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Digest of Education Statistics
2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 505.15.Number, percentage distribution, and median annual earnings of 25- to 34-year-olds with a bachelor's or higher degree, by sex, race/ethnicity, and selected employment and occupational characteristics: 2022
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected employment or occupational characteristic Total1 Sex Race/ethnicity
Male Female American Indian/Alaska Native Asian Black Hispanic Pacific Islander White Two or more races
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number (in thousands)
All 25- to 34-year-olds with a 
   bachelor's or higher degree 

17,834


(62.8)

8,015


(34.0)

9,819


(41.6)

39


(1.8)

2,125


(13.5)

1,565


(17.1)

2,358


(23.9)

19


(1.8)

10,834


(42.4)

786


(11.5)
Percentage distribution
     All 25- to 34-year-olds with a 
        bachelor's or higher degree 

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

Employment status






























  Employed  89.3 (0.10) 92.1 (0.12) 87.0 (0.15) 81.4 (1.98) 84.0 (0.32) 88.4 (0.47) 87.9 (0.29) 84.1 (3.61) 90.9 (0.11) 88.2 (0.45)
    Full-time  79.8 (0.13) 85.1 (0.19) 75.5 (0.18) 72.9 (2.39) 74.8 (0.41) 78.2 (0.55) 77.0 (0.40) 71.3 (4.57) 81.9 (0.14) 77.5 (0.64)
    Part-time  9.5 (0.09) 7.0 (0.14) 11.5 (0.12) 8.5 (1.52) 9.2 (0.26) 10.3 (0.37) 10.9 (0.32) 12.8 (3.11) 9.0 (0.10) 10.6 (0.51)
      Less than 20 hours per week  2.5 (0.04) 1.7 (0.05) 3.2 (0.07) 1.3 ! (0.47) 3.0 (0.16) 2.7 (0.19) 2.7 (0.14) 4.2 ! (2.01) 2.3 (0.05) 2.8 (0.26)
      20 to 29 hours per week  3.7 (0.06) 2.8 (0.09) 4.5 (0.08) 3.5 (0.89) 3.9 (0.17) 3.8 (0.25) 4.4 (0.20) 4.2 ! (1.63) 3.5 (0.07) 3.9 (0.28)
      30 to 34 hours per week  3.3 (0.05) 2.6 (0.07) 3.8 (0.07) 3.7 ! (1.14) 2.4 (0.12) 3.8 (0.23) 3.8 (0.17) 4.4 ! (2.17) 3.2 (0.06) 3.9 (0.32)
  Unemployed  2.2 (0.05) 2.4 (0.08) 2.0 (0.07) 4.1 ! (1.22) 2.7 (0.16) 3.6 (0.26) 2.6 (0.15) (†) 1.7 (0.05) 2.8 (0.24)
  Not in labor force  8.5 (0.08) 5.5 (0.10) 11.0 (0.14) 14.6 (2.07) 13.3 (0.27) 8.0 (0.39) 9.5 (0.26) 11.7 (2.67) 7.3 (0.08) 9.0 (0.42)
    Enrolled in graduate school  2.2 (0.04) 2.1 (0.06) 2.3 (0.06) 2.9 (0.83) 3.9 (0.18) 2.4 (0.20) 2.2 (0.12) (†) 1.8 (0.05) 2.6 (0.24)
    Not enrolled in graduate school  6.3 (0.07) 3.3 (0.10) 8.7 (0.12) 11.6 (1.88) 9.4 (0.23) 5.6 (0.34) 7.2 (0.22) 10.7 (2.56) 5.5 (0.08) 6.5 (0.37)

Major occupation group2

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)
  Architecture and engineering  5.1 (0.07) 8.5 (0.14) 2.1 (0.06) 4.1 ! (1.55) 7.8 (0.26) 2.8 (0.25) 4.5 (0.19) 10.0 ! (3.52) 5.0 (0.09) 4.5 (0.31)
  Arts, design, entertainment, sports,
     and media 

4.1


(0.07)

3.9


(0.08)

4.3


(0.10)

3.7

!

