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Weekly earnings by educational attainment in second quarter 2018

July 20, 2018

Full-time workers age 25 and older without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $554 in the second quarter of 2018. That compares with $726 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,310 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree.

Selected percentiles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and older, 2nd quarter 2018 averages
Characteristic 10th percentile 50th percentile (median) 90th percentile

Total, 25 years and over

$455 $928 $2,223

Men, 25 years and over

489 1,015 2,492

Women, 25 years and over

417 824 1,890

Total, less than a high school diploma

350 554 1,005

Men, less than a high school diploma

384 606 1,143

Women, less than a high school diploma

310 462 763

Total, high school graduates, no college

406 726 1,491

Men, high school graduates, no college

444 810 1,597

Women, high school graduates, no college

375 620 1,195

Total, some college or associate degree

445 825 1,642

Men, some college or associate degree

492 938 1,875

Women, some college or associate degree

408 720 1,403

Total, bachelor's degree and higher

627 1,310 2,907

Men, bachelor's degree and higher

690 1,522 3,324

Women, bachelor's degree and higher

590 1,141 2,317

Total, bachelor's degree only

593 1,187 2,698

Men, bachelor's degree only

641 1,372 2,920

Women, bachelor's degree only

554 1,041 2,111

Total, advanced degree

725 1,512 3,313

Men, advanced degree

856 1,808 3,900

Women, advanced degree

664 1,300 2,625

Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's or professional degree and above), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers—the 90th percentile—made $3,900 or more per week. Women in the 90th percentile with advanced degrees had weekly earnings of $2,625 in the second quarter of 2018.

Weekly earnings for the lowest paid 10 percent of men with advanced degrees—whose earnings were below the 10th percentile—were less than $856 in the second quarter. That was higher than the median earnings—the 50th percentile—of men who had completed high school but never attended college.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are not seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Second Quarter 2018." Full-time workers usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or main job. The median or 50th percentile is the midpoint in the earnings distribution; half of workers earn more than the median and half earn less. Ten percent of workers have earnings below the upper limit of the 10th percentile, and 90 percent have higher earnings. Ninety percent of workers have earnings below the upper limit of the 90th percentile and 10 percent have higher earnings.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Weekly earnings by educational attainment in second quarter 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/weekly-earnings-by-educational-attainment-in-second-quarter-2018.htm (visited December 12, 2024).

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