Median annual earnings of full-time, full-year wage and salary workers ages 25–34, by educational attainment, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1980

Economic Outcomes

Table 20-1. Median annual earnings of full-time, full-year wage and salary workers ages 25–34, by educational attainment, sex, and race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1980–2006

[In constant 2006 dollars]

Educational attainment, sex, and race/ethnicity¹	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2005	2006

Total	$36,700	$37,400	$34,700	$33,100	$35,100	$34,900	$35,000
Educational attainment
Less than high school	29,400	26,200	24,100	21,400	23,400	22,700	22,000
High school diploma or equivalent	34,200	31,900	29,700	27,500	29,300	28,800	29,000
Some college²	36,700	37,500	34,700	30,800	32,800	32,500	31,400
Associate’s degree	—	—	—	33,100	35,100	35,100	34,000
Bachelor’s degree or higher	44,000	46,800	45,200	43,700	46,800	45,400	45,000
Bachelor’s degree	—	—	—	41,000	45,700	42,100	43,500
Master’s degree or higher	—	—	—	52,900	52,700	51,600	50,000

Sex and educational attainment
Male	43,700	41,200	38,600	36,400	39,800	36,100	37,000
Less than high school	32,500	28,100	26,500	25,100	23,800	25,500	24,000
High school diploma or equivalent	41,400	37,500	33,900	31,800	33,900	31,000	30,000
Some college²	44,000	43,100	38,600	34,400	38,500	36,100	35,000
Associate’s degree	—	—	—	34,400	43,300	40,300	38,000
Bachelor’s degree or higher	48,900	51,400	49,000	49,300	53,900	51,600	50,000
Bachelor’s degree	—	—	—	46,300	52,700	46,500	50,000
Master’s degree or higher	—	—	—	58,600	62,000	56,800	58,000
Female	29,400	30,000	30,500	29,100	31,600	31,000	31,800
Less than high school	20,400	20,600	19,300	17,500	19,500	18,600	19,500
High school diploma or equivalent	26,900	26,200	24,700	23,300	24,600	24,800	24,000
Some college²	29,400	30,000	30,900	26,500	28,100	28,900	28,000
Associate’s degree	—	—	—	31,800	30,400	31,000	30,000
Bachelor’s degree or higher	36,300	39,100	40,100	39,700	41,600	41,300	41,000
Bachelor’s degree	—	—	—	37,000	41,000	39,200	40,000
Master’s degree or higher	—	—	—	46,300	46,800	48,500	48,000

Race/ethnicity¹ and sex
White	$38,200	$37,500	$37,000	$34,400	$37,900	$36,100	$37,400
Male	44,000	43,100	40,100	39,600	41,000	40,300	40,000
Female	29,400	31,900	30,900	30,400	33,900	33,000	34,000
Black	29,400	28,100	27,800	27,800	29,700	29,800	30,000
Male	34,000	31,900	29,300	30,400	33,900	29,900	30,000
Female	26,900	26,200	26,200	25,900	26,900	29,300	27,500
Hispanic	33,000	30,400	27,800	26,500	29,300	27,900	28,000
Male	36,700	33,700	30,100	27,500	30,400	28,900	29,000
Female	26,900	28,100	24,700	24,800	26,200	26,800	27,000
Asian	—	—	36,300³	34,400³	42,100³	41,300	45,000
Male	—	—	37,400³	37,000³	48,000³	46,500	50,000
Female	—	—	33,400³	33,100³	41,000³	41,300	40,000
Pacific Islander	—	—	(³)	(³)	‡³	‡	30,000
American Indian/Alaska Native	—	—	30,900	26,500	28,100	31,000	27,000
More than one race	—	—	—	—	—	36,100	35,000
Male	—	—	—	—	—	38,200	35,000
Female	—	—	—	—	—	32,200	35,000
Other	36,700	37,100	‡	—	—	—	—
Male	42,800	41,200	‡	—	—	—	—
Female	30,600	32,000	‡	—	—	—	—

— Not available.
‡ Reporting standards not met (too few cases).
¹ Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Estimates by sex for Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and More than one race subgroups did not meet reporting standards.
² Due to changes in categories across time, the category “some college” prior to 1992 is not comparable with “some college” from 1992 onwards. Prior to 1992, some college may include students who earned an associate’s degree.
³ From 1989 through 2002, data for Asians and Pacific Islanders were not reported separately; therefore, Pacific Islanders are included with Asians during this period.
NOTE: Earnings are presented in constant dollars by means of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to eliminate inflationary factors and allow for direct comparison across years. See supplemental note 11 for further discussion. Full-year worker refers to those who were employed 50 or more weeks during the previous year; full-time worker refers to those who were usually employed 35 or more hours per week. The Current Population Survey (CPS) questions used to obtain educational attainment were changed in 1992. In 1994, the survey instrument for the CPS was changed and weights were adjusted. See supplemental note 2 for further discussion on both of these changes.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), March and Annual Social and Economic Supplement, selected years, 1981–2007.

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