Education pays
June 27, 2001
In 2000, college graduates age 25 and over earned nearly $400 more per week (at the median) than workers who stopped with a high school diploma.
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The median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and over who are college graduates were $896 in 2000, compared with $506 for high school graduates with no college.
College graduates have experienced growth in real (inflation-adjusted) earnings since 1979. In contrast, the real earnings of workers who dropped out of high school have declined.
Data on weekly earnings by education are from the Current Population Survey. The figures for college graduates refer to all college graduates age 25 and over, including those with advanced degrees. Find out more in Working in the 21st Century, (Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2001).
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United States Department of Labor
