October 20, 2005 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Education and earnings in 2004

Median weekly earnings in 2004 varied significantly by level of education.

Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers age 25 years and over by sex and educational attainment, 2004 annual averages
[Chart data—TXT]

Among women, those with less than a high school diploma earned $334 per week, compared with $860 for those with a college degree. Among men, high school dropouts earned $446 a week, compared with $1,143 for college graduates.

These data on earnings are produced by the Current Population Survey. Earnings data in this article are median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers. For more information see "Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2004," BLS Report 987 (PDF 196K).