(1.28)

3.3


(0.18)

3.6


(0.24)

4.0


(0.16)



(†)

4.4


(0.08)

4.6


(0.34)
  Building and grounds cleaning and
     maintenance 

0.5


(0.02)

0.7


(0.05)

0.3


(0.02)



(†)

0.1


(0.03)

0.3


(0.07)

1.0


(0.10)



(†)

0.5


(0.03)

0.5


(0.12)
  Business and financial operations  12.0 (0.12) 12.1 (0.17) 11.9 (0.16) 7.8 (1.83) 11.8 (0.28) 12.0 (0.50) 11.4 (0.33) 14.2 (3.77) 12.2 (0.13) 11.9 (0.62)
  Community and social services 3.4 (0.05) 1.9 (0.06) 4.7 (0.09) 6.5 (1.63) 1.1 (0.09) 5.7 (0.33) 4.4 (0.18) 6.0 ! (2.40) 3.3 (0.07) 3.4 (0.29)
  Computer and mathematical  8.9 (0.09) 14.0 (0.17) 4.5 (0.08) 4.0 ! (1.28) 22.9 (0.46) 7.0 (0.44) 6.0 (0.21) 11.9 (3.30) 7.2 (0.10) 9.6 (0.46)
  Construction and extraction  0.8 (0.03) 1.6 (0.06) 0.1 (0.02) (†) 0.2 (0.04) 0.5 (0.10) 1.5 (0.13) (†) 0.8 (0.04) 0.7 (0.13)
  Education, training, and library  11.1 (0.10) 7.1 (0.11) 14.6 (0.17) 10.7 (1.87) 7.2 (0.24) 10.5 (0.44) 11.6 (0.26) 10.4 (3.02) 12.0 (0.13) 10.2 (0.44)
  Farming, fishing, and forestry  0.2 (0.01) 0.3 (0.02) 0.1 (0.02) (†) (†) 0.1 ! (0.05) 0.3 (0.06) (†) 0.2 (0.02) 0.2 ! (0.07)
  Food preparation and serving  1.7 (0.05) 1.6 (0.06) 1.7 (0.06) 4.2 (1.22) 1.3 (0.11) 1.6 (0.16) 2.7 (0.15) (†) 1.5 (0.06) 2.2 (0.22)
  Healthcare practitioners and technicians  12.3 (0.12) 6.4 (0.13) 17.4 (0.19) 13.8 (2.47) 13.5 (0.35) 10.6 (0.46) 9.6 (0.29) 9.0 ! (3.25) 12.9 (0.14) 11.5 (0.57)
  Healthcare support 1.2 (0.04) 0.6 (0.03) 1.7 (0.06) 3.2 ! (1.06) 1.4 (0.15) 2.3 (0.20) 1.8 (0.12) (†) 0.9 (0.03) 1.2 (0.17)
  Installation, maintenance, and repair  0.6 (0.03) 1.1 (0.05) 0.1 (0.01) 1.5 ! (0.71) 0.4 (0.06) 0.5 (0.09) 0.8 (0.09) (†) 0.6 (0.03) 0.4 (0.12)
  Legal  2.0 (0.05) 1.8 (0.07) 2.2 (0.07) 1.6 ! (0.75) 1.3 (0.10) 1.6 (0.16) 1.9 (0.10) (†) 2.3 (0.07) 1.8 (0.20)
  Life, physical, and social sciences  3.0 (0.05) 3.0 (0.07) 3.0 (0.07) (†) 4.4 (0.17) 2.3 (0.18) 2.9 (0.17) (†) 2.9 (0.07) 2.9 (0.26)
  Management  13.2 (0.11) 13.6 (0.16) 12.7 (0.13) 9.7 (1.76) 10.3 (0.30) 11.2 (0.42) 12.4 (0.29) 15.2 (3.52) 14.1 (0.14) 13.9 (0.72)
  Office and administrative support  7.4 (0.09) 5.4 (0.12) 9.1 (0.14) 9.0 (2.31) 5.4 (0.18) 11.6 (0.49) 9.6 (0.28) 9.3 ! (2.81) 6.6 (0.10) 7.8 (0.50)
  Personal care and service  1.3 (0.04) 0.8 (0.05) 1.7 (0.06) (†) 0.9 (0.09) 1.7 (0.18) 1.4 (0.11) (†) 1.3 (0.05) 1.9 (0.24)
  Production  1.4 (0.04) 2.0 (0.07) 0.9 (0.04) 4.7 ! (1.74) 1.0 (0.09) 1.7 (0.19) 1.8 (0.11) (†) 1.4 (0.05) 1.0 (0.13)
  Protective service  1.6 (0.04) 2.6 (0.08) 0.7 (0.04) 2.2 ! (0.83) 0.6 (0.07) 2.6 (0.25) 1.7 (0.12) 2.2 ! (1.06) 1.6 (0.06) 1.7 (0.20)
  Sales and related  6.4 (0.07) 7.9 (0.13) 5.1 (0.09) 5.6 (1.41) 4.0 (0.19) 6.0 (0.31) 6.6 (0.24) 4.4 ! (2.11) 6.9 (0.11) 6.3 (0.35)
  Transportation and material moving  1.8 (0.05) 2.8 (0.09) 0.9 (0.05) 1.6 ! (0.52) 1.1 (0.09) 3.6 (0.27) 2.3 (0.15) (†) 1.5 (0.05) 1.9 (0.19)

