureau also has some data on educational attainment online.

Last modified date: September 1, 2026