Getting an Education - Educational Attainment And Earnings
hispanic school women earned
The educational attainment of the U.S. population has risen steadily since the 1940s. In 2003 84.6% of adults
TABLE 6.3
| Percent of children ages 3–5 years old enrolled in center-based early childhood care and education programs, by child and family characteristics, 1991 and 2001 | ||||
| Characteristic | 1991 | 2001 | ||
| 1Children from racial/ethnic groups other than white, black, and Hispanic are included in the totals but not shown separately. | ||||
| Note: Estimates are based on children who had not entered kindergarten. Center-based programs include day care centers, Head Start, preschool, nursery school, prekindergarten, and other early childhood programs. Children without mothers in the home are not included in estimates concerning mother's education or mother's employment status. | ||||
| SOURCE: Adapted from "Table 1-1. Percent of Children Ages 3–5 Who Were Enrolled in Center-Based Early Childhood Care and Education Programs, by Child and Family Characteristics: Selected Years 1991–2001," in The Condition of Education 2002, National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2002/section1/tables/t01_1.asp (accessed September 16, 2004) | ||||
| Total1 | 52.8 | 56.4 | ||
| Age | ||||
| 3 years | 42.3 | 43.0 | ||
| 4 years | 60.4 | 66.2 | ||
| 5 years | 63.9 | 72.8 | ||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 52.4 | 53.6 | ||
| Female | 53.2 | 59.2 | ||
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| White | 54.0 | 59.0 | ||
| Black | 58.3 | 63.7 | ||
| Hispanic | 38.8 | 39.8 | ||
| Poverty status | ||||
| Below poverty | 44.2 | 46.7 | ||
| At or above poverty | 55.7 | 59.1 | ||
| Poverty status and race/ethnicity | ||||
| Below poverty | ||||
| White | 41.0 | 46.1 | ||
| Black | 55.4 | 60.1 | ||
| Hispanic | 34.4 | 36.2 | ||
| At or above poverty | ||||
| White | 56.4 | 60.8 | ||
| Black | 61.8 | 66.2 | ||
| Hispanic | 