Class of worker2

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)

100.0


(†)
  Private for-profit wage and salary 66.1 (0.17) 72.9 (0.24) 60.2 (0.21) 59.8 (3.81) 75.6 (0.42) 61.6 (0.73) 64.6 (0.48) 59.5 (5.09) 65.3 (0.19) 66.6 (0.80)
    Employee of private company  64.3 (0.17) 70.9 (0.23) 58.6 (0.22) 57.4 (3.37) 74.1 (0.41) 60.1 (0.74) 62.8 (0.48) 52.9 (4.99) 63.3 (0.19) 64.7 (0.83)
    Self-employed in own incorporated 
       business

1.8


(0.04)

2.1


(0.07)

1.6


(0.05)



(†)

1.5


(0.10)

1.5


(0.18)

1.7


(0.11)



(†)

1.9


(0.06)

1.9


(0.22)
  Private nonprofit wage and salary  13.1 (0.10) 9.2 (0.14) 16.5 (0.15) 12.1 (2.71) 11.1 (0.29) 13.3 (0.43) 12.8 (0.34) 10.7 (3.16) 13.6 (0.13) 12.5 (0.53)
  Government  17.9 (0.14) 15.0 (0.18) 20.4 (0.17) 26.7 (3.09) 11.3 (0.29) 22.5 (0.64) 19.5 (0.39) 27.3 (4.71) 18.1 (0.16) 17.3 (0.56)
    Local 9.4 (0.10) 6.6 (0.13) 11.7 (0.12) 11.9 (2.00) 3.6 (0.15) 9.9 (0.46) 11.1 (0.30) 12.8 (3.34) 10.1 (0.13) 8.3 (0.41)
    State  5.8 (0.08) 5.4 (0.11) 6.2 (0.11) 9.4 (2.07) 5.8 (0.23) 7.8 (0.34) 5.8 (0.21) 9.4 ! (2.81) 5.6 (0.10) 5.9 (0.28)
    Federal 2.7 (0.05) 2.9 (0.08) 2.4 (0.05) 5.4 (1.32) 1.9 (0.12) 4.8 (0.31) 2.6 (0.15) 5.1 ! (2.46) 2.5 (0.06) 3.1 (0.35)
  Self-employed in own nonincorporated 
     business 

2.8


(0.06)

2.8


(0.08)

2.9


(0.08)

1.5

!

