This recent report by the United States Census Bureau looks at the relationship between an individual’s level of education and their earnings. This report first uses Synthetic Work-life Earnings (an estimate of the amount of money a person might make over the course of their lifetime) to discover basic relationships between education and earnings. Next, the report goes deeper and looks at whether any differences between racial and gender groups exist. Data for this report came from the Multiyear American Community Survey conducted between 2006 and 2008. Data comes from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, and all earnings estimates are reported in 2008 dollars.
The level of education in the U.S. has been on a steady upward trajectory for the past 70 years. In the 1940 Census, 25 percent of people aged 25 and over had a high-school diploma. In 2008, 85 percent of this group had a high-school diploma. Unsurprisingly, this report finds a positive relationship between education and earnings. Annual earnings of those studied ranged from $11,000 per year for a part-time worker without a high-school degree, to over $100,000 for a full-time worker with a professional degree. Education level also plays a large part into whether someone is employed full-time or part-time. Sixty-eight percent of people with a doctorate degree are employed full time, compared to 38 percent of people with less than a high-school diploma.
Significant differences also exist between gender and racial groups. Women lag behind men in terms of earnings at every level of education. Asian women with a bachelor’s degree are somewhat competitive with some male groups such as Hispanics, but on the whole still earn much less than their male counterparts. Overall, the report confirms that the relationship between education and earnings are strong, and that gender and race play a significant factor into this as well. These findings are also relevant for Ohio as only 36 percent of the state’s population has an associate’s degree or higher. Of those who graduate with a bachelor’s degree an overwhelming 83 percent of those are white and only 2 percent are Hispanic.
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Education and Synthetic Work-Life Earnings Estimates |
