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Weekly earnings by educational attainment in second quarter 2018
July 20, 2018
Full-time workers age 25 and older without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $554 in the second quarter of 2018. That compares with $726 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,310 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree.
Selected percentiles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and older, 2nd quarter 2018 averages
Characteristic
10th percentile
50th percentile (median)
90th percentile
Total, 25 years and over
$455
$928
$2,223
Men, 25 years and over
489
1,015
2,492
Women, 25 years and over
417
824
1,890
Total, less than a high school diploma
350
554
1,005
Men, less than a high school diploma
384
606
1,143
Women, less than a high school diploma
310
462
763
Total, high school graduates, no college
406
726
1,491
Men, high school graduates, no college
444
810
1,597
Women, high school graduates, no college
375
620
1,195
Total, some college or associate degree
445
825
1,642
Men, some college or associate degree
492
938
1,875
Women, some college or associate degree
408
720
1,403
Total, bachelor's degree and higher
627
1,310
2,907
Men, bachelor's degree and higher
690
1,522
3,324
Women, bachelor's degree and higher
590
1,141
2,317
Total, bachelor's degree only
593
1,187
2,698
Men, bachelor's degree only
641
1,372
2,920
Women, bachelor's degree only
554
1,041
2,111
Total, advanced degree
725
1,512
3,313
Men, advanced degree
856
1,808
3,900
Women, advanced degree
664
1,300
2,625
Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's or professional degree and above), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers—the 90th percentile—made $3,900 or more per week. Women in the 90th percentile with advanced degrees had weekly earnings of $2,625 in the second quarter of 2018.
Weekly earnings for the lowest paid 10 percent of men with advanced degrees—whose earnings were below the 10th percentile—were less than $856 in the second quarter. That was higher than the median earnings—the 50th percentile—of men who had completed high school but never attended college.
These data are from the Current Population Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Second Quarter 2018." Full-time workers usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or main job. The median or 50th percentile is the midpoint in the earnings distribution; half of workers earn more than the median and half earn less. Ten percent of workers have earnings below the upper limit of the 10th percentile, and 90 percent have higher earnings. Ninety percent of workers have earnings below the upper limit of the 90th percentile and 10 percent have higher earnings.
United States Department of Labor
