US Census Press Releases

Releases = =AB=20 African=20 American , Asian=20 , Education=20 , Hispanic=20 Origin Population , Income=20 & Wealth , Race=20 , Women=20

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RELEASED: 12:01 A.M. EST, MARCH 28, 2005=20 (MONDAY)

Mike Bergman	CB05-38
Public Information Office
(301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax)	Summary=20 Table
(301) 457-1037 (TDD)	Deta= iled=20 Tables
e-mail: <pio@census.gov>

College Degree Nearly Doubles Annual=20 Earnings, Census Bureau Reports=20

New information from = the U.S.=20 Census Bureau reinforces the value of a college education: workers = 18 and=20 over with a bachelor=92s degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, = while=20 those with a high school diploma earn $27,915. Workers with an = advanced=20 degree make an average of $74,602, and those without a high school = diploma=20 average $18,734. According to new tables released = on the=20 Internet titled Educational Attainment in the United States: 2004, = 85=20 percent of those age 25 or older reported they had completed at = least high=20 school and 28 percent had attained at least a bachelor=92s degree = =97 both=20 record highs. Other highlights for the = population 25=20 years and over in 2004: Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska had the highest = proportions=20 of people with at least a high school diploma, all around 91 = percent. The District of Columbia=92s population had the highest = proportion=20 with a bachelor=92s degree or higher at 45.7 percent, followed = by=20 Massachusetts (36.7 percent), Colorado (35.5 percent), New = Hampshire=20 (35.4 percent) and Maryland (35.2 percent). At the regional level, the Midwest had the highest = proportion of=20 high school graduates (88.3 percent), followed by the Northeast = (86.5=20 percent), the West (84.3 percent) and the South (83.0 percent). The Northeast had the highest proportion of college = graduates (30.9=20 percent), followed by the West (30.2 percent), the Midwest (26.0 = percent) and the South (25.5 percent). High school graduation rates for women continued to exceed = those of=20 men, 85.4 percent and 84.8 percent, respectively. On the other = hand, men=20 continued to have a higher proportion of their population with a = bachelor=92s degree or higher (29.4 percent compared with 26.1 = percent). Non-Hispanic whites had the highest proportion with a high = school=20 diploma or higher (90.0 percent), followed by Asians (86.8 = percent),=20 African-Americans (80.6 percent) and Hispanics (58.4 percent). Asians had the highest proportion with a bachelor=92s degree = or higher=20 (49.4 percent), followed by Non-Hispanic whites (30.6 percent),=20 African-Americans (17.6 percent) and Hispanics (12.1 percent). The proportion of the foreign-born population with a high = school=20 diploma (67.2 percent) was lower than that of the native = population=20 (88.3 percent). However, the percentages with a bachelor=92s = degree or=20 more were not statistically different (27.3 percent and 27.8 = percent,=20 respectively). The data on educational trends and = attainment=20 levels are shown by characteristics such as age, sex, race, = Hispanic=20 origin, marital status, occupation, industry, nativity and, if=20 foreign-born, when they entered the country. The tables also = describe the=20 relationship between earnings and educational attainment. Although = the=20 statistics are primarily at the national level, some data are = shown for=20 regions and states. - X - The data were collected in the Annual = Social and=20 Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). As in = all=20 surveys, the CPS data are subject to sampling variability and = other=20 sources of error. For further information on the source of = the data=20 and accuracy of the estimates, including standard errors and = confidence=20 intervals, go to Appendix G of <http://www.c= ensus.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar04.pdf>.=20