Degrees bring higher earnings, census finds

Adults with advanced degrees earn four times more than those with less than a high school diploma, according to a new census report.

Those with a master's, professional or doctoral degree earned an average $82,320 in 2006, compared to $20,873 earned by those without a high school diploma, according to the report, "Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007."

Workers 18 and older with a bachelor's degree earned an average of $56,788 in 2006, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,071.

In Utah, wages are lower overall, but the trend is the same, says Amanda Covington, spokeswoman for the Utah System of Higher Education.

The median income for Utah adults with a high school diploma is $22,437, compared to $45,776 for those with bachelor's degrees and $65,301 for advanced degree holders.

"We tell students that over a lifetime a bachelor's degree versus a high school diploma is $1 million in earnings," Covington said. "Without any high school diploma, they're basically on the road to poverty."

The report found that more than half of Asians over age 25 held at least a four-year degree in 2007, compared to 32 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 19 percent of blacks and 13 percent of Hispanics.

And roughly one in three young women, ages 25 to 29, have obtained at least a bachelor's degree compared to just over one in four of their male counterparts.

However, overall, men remain slightly more likely than women to hold a college degree. Thirty percent of men over 25 had a degree, compared to 28 percent of women.

In Utah, women comprised 48 percent of those awarded degrees by public institutions in the 2005-06 school year, according to USHE data.

Covington said college degrees aren't the only pathway to achieving a higher income, noting that other post-secondary education options such as trade schools and certificate programs add to a worker's marketability.

"The message to everyone in this state is that we would like to see everyone persist through post-secondary education, especially women and minorities," she said.

The census data are from the 2007 Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which is conducted in February, March and April at about 100,000 addresses nationwide.

Other findings for the population over age 25 include:

• In 2007, 86 percent reported they had completed at least high school and 29 percent at least a bachelor's degree.

• Some 28 percent of the foreign-born population held a bachelor's degree, and the proportion of naturalized citizens with college degrees was 34 percent.

• Among workers with advanced degrees, Asians ($88,408) and non-Hispanic whites ($83,785) had higher average earnings than Hispanics ($70,432) and blacks ($64,834).

The full report is online at www.census.gov.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com