The income gap between the more-educated and less-educated is widening, a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows.
On average, during an adult’s working life, people with professional degrees, like medical and law, will make an average of $4.4 million, compared to a high school graduate’s life-time earning average of $1.2 million.
In a report titled “The Big Pay Off,” the Census Bureau collected 1999 data from its Current Population Survey to create annual and lifetime earning projections for many different levels of educational attainment.
“What it shows is not surprising,” said Barb Snyder, U vice president for student affairs. “This report verifies what we have said for years: A college degree significantly increases the earning potential of an individual.
“And the more advanced the degree, the more money the graduate will make.”
According to the report, a worker with a bachelor’s degree can expect to make $22,000 more annually than a high school graduate.
U senior and business major, Candice Rush, admits her trail to the U began in part by the quest to make more money.
“I also came to college to seek experience, to grow and to become more cultured,” Rush said.
In 1975, a full-time employee with a bachelor’s degree made 1.5 times the annual earnings of a full- time employee with only a high school diploma. The figures for 1999 show that number has increased to 1.8 percent.
Advanced degrees show an even larger difference in earning potential.
The average master’s degree graduate makes $32,000 more a year than a high school graduate. The gap spreads to $69,000 for those with professional degrees.
“This report validates what we have always known. It pays to get an education,” said Dave Buhler, state Board of Regents spokesman. “Certainly, however, there are other advantages to earning college degrees like a better understanding of culture, art, history and basic economics. These benefits are more difficult to measure but just as tangible and valuable to society.”
The report also stated that although more woman graduate than men, men’s salaries are larger. According to the report, female bachelor degree graduates, ages 25 to 64, make 67 percent of what their male peers do. Whites also continue to make more than minorities at nearly every level of educational attainment. White bachelor’s degree holders earn $500,000 more than blacks and Latinos and $400,000 more than Asians and Pacific Islanders.