Income by education level

Educational attainment is strongly correlated with. Although the incomes of both men and women are associated with higher educational attainment (higher incomes for higher educational attainment), large income gaps linked to race and gender remained at each educational level. In 2003, average incomes ranged from $13,459 for a male high-school dropout to $90,761 for a male with an advanced degree. The most significant average income difference was between those who had some college education or an and those who had a. While those with some college averaged $31,046, those with a bachelor's degree d $51,194, over $20,000 (64.9%) a year more.

The second most dramatic difference in was between those with a  with $51,940 and those with an advanced degree who made $72,824, roughly $21,000 (42.2%) more. The least significant difference was between those who had graduated from high school and those who had either some college or an. Here the difference was a mere $3,766 or 13.8%. The difference between those with a high school diploma ($30,000) and those who did not complete high school ($18,826) was $8,454 or 45%. Overall, the in the  for all sexes, races and levels of educational attainment was $36,308 annually.

Even though African immigrants are claimed to have higher educational attainment rates than any other group, they were the hardest hit during the most recent recession beginning in 2007. This shows that and/or ethnicity may play a role in income levels and job selection.

SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2003

The change in median personal and household income since 1991 also varied greatly with educational attainment. While both the overall median personal and household income increased since 1991, this increase did not take place on all levels of educational attainment. The overall income increased over the course of the 1990s, reaching its high in 1999, but has been decreasing ever since. In 1991 the median household income in the was $40,873 in 2003 dollars, while the median household income in 2003 was $45,016. In 1999, however, the median household income was $46,236, 2.7% higher than today. While this trend held true for all levels of educational attainment the extent of chorinical fluctuations in income were greatly influenced by educational attainment.

Overall, the median household and personal income decreased for those with more than a 9th grade education but less than a four-year college degree since 1991. In other words, the median household income decreased for households and individuals at the high school drop-outs and graduate, some-college, and an level. Income did, however, increase for those with a or more. The following table shows the median household income according to the educational attainment of the householder. All data is in 2003 dollars and only applies to householders whose householder is aged twenty-five or older. The highest and lowest points of the median household income are presented in bold face.

SOURCE: US Census Bureau, 2003 Yellow indicates the year with the lowest median income while green indicates the year with the highest reported median income.

Among the races, educational attainment retains its dramatic effect on average which varies significantly at each educational level. (White Americans) had the highest average income at every level of educational attainment. However, the proportion of those having college degrees is greater among than among non-Hispanic whites, and the overall highest average income is found among. All races except ranked last on at least one level with  ranking last on the non-high school, high school and advanced degree level.

were second highest on the college graduate level and had the highest overall income among the general population. They also had the lowest average annual income for those with some college education or an. were also significant at every level of educational attainment with the largest racial inequality being between and  who did not complete high school and those with advanced college degrees.

Overall, with an advanced degree had the highest average annual income with $74,122. had the second highest with $72,852. s and had the lowest annual incomes among those with advanced degrees averaging $67,679 and $59,944 annually. The largest racial inequity was between with a  who made $53,185 and s who made $12,263 or 29.9% less with an average  of $40,949. However, Asian Americans as a whole earn more than any other race due to a greater percentage of them being educated overall, an example of.

Occupation
The educational attainment varied significantly among the different types of occupations. The highest occupational attainment was among those in the and related fields followed by those Business,  and financial related occupations. The fields were the only two occupational fields where college graduates with a  represented the majority. Among professional occupations, 99.1% of the population graduated from high school, 90.2% had some college education or an and over two thirds, 68.2% had a.

Business and managerial occupations were second with 97.8% having graduated from high school, 79.5% having some college or an and just over half, 53.4% having a. While nearly all employment fields feature a population where over 80% had graduated from high school with over a third having some college education or an, the fields relating to , and did not. These, often described as, fields featured a labor force where less than a tenth of the population had a , less than half had some college or an Associates, and less than 80% had graduated from high school.

Overall, the least educated occupational field was, ranking last on all educational levels. Here 55.4% had graduated from high school, roughly one fifth (20.8%) had some college education or an and 6.8% had a. While the largest occupational field, that consisting of professionals and relating occupations was also the largest field, the fields with lower educational attainment combined were larger than the professional and managerial fields combined. Overall, 38.02% were employed in the professional and managerial fields while 61.89% were employed in the other white and blue collar fields were those with a bachelor's degree or higher constituted less than a third of the work force.