The U.S. Reaches a High Point in Higher Education

More than one-third of the adult population in the United States has a bachelor’s degree or higher marking the first time in decades of data, according to a new report from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“The percentage rose to 33.4 percent in 2016, a significant milestone since the Current Population Survey began collecting educational attainment in 1940,” said Kurt Bauman, Chief of the Education and Social Stratification Branch. “In 1940, only 4.6 percent had reached that level of education.”

Census data also found that the average earnings in 2016 for those ages 25 and older whose highest educational attainment was high school were $35,615.

The average earnings for those with a bachelor’s degree were $65,482 compared with $92,525 for those with an advanced degree.