In 2009, young adults ages 25–34 with a bachelor's degree earned more than twice as much as young adults without a high school diploma or its equivalent, 50 percent more than young adult high school completers, and 25 percent more than young adults with an associate's degree.
In 2009, some 61 percent of young adults ages 25–34 who were in the labor force were employed full time throughout a full year. 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, 69 percent of young adults with a bachelor's degree or higher were full-time, full-year workers in 2009, compared with 55 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 2009 (see table A-17-1). For example, young adults with a bachelor's degree consistently had higher median earnings than those with less education. This relationship of higher median earnings corresponding with higher educational attainment also held across sex and race/ethnicity subgroups.
In 2009, the median of the 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, $30,000 for those with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and $36,000 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 2009 (i.e., 114 percent more), 50 percent more than young adult high school completers, and 25 percent more than young adults with an associate's degree. In 2009, the median of the earnings of young adults with a master's degree or higher was $60,000, some 33 percent more than the median for young adults with a bachelor's degree.
Between 1980 and 2009, the difference (in constant 2009 dollars) in median earnings increased between those with a bachelor's degree or higher and those who had completed high school, as did the difference between those with a bachelor's degree or higher and those without a high school diploma or its equivalent. For example, in 1980, young adults with a bachelor's degree or higher earned $18,200 more than those without a high school diploma or its equivalent. This difference increased to $25,500 in 2005 and to $29,000 in 2009. This increase in the differential in median earnings over this period was primarily due to the decrease in earnings for high school completers and young adults without a high school diploma or its equivalent. Between 1995 and 2009, there was no overall linear pattern in the difference in median earnings between those with a bachelor's degree and those with a master's degree or higher. For example, in 1995, young adults with a master's degree or higher earned $12,700 more than their peers with a bachelor's degree; this difference in median earnings was $10,100 in 2005 and $15,000 in 2009.
Earnings differences were also observed by sex and race/ethnicity. In 2009, the median of the earnings for young adult males was higher than the median for young adult females at every education level (see figure 18-2). For example, in 2009, young adult males with a bachelor's degree earned $51,000, while their female counterparts earned $40,100. In the same year, the median of White young adults' earnings was higher than that of Black and Hispanic young adults' earnings at most education levels. 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 2009. For example, in 2009, the median of earnings for young adults with at least a master's degree was $70,000 for Asians, $58,000 for Whites, $55,000 for Blacks, and $53,000 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 2009 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 supplemental note 10. 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. For more information on changes to the CPS, see supplemental note 2. For more information on race/ethnicity, see supplemental note 1.
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