Median Earnings by Gender and Education Level, 1971–2008
In 2008, median earnings for females ages 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree or higher were 79% higher than median earnings for females with a high school diploma, and the earnings premium for males was 74%. These earnings differentials were 60% and 54%, respectively, a decade earlier.
Figure 1.6: Median Earnings of Full-Time Year-Round Workers Ages 25–34, by Gender and Education Level, 1971–2008 (in Constant 2008 Dollars)
Notes & Sources
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, 2004; U.S. Census Bureau, 2003–2009; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010g; calculations by the authors.
- From 2007 to 2008, inflation-adjusted median earnings increased for females and males ages 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree or higher, but declined or remained constant for all other education groups.
- In 2008, median earnings for females ages 25 to 34 with some college or an associate degree were 13% higher than median earnings for female high school graduates. For males, this earnings differential was 15%.
- Inflation-adjusted earnings for high school graduates ages 25 to 34 have declined for decades. The median male high school graduate earned $49,700 in 2008 dollars in 1978, $39,700 in 1988, $35,800 in 1998, and $32,500 in 2008. Real earnings for female high school graduates have also declined over time, but less sharply.
- Median earnings of both males and females ages 25 to 34 with some college or an associate degree have also failed to keep up with inflation, but the decline has not been as steep as the decline for high school graduates. In 2008, for both men and women, median earnings for this group were about 10% lower after adjusting for inflation than they were in 1998.
- From 1998 to 2008, median earnings for both male and female four-year college graduates ages 25 to 34 just outpaced inflation, rising 2% and 4%, respectively, in constant dollars.