• Mean earnings in the U.S. by educational attainment 2020

In 2020 the mean earnings of Bachelor's degree holders in the United States amounted to 73,499 U.S. dollars. People with higher education degrees tended to earn more than those without. For example, high school graduates, including those with a GED, had mean earnings of 39,498 U.S. dollars.

Mean earnings in the United States from 2005 to 2020, by highest educational degree earned

Level of Education	Total	Less Than 9th Grade	High School (9th to 12th Nongrad)	Graduate (Incl GED)	Some College No Degree	Associate Degree	Bachelor's Degree	Master's Degree	Professional Degree	Doctorate Degree
2005	39,579	19,814	19,964	29,448	31,421	37,990	54,689	67,898	119,009	92,863
2006	41,412	20,812	20,901	31,071	32,289	39,724	56,788	70,358	116,514	103,944
2007	42,064	21,991	21,251	31,286	33,009	39,746	57,181	70,186	120,978	95,565
2008	42,588	21,056	21,007	31,283	32,555	39,506	58,613	70,856	125,019	99,697
2009	42,469	19,485	20,603	30,627	32,295	39,771	56,665	73,738	127,803	103,054
2010	42,956	20,815	20,996	30,999	31,920	39,468	57,619	71,513	125,899	106,855
2011	44,729	21,454	20,936	32,493	32,793	40,907	59,415	76,650	126,233	108,061
2012	45,598	22,092	21,384	32,630	33,749	40,085	60,159	75,008	139,682	113,971
2013	46,814	22,937	23,394	32,948	35,525	40,656	61,088	78,098	122,997	116,171
2014	47,653	25,641	25,028	34,099	35,289	42,848	62,466	76,044	136,669	102,389
2015	49,994	26,782	24,567	35,615	36,139	44,012	65,482	79,753	142,008	114,235
2016	51,893	29,975	26,733	36,702	37,761	44,511	67,267	82,531	134,719	125,586
2017	53,536	27,291	26,145	38,006	38,184	45,637	68,252	87,880	140,003	120,954
2018	55,619	28,746	26,220	38,936	39,945	48,238	71,155	87,123	149,837	124,879
2019	58,544	29,679	29,082	39,371	42,808	48,687	73,163	93,092	152,703	140,337
2020	58,329	31,793	26,815	39,498	41,222	48,753	73,499	92,272	147,236	136,702

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Release date

October 2021

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2005 to 2020

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

persons with earnings

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