(0.66)

1.9


(0.13)

2.5


(0.20)

3.0


(0.17)



(†)

3.0


(0.07)

3.6


(0.31)
  Unpaid family  0.1 (0.01) 0.1 (0.02) 0.1 (0.01) (†) 0.1 (0.02) 0.1 ! (0.06) 0.1 (0.03) (†) 0.1 (0.01) 0.1 ! (0.03)
Median annual earnings (in current dollars)
     All 25- to 34-year-old bachelor's 
        degree holders who were full-time 
        year-round workers3 

$67,630


(281)

$72,930


(587)

$62,220


(227)

$49,940


(16,058)

$84,790


(1,275)

$57,190


(764)

$60,440


(665)

$69,800


(4,904)

$67,690


(310)

$66,790


(941)

Major occupation group2






























  Architecture and engineering  87,490 (909) 88,270 (497) 82,920 (756) (†) 95,130 (2,094) 82,970 (1,933) 82,390 (957) (†) 88,080 (465) 82,760 (2,112)
  Arts, design, entertainment, sports,
     and media 

61,560


(593)

62,070


(997)

60,260


(735)



(†)

72,350


(2,980)

61,260


(3,966)

61,000


(1,511)



(†)

60,950


(596)

56,340


(1,869)
  Building and grounds cleaning and
     maintenance 

40,960


(1,082)

41,340


(1,589)

36,080


(3,042)



(†)



(†)



(†)

26,650


(4,402)

 


 

42,910


(1,467)



(†)
  Business and financial operations  74,680 (713) 77,970 (992) 71,990 (518) (†) 87,120 (1,110) 64,120 (749) 67,480 (956) (†) 76,450 (536) 72,640 (2,876)
  Community and social services  52,040 (650) 52,020 (744) 51,900 (626) (†) 61,670 (3,324) 51,250 (1,186) 51,490 (920) (†) 52,020 (516) 51,860 (2,871)
  Computer and mathematical  93,790 (983) 96,670 (855) 86,330 (540) (†) 113,660 (1,799) 77,170 (2,673) 82,510 (1,435) (†) 89,310 (1,146) 92,980 (3,461)
  Construction and extraction 52,070 (1,063) 52,070 (1,167) 48,920 (5,798) (†) 40,560 (8,241) (†) 43,470 (2,905) (†) 52,630 (2,049) (†)
  Education, training, and library  50,430 (208) 52,020 (525) 50,010 (331) 45,590 (2,692) 44,780 (1,827) 47,850 (997) 51,840 (491) (†) 51,000 (477) 50,730 (988)
  Farming, fishing, and forestry 38,410 (1,374) 38,490 (1,394) 36,340 (6,254) (†) (†) (†) 32,980 (3,778) (†) 40,080 (1,063) (†)
  Food preparation and serving 37,000 (1,731) 39,230 (659) 36,280 (1,293) (†) 37,030 (3,028) 30,720 (2,625) 36,590 (1,814) (†) 40,440 (802) 29,170 (4,943)
  Healthcare practitioners and technicians  72,780 (416) 76,550 (709) 72,600 (393) 60,620 (7,159) 82,730 (1,445) 69,090 (2,209) 70,720 (965) (†) 72,570 (372) 74,730 (2,560)
  Healthcare support  38,550 (1,351) 40,090 (1,308) 38,170 (1,182) (†) 38,160 (2,658) 35,570 (2,091) 38,090 (1,304) (†) 41,110 (567) 32,390 (2,842)
  Installation, maintenance, and repair 52,070 (2,357) 53,170 (2,207) 40,670 (8,742) (†) 51,260 (6,296) 45,750 (4,829) 50,020 (2,254) (†) 55,160 (2,384) (†)
  Legal  83,560 (1,729) 93,630 (4,273) 77,970 (2,371) (†) 106,990 (11,447) 72,010 (6,122) 71,240 (2,325) (†) 87,870 (2,242) 85,330 (9,523)
  Life, physical, and social sciences  62,530 (1,548) 63,590 (780) 62,410 (942) (†) 64,930 (3,126) 66,030 (2,990) 61,890 (1,497) (†) 63,600 (992) 62,400 (4,080)
  Management 77,970 (636) 88,090 (1,001) 72,720 (782) 55,970 (16,058) 97,800 (3,116) 62,680 (1,898) 67,390 (1,480) (†) 80,120 (888) 76,350 (2,257)
  Office and administrative support 48,480 (714) 52,070 (644) 46,840 (486) (†) 51,970 (1,620) 44,300 (997) 45,010 (771) (†) 51,000 (798) 47,940 (2,269)
  Personal care and service 38,440 (1,209) 41,390 (1,186) 37,060 (1,523) (†) 39,140 (2,124) 39,310 (2,856) 31,460 (2,596) (†) 40,620 (754) 41,520 (3,483)
  Production 51,940 (1,386) 53,260 (812) 46,240 (1,836) (†) 52,970 (2,857) 41,660 (7,132) 50,530 (1,584) (†) 52,010 (1,620) 52,220 (9,498)
  Protective service 62,310 (1,056) 65,580 (710) 57,290 (1,832) (†) 73,120 (3,028) 50,700 (3,276) 62,020 (2,888) (†) 63,070 (595) 62,390 (4,456)
  Sales and related 67,480 (988) 72,130 (1,323) 61,840 (1,429) (†) 67,500 (4,863) 51,540 (1,690) 56,890 (2,238) (†) 72,340 (1,085) 67,130 (3,420)
  Transportation and material moving 44,650 (568) 46,150 (1,054) 41,370 (2,249) (†) 42,320 (3,898) 41,000 (728) 40,500 (2,367) (†) 49,940 (1,418) 51,860 (5,973)

