The ability to earn a high salary over a lifetime is one of the most compelling reasons to earn a college degree. The U.S Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/) has released a report that shows individuals with college degree earn considerably more money than those without degrees. From 1998 until 2000 the Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/) studied information and found that the average high school graduate would earn $30,400 per year. The average college graduate with a bachelor's degree would earn $52,000 per year. This report has also shown that, over a lifetime, a bachelor's degree is worth $2.1 million, which is almost double of a person with only a high school diploma or GED (http://www.census.gov/). .
Earnings are an indicator of the demand for college graduates because wages tend to increase faster for workers in greatest demand. Between 1992 and 2000, real earnings-median earnings adjusted for inflation-rose 6 percent for full-time wage and salary workers ages 25 to 64 with a bachelor's degree (Dohm, A. & Wyatt, I., 2002). For high school graduates with no college their real earnings only increased by 2 percent (http://www.census.gov/). .
The median annual earnings of accountants and auditors in 2000 were $43,500. Full- time workers age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $348, and $495 for a high school graduates with no college (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002-03). A college graduate in comparison had a weekly median earning of $867 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2002-03).
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According to a current population survey (http://www.census.gov/) of men and women 25 and older, the premium to a bachelor's degree in the United States has increased during the last part of the twentieth century. This premium discussed here is defined as the average earnings of individuals with a bachelor's degree relative to the average earnings of those individuals with a high school degree, expressed as a percentage.
