In 2010, young adults ages 25–34 with a bachelor's degree earned 114 percent more than young adults without a high school diploma or its equivalent, 50 percent more than young adult High school completers, and 22 percent more than young adults with an associate's degree.
In 2010, some 62 percent of young adults ages 25–34 who were in the labor force were employed full time throughout a full year (table A-49-1). The percentage of young adults working full time throughout a full year was generally higher for those with higher levels of educational attainment. For example, 71 percent of young adults with a bachelor's degree or higher were full-time, Full-year workers in 2010, compared with 57 percent of young adults with a high school diploma or its equivalent.
For young adults ages 25–34 who worked full time throughout a full year, higher educational attainment was associated with higher median earnings. This pattern of higher median earnings corresponding with higher levels of educational attainment was consistent for each year examined between 1995 and 2010 (see table A-49-1). For example, young adults with a bachelor's degree consistently had higher median earnings than those with less education. This pattern also held across sex and race/ ethnicity subgroups.
In 2010, the median of earnings for young adults with a bachelor's degree was $45,000, while the median was $21,000 for those without a high school diploma or its equivalent, $29,900 for those with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and $37,000 for those with an associate's degree. In other words, young adults with a bachelor's degree earned more than twice as much as those without a high school diploma or its equivalent in 2010 (i.e., 114 percent more), 50 percent more than young adult High school completers, and 22 percent more than young adults with an associate's degree. In 2010, the median of earnings for young adults with a master's degree or higher was $54,700, some 21 percent more than the median for young adults with a bachelor's degree.
The difference (in constant 2010 dollars) in median earnings between those with a bachelor's degree or higher and those without a high school diploma or its equivalent increased between 1995 and 2010. For example, in 1995, the median of earnings for young adults with a bachelor's degree or higher was $24,500 greater than the median for those without a high school diploma or its equivalent; in 2010, this earnings differential was $27,700. There was no measurable difference, however, between the 1995 median earnings differential and the 2010 median earnings differential of those with a bachelor's degree or higher over those with a high school diploma or its equivalent. Nor was there a measurable difference between the 1995 median earnings differential and the 2010 median earnings differential of those with a master's degree or higher over those with a bachelor's degree.
Earnings differences were also observed by sex and race/ ethnicity. In 2010, the median of earnings for young adult males was higher than the median for young adult females at every education level. For example, in 2010, young adult males with a bachelor's degree earned $49,800, while their female counterparts earned $40,000. In the same year, the median of earnings by education level for White young adults generally exceeded the corresponding medians for Black and Hispanic young adults. Asian young adults with a bachelor's degree or with a master's degree or higher had higher median earnings than did their White, Black, and Hispanic counterparts in 2010. For example, the median of earnings in 2010 for young adults with at least a master's degree was $68,300 for Asians, $54,300 for Whites, $49,100 for Blacks, and $48,800 for Hispanics.
Technical Notes
High school completers are those who earned a high school diploma or equivalent (e.g., a General Educational Development [GED] certificate). Median earnings are presented in 2010 constant dollars by means of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to eliminate inflationary factors and to allow for direct comparison across years. For more information on the CPI, see Appendix C – Finance. Full-year workers refers to those who were employed 50 or more weeks during the previous year; full-time workers refers to those who were usually employed 35 or more hours per week. Beginning in 2005, standard errors were computed using replicate weights, which produced more precise values than the methodology used in prior years. For more information on the Current Population Survey, see Appendix B – Guide to Sources. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. For more information on race/ethnicity, see Appendix C – Commonly Used Measures.
Click figure to enlarge
