Earnings Premium

About this Indicator

This indicator provides two types of earnings measures by educational attainment level. The first measure shows median earnings among adults ages 25 and older with earnings over the previous 12 months whose highest level of education is a high school diploma (including equivalency), some college credit (including a certificate) or an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree. The second measure shows the college earnings premium, which is defined by the difference between the median earnings of adults with a selected level of postsecondary education and adults with only a high school diploma.

Data Source

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey one-year estimates: Median earnings in the past 12 months by sex by educational attainment for the population 25 years and over.

Note. The estimate for 2020 is not reported due to data collection problems that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.