Class of worker2






























  Private for-profit wage and salary 72,940 (612) 79,180 (920) 67,480 (574) 49,030 (2,980) 93,320 (1,022) 59,160 (1,189) 62,130 (740) 77,670 (10,265) 74,690 (451) 72,690 (1,978)
    Employee of private company 72,950 (626) 79,830 (631) 67,520 (565) 46,550 (3,293) 93,430 (1,058) 59,370 (1,265) 62,150 (915) 84,250 (11,721) 74,770 (514) 72,710 (1,974)
    Self-employed in own incorporated 
       business

62,340


(2,067)

72,820


(4,126)

54,200


(2,502)



(†)

59,520


(8,765)

49,670


(4,874)

61,540


(3,225)



(†)

67,490


(1,931)

64,360


(5,775)
  Private nonprofit wage and salary 61,990 (519) 62,210 (802) 61,120 (501) 46,930 (5,924) 68,690 (1,585) 57,250 (2,192) 56,970 (1,359) (†) 62,020 (564) 58,080 (1,566)
  Government 57,040 (243) 61,590 (316) 54,200 (393) 50,250 (2,272) 61,920 (766) 53,350 (1,231) 57,010 (641) (†) 56,890 (254) 61,530 (912)
    Local 55,870 (308) 60,390 (581) 53,400 (282) 51,490 (3,491) 62,360 (2,064) 53,300 (1,244) 56,870 (805) (†) 55,080 (517) 58,640 (2,019)
    State 52,620 (854) 55,950 (541) 52,060 (608) 44,980 (4,096) 55,490 (834) 48,940 (1,275) 51,990 (1,096) (†) 53,610 (750) 55,870 (2,394)
    Federal 73,660 (1,297) 78,050 (1,872) 70,160 (1,183) (†) 75,250 (3,702) 63,070 (2,843) 66,970 (2,615) (†) 78,750 (2,194) 77,900 (4,516)
  Self-employed in own nonincorporated 
     business 

51,880


(1,141)

52,060


(1,573)

46,560


(2,511)



(†)

44,730


(4,056)

45,150


(3,585)

43,410


(2,655)



(†)

52,090


(2,877)

51,030


(4,056)
  Unpaid family 31,220 (4,053) 35,260 ! (12,648) 20,580 (5,520) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) 24,150 (4,552) (†)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately.
2Estimates by major occupation group and class of worker are restricted to individuals currently employed.
3Estimates of median annual earnings are restricted to individuals working full time (35 or more hours per week) and year round.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population residing within the United States, including both noninstitutionalized persons (e.g., those living in households, college housing, or military housing located within the United States) and institutionalized persons (e.g., those living in prisons, nursing facilities, or other healthcare facilities). Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 1-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data, 2022. (This table was prepared February 2024.)

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