College Degree Doubles Income!
By Ian Crawford, EDFUND Communications Unit

The value of a college education is reinforced by recently released U.S. Census Bureau figures—those with a bachelor’s degree earn almost twice as much as those with a high school diploma. The statistics also highlight the lingering disparities among racial and ethnic groups and provide a geographical snapshot of education attainment. The figures come from an annual survey carried out by the Census Bureau, with questions asked in March 2004 and income information taken from 2003.

Average Salaries of Workers Aged 18 and Over:

• With an advanced degree $74,601
• With a bachelor’s degree $51,206
• With a high school diploma $27,915
• Without a high school diploma $18,734

In one interesting result, the survey illustrated near-parity between the earning power of African American men and women, with much sharper difference evident between the genders’ relative earning power among Asian American, Hispanic and white graduates.

Average Salaries of Women with Bachelor’s Degrees:

• Asian Women $43,700
• African American Women $41,100
• White Women $37,800
• Hispanic Women $37,600

Average Salaries of Men with Bachelor’s Degrees:

• White Men $66,000
• Asian Men $52,000
• Hispanic Men $49,000
• African American Men $45,000

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that a record-high 85 percent of those age 25 and older said they had graduated from high school and a record 28 percent reported they had attained a bachelor’s degree or better.

Geographically, the statistics for high school graduation shows the Midwest region leading the way.

Proportion of Population Ages 25 and Older Earning a High-School Diploma:

• Midwest 88.3 percent
• Northeast 86.5 percent
• West 84.3 percent
• South 83.0 percent

However, the results for the proportion of students who have graduated with a bachelor’s degree show that the population centers of the Northeast and West have the edge.

Proportion of Population Ages 25 and Older Earning a Bachelor’s Degree:

• Northeast 30.9 percent
• West 30.2 percent
• Midwest 26.0 percent
• South 25.5 percent

U.S. Bureau – Educational Attainment in the United States: 2004
Detailed tables: www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/cps2004.html

© EDFUND 2005. www.edfund.org
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