About 33 percent of young women 25 to 29 had a bachelor’s degree or more education in 2007, compared with 26 percent of their male counterparts, according to tabulations released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The series of tables, Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007, showed that among adults 25 and older, men remain slightly more likely than women to hold at least a bachelor’s degree (30 percent compared with 28 percent). However, as the percentage for women rose between 2006 and 2007 (from 27 percent), it remained statistically unchanged for men.
The tables also showed that more education continues to pay off in a big way: Adults with advanced degrees earn four times more than those with less than a high school diploma. Workers 18 and older with a master’s, professional or doctoral degree earned an average of $82,320 in 2006, while those with less than a high school diploma earned $20,873.
Other highlights:
In 2007, 86 percent of all adults 25 and older reported they had completed at least high school and 29 percent at least a bachelor's degree.
More than half of Asians 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more (52 percent), compared with 32 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 19 percent of blacks and 13 percent of Hispanics.
The proportion of the foreign-born population with a bachelor’s degree or more was 28 percent, compared with 29 percent of the native population. However, the proportion of naturalized citizens with a college degree was 34 percent.
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.
Among those whose highest level of education was a high school diploma or equivalent, non-Hispanic white workers had the highest average earnings ($32,931), followed by Asians ($29,426) and blacks ($26,268). Average earnings of Hispanic workers in the same group ($27,508) were not statistically different from those of Asian or black workers.
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 package contains a series of data tables on educational trends and attainment levels. Data are shown by characteristics, such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, labor force status, occupation, industry and nativity.
The 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.
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Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. For more information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates, standard errors and confidence intervals, go to Appendix G of <http://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar07.pdf>.
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