2. A college education significantly boosts a student’s annual and lifetime earnings.
College graduates earn markedly more than high school graduates.
2017 median weekly earnings, college graduates: $1,173
2017 median weekly earnings, high school graduates: $712
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Current Population Survey,” 2018
Lifelong Benefits
College graduates earn a median of $1 million more over the course of their lives than those with only a high school diploma–$2.3 million in lifetime earnings versus $1.3 million.
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, “The College Payoff,” 2011

3. College-educated individuals are much less likely to be unemployed.
The employment trend is especially pronounced among Millennials, ages
2017 unemployment rate, college graduates: 2.5 percent
2017 unemployment rate, high school graduates: 4.6 percent
2013 unemployment rate, Millennial college graduates: 3.8 percent
2013 unemployment rate, Millennial high school graduates: 12.2 percent
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Pew Research Center
Recession Recovery
Since the most recent recession, 11.5 million of the 11.6 million jobs created went to workers with at least an associate’s degree. College graduates gained 4.6 million jobs.
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, “America’s Divided Recovery,” 2016

4. Individuals with a college education have higher levels of retirement security.
Average annual retirement income is more than four times higher for college graduates than high school graduates.
2010 retirement income, college graduates: $8,482*
2010 retirement income, high school graduates, $1,901*
*Figures exclude Social Security
Source: National Center for Policy Analysis, “More Education, Better Retirement,” 2013
Stifled Savings
Nearly a third of workers with a high school diploma surveyed don’t have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, compared to 18 percent of college graduate respondents.
Source: Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, “18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey,” 2017

5. People with a college degree are significantly more likely to volunteer and vote.
Higher percentages of college graduates give back to their communities.
38.8 percent of college graduates volunteered in
15.6 percent of high school graduates volunteered in
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Volunteers by selected characteristics, September 2015,” 2015
Presidential Participation
In the 2016 presidential election, 74.2 percent of Americans with a college degree voted, compared to 51.5 percent of those with only a high school diploma.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2016,” May 2017

6. College-educated individuals contribute increased tax revenues.
In 2015, college graduates paid nearly double the amount in taxes high school graduates paid.
Estimated average taxes, college graduates: $14,500
Estimated average taxes, high school graduates: $7,600
Source: The College Board, “Education Pays 2016,” 2016
Cumulative Contributions
A college graduate pays, on average, $328,511 in lifetime taxes (federal income, state income, property, and sales); high school graduates contribute an average of $136,564.
Source: Lumina Foundation, “It’s Not Just the Money,” 2015

7. A college education leads to increased giving to charities.
In 2012, the average charitable donation made by college graduates was more than three times the average contribution from high school graduates.
Average donation, college graduates: $1,304
Average donation, high school graduates: $385
Source: Lumina Foundation, “It’s Not Just the Money,” 2015
Alumni Giving
Graduates donated a cumulative $11.37 billion to their colleges and universities in 2017–accounting for more than 26 percent of all charitable contributions to institutions that year.
Source: Council for Aid to Education, “Voluntary Support of Education survey,” 2018

8. A college education leads to healthier lifestyles.
College graduates are much less likely to smoke than high school graduates.
8 percent of male college graduates smoked in 2014
28 percent of male high school graduates smoked in 2014
6 percent of female college graduates smoked in 2014
23.5 percent of female high school graduates smoked in 2014
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, “Health, United States, 2015,” 2016
Exercise Engagement
Across all age groups, college-educated individuals are more likely to report exercising regularly than high school graduates. For adults ages 25-32, 86 percent with a college degree said they work out weekly, compared to 66 percent with a high school diploma.
Source: The College Board, “Education Pays 2016,” 2016

9. College-educated individuals have a longer lifespan.
Both men and women have longer life expectancies at age 25 if they have earned a college degree.
In 2006, college-educated men were expected to live 5 years longer than male high school graduates.
In 2006, college-educated women were expected to live 3 years longer than female high school graduates.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, “Health, United States, 2011: With Special Feature on Socioeconomic Status and Health,” 2012
Increasing Benefits
Life expectancy gaps between college and high school graduates widened by one year for both men and women between 1996 and 2006.
Source: Same as above

10. A college education alters future generations.
From , children ages 2-19 were less likely to be obese if their parents had graduated from college.
9 percent of girls whose parents graduated from college were obese
24 percent of girls whose parents graduated from high school were obese
11 percent of boys whose parents graduated from college were obese
20 percent of boys whose parents graduated from high school were obese
Source: The College Board, “Education Pays 2016,” 2016
College-Going Culture
In a survey, 76 percent of the children of college graduates enrolled in college right after high school, compared to 37 percent of the respondents whose parents did not graduate from college.
Source: The Atlantic, “Are College Degrees Inherited?” 2014