In 2024, the average annual income of a high school graduate in the United States was around ****** U.S. dollars. This is an increase from the previous year, when the median income for high school grads was about ****** U.S. dollars, but an overall decline from 1990 when the median earnings of a high school graduate was around ****** U.S. dollars.

In 2023 the mean earnings of Bachelor's degree holders in the United States amounted to 86,970 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 46,720 U.S. dollars.

See notice below about this dataset

This dataset provides the average earnings by student group per district.  Wage records are obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) using a secure, anonymized matching process with limitations. For details on the process and suppression rules, please visit the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard.

This dataset is one of three containing the same data that is also published in the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard: Average Earnings by Student Group Average Earnings by Industry College and Career Outcomes

2025 Update on DESE Data on Employment and Earnings 

The data link between high school graduates and future earnings makes it possible to follow students beyond high school and college into the workforce, enabling long-term evaluation of educational programs using workforce outcomes.

While DESE has published these data in the past, as of June 2025 we are temporarily pausing updates due to an issue conducting the link that was brought to our attention in 2023 by a team of researchers. The issue impacts the earnings information for students who never attended a postsecondary institution or who only attended private or out-of-state colleges or universities, beginning with the 2017 high school graduation cohort, with growing impact in each successive high school graduation cohort.

The issue does not impact the earnings information for students who attended a Massachusetts public institution of higher education, and earnings data for those students will continue to be updated.

Once a solution is found, the past cohorts of data with low match rates will be updated. DESE and partner agencies are exploring linking strategies to maximize the utility of the information.

More detailed information can be found in the attached memo provided by the research team from the Annenberg Institute. We thank them for calling this issue to our attention.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over (LEU0252917300A) from 1979 to 2024 about no college, second quartile, secondary schooling, secondary, 25 years +, full-time, salaries, workers, earnings, education, wages, median, employment, and USA.

The age groups available in the dataset are: 15+, 25+, 25-34, 25-54 and 25-64.

Type of work includes full-time and part-time.

The educational levels include: 0-8 yrs., some high school, high school graduate, some post-secondary, post-secondary certificate diploma and university degree.

Wages include average weekly wage rate.

The immigration statuses include: total landed immigrants (very recent immigrants, recent immigrants, established immigrants), non-landed immigrants and born in Canada.

What are the median earnings of high school graduates in the years following high school graduation in each industry group (6 Digit NAICS)?

See notice below about this dataset

This dataset provides the number of graduates who enrolled in each type of postsecondary education per district.

Wage records are obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) using a secure, anonymized matching process with limitations. For details on the process and suppression rules, please visit the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard.

This dataset is one of three containing the same data that is also published in the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard: Average Earnings by Student Group Average Earnings by Industry College and Career Outcomes

List of Outcomes

• Total Postsecondary Enrollment
• In-State Public 2-Year
• In-State Public 4-Year
• In-State Private
• Out-of-State
• Total Employed
• Total Missing

The data link between high school graduates and future earnings makes it possible to follow students beyond high school and college into the workforce, enabling long-term evaluation of educational programs using workforce outcomes.

While DESE has published these data in the past, as of June 2025 we are temporarily pausing updates due to an issue conducting the link that was brought to our attention in 2023 by a team of researchers. The issue impacts the earnings information for students who never attended a postsecondary institution or who only attended private or out-of-state colleges or universities, beginning with the 2017 high school graduation cohort, with growing impact in each successive high school graduation cohort.

The issue does not impact the earnings information for students who attended a Massachusetts public institution of higher education, and earnings data for those students will continue to be updated.

Once a solution is found, the past cohorts of data with low match rates will be updated. DESE and partner agencies are exploring linking strategies to maximize the utility of the information.

More detailed information can be found in the attached memo provided by the research team from the Annenberg Institute. We thank them for calling this issue to our attention.

Average earnings, by age group and highest level of education, from the 2016 Census of Population.

This statistic shows expected life time earnings of full-time year-round workers at age from ** to ** relative to education level. The difference is shown as a ratio of the earnings of someone whose highest level of education is as a high school graduate. On average, a person with a master's degree is expected to earn almost twice as much in their lifetime as someone who has only completed their high school degree.

This dashboard displays longitudinal wage outcomes of Massachusetts students by district, including College and Career Outcomes, Average Annual Earnings by Student Group, and Average Annual Earnings by Industry.

Wage records are obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) using a secure, anonymized matching process with limitations. For details on the process and suppression rules, please refer to the Employment and Earnings of High School Graduates dashboard itself.

The data in the dashboard is also published across three datasets in the E2C Hub: Average Earnings by Student Group Average Earnings by Industry College and Career Outcomes

U.S. citizens with a professional degree had the highest median household income in 2023, at 172,100 U.S. dollars. In comparison, those with less than a 9th grade education made significantly less money, at 35,690 U.S. dollars. Household income The median household income in the United States has fluctuated since 1990, but rose to around 70,000 U.S. dollars in 2021. Maryland had the highest median household income in the United States in 2021. Maryland’s high levels of wealth is due to several reasons, and includes the state's proximity to the nation's capital. Household income and ethnicity The median income of white non-Hispanic households in the United States had been on the rise since 1990, but declining since 2019. While income has also been on the rise, the median income of Hispanic households was much lower than those of white, non-Hispanic private households. However, the median income of Black households is even lower than Hispanic households. Income inequality is a problem without an easy solution in the United States, especially since ethnicity is a contributing factor. Systemic racism contributes to the non-White population suffering from income inequality, which causes the opportunity for growth to stagnate.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: Black or African American (LEU0254939500A) from 2000 to 2024 about no college, second quartile, secondary schooling, African-American, secondary, 25 years +, full-time, salaries, workers, earnings, education, wages, median, employment, and USA.

