TED: The Economics Daily

FONT SIZE:

PRINT:

Educational attainment and earnings of women

June 03, 2014

The educational attainment of women ages 25 to 64 in the labor force has risen substantially over the past 20 years. In 2012, 38 percent of this group held college degrees, compared with 25 percent in 1992. About 7 percent of women had less than a high school diploma (i.e., did not graduate from high school) in 2012, down from 10 percent in 1992.

Chart Image
Chart Data

Distribution of women in the civilian labor force, 25 to 64 years old, by educational attainment

Number of women 25 to 64 years old in the civilian labor force, by educational attainment
Year	Percent distribution					Amount (in thousands) ⁽¹⁾
Year	Work force (in thousands)	Less than high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college, no degree, or associate's degree	College graduates	Less than high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college, no degree, or associate's degree	College graduates
1992	46,589	10.30	37.40	27.30	25.00	4,799	17,424	12,719	11,647
2002	54,710	8.10	30.60	29.90	31.30	4,432	16,741	16,358	17,124
2012	59,031	6.50	25.00	30.40	38.10	3,837	14,758	17,945	22,491
Footnotes: ⁽¹⁾ Sums may not add up to totals due to rounding

In 2012, female full-time wage and salary workers ages 25 and older with only a high school diploma had median usual weekly earnings of $561, which represented 80 percent of the earnings of women with an associate’s degree ($697) and 56 percent of the earnings of women with a bachelor’s degree or higher ($1,001).

Chart Image
Chart Data

Median usual weekly earnings of women age 25 and older who were full-time wage and salary workers, 2012 annual averages
Educational attainment	Earnings
Less than a high school diploma	$386
High school graduates, no college	561
Some college or associate's degree	659
College graduates	1,001

.tab-content-centered .tabs li {display:none;} .tab-content-centered .tabs li + li {display:block;} .tab-content-centered .panes div {display:none;} .tab-content-centered .panes div + div{display:block;}

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (PDF), Report 1049, May 2014.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Educational attainment and earnings of women at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140603.htm (visited December 05, 2024).

OF INTEREST

Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics

Inflation Experiences for Lower and Higher Income Households Presents consumer price indexes for the lowest and highest household incomes to examine how different spending patterns change measures of inflation.
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Urban and Rural Spending Habits
Explores how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the spending behaviors of urban and rural consumers.
Workplace Injuries and Job Requirements for Construction Laborers
Examines typical physical requirements for construction laborers, exposures they experience on the job, and nonfatal and fatal injuries they incur.
Housing Leases in the U.S. Rental Market
Summarizes responses to two new survey questions about leasing.
Spotlight on State Productivity Statistics
Looks at short- and long-term trends in labor productivity, output, hours worked, and labor compensation in each state.