New U.S. Census Bureau Research Shows Growing College Earnings Premium

New U.S. Census Bureau research released today shows the earnings growth for workers with at least a bachelor’s degree outpaced earnings growth for workers whose highest degree is a high school diploma over the past two decades.

“Between 2004 and 2024, earnings of those with a high school degree but no college rose 3.2%, while earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree or more went up 6.3%,” the research finds. Last year, workers with a bachelor’s degree had an 80% earnings premium over peers whose highest degree is a high school diploma.

APLU maintains a checklist of key figures on cost, student debt, and ROI to help members tell their story as well as much more detailed pages on these individual topics.