Estimated gross annual earnings quartiles for postsecondary graduates working full time at the time of the interview are presented by the province of study, the level of study and gender. Estimates are available at five-year intervals.

United States - Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over was 960.00000 $ in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over reached a record high of 977.00000 in October of 2024 and a record low of 503.00000 in January of 2000. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on October of 2025.

In 2023, around 23.5 percent of high school dropouts were unemployed, compared to 15.8 percent of graduates. See the United States unemployment rate and the monthly unemployment rate for further information. Unemployment among high school dropouts and high school graduatesAs seen from the timeline above, high school graduates are generally employed at a higher rate than individuals who had dropped out of high school. Since 2000, the share of high school dropouts to be employed has risen and fallen. Unemployment of high school dropouts reached a low in 2020 at 7.5 percent, falling well below graduates. In 2021, 90.1 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from high school. Unemployment of high school graduates not enrolled in college is much higher than the national unemployment rate in the United States. As of 2021, unemployment in the U.S. was at 5.3 percent, down from a high of 9.6 percent unemployment in 2010, the highest yearly rate in ten years. Nationwide, unemployment is worst among farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, with a rate of 5.1 percent in May 2022, followed by construction and extraction occupations and transportation and material moving occupations. Not only were more than 7.5 percent of high school dropouts unemployed in 2021, but working high school dropouts earned less on average than individuals of any other level of educational attainment. In 2020, mean earnings of individuals who had not graduated from high school were about 26,815 U.S. dollars annually, compared to 39,498 dollars among high school graduates and 73,499 dollars among those with a Bachelor's degree.

US wages for college majors

It includes data on specific college majors and their median earnings early in their career along with mid level in their career. The data also includes unemployment and underemployment rates for each college major.

Unemployment and Underemployment rates

This data also contains the unemployment and underemployment rates over the last few years in the United States for recent college graduates along with college graduates overall.

Wages

Median annual wages for those holding a high school diploma, along with the 25th median and 75th percentile annual wages for those holding a bachelor's degree.

This data set was collected from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. https://www.newyorkfed.org/

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: White: Men (LEU0252930000A) from 2000 to 2024 about no college, secondary schooling, secondary, white, 25 years +, full-time, males, salaries, workers, education, wages, employment, and USA.

United States - Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: Hispanic or Latino was 867.00000 $ in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: Hispanic or Latino reached a record high of 867.00000 in January of 2024 and a record low of 435.00000 in January of 2000. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: High School graduates, no college: 25 years and over: Hispanic or Latino - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

As of the 2023/24 academic year, graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a starting salary of 110,200 U.S. dollars, and a mid-career salary of 196,900 U.S. dollars. Top universities in the United States One of the top universities in the United States, Harvey Mudd College, is located in Claremont, California. Not only do graduates earn a high salaries after graduation, they also pay the most. In the academic year of 2020-2021, Harvey Mudd College was one of the most expensive school by total annual cost. The best university in the United States in 2021 belonged to the University of California, Berkeley. The Ivy League The Ivy League is a group of eight private universities in the Northeastern United States. It is not only a collegiate athletic conference, but also a group of highly respected academic institutions. They are usually regarded as the best eight universities in the United States and the world. They are extremely selective with their admissions process. However, these universities are extremely expensive to attend. Despite the high price tag, students who graduate from Princeton University have the highest early career salary out of all Ivy League attendees in 2021. This is compared to the overall expected starting salaries of recent college graduates across the United States, which was less than 35,000 U.S. dollars.

Context

A striking graph from the Social Security Administration (https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/factsheets/at-a-glance/earnings-men-1988-2018.html) shows that median annual earnings for all men above the age of 20 have decreased since 1988: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/factsheets/at-a-glance/earnings-men-1988-2018.svg" alt="">

I wanted to better understand how educational attainment has played a role in the above trend, and to come up with a model to forecast the future trend for earnings by educational attainment.

As I began looking at the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, there was a striking trend: the median weekly earnings for all groups of people who did not have a bachelors degree or higher had decreased from 1979 levels, in constant 2020 dollars.

Content

I collated data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab4.htm) and (https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswktabs.htm) and the US Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-people.html) to create this dataset.

I have omitted details of gender and race, to solely look at the correlation between educational attainment and median weekly earnings over the years. All of the data is for ages 25 and higher unless otherwise stated in the column header.

An important note is that all the earnings data are in constant base 2020 dollars. This removes the effects of inflation and makes it possible to compare the numbers over the years.

The data starts at the year 1960, but unfortunately only overall labor force data, and population percentages of persons with a high school graduation (HSG) and persons with a Bachelors or Higher Degree are available. Median weekly earnings data categorized by educational attainment is available from 1979 onwards, while labor force data i.e., labor force level, labor force participation rate and the employment level by educational attainment is available only from 1992 onwards.

The only columns that have data from 1960 onwards are: (i) overall labor force level, (ii) civilian non-institutional population level, (iii) overall labor force participation rate, (iv) overall employment level, (v) overall percentage of high school graduates, and (vi) overall percentage of persons with a bachelors degree or higher.

Some of the columns can be calculated from other columns, for instance the civilian non-institutional population level can be calculated from the labor force participation rate.

Acknowledgements

All of this data is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Census Bureau: https://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab4.htm , https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswktabs.htm and https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-people.html .

A big thank you to all those who worked so hard to collect and organize this data.

Inspiration

The main question is: what is the best way to generate forecasts for median weekly earnings for each educational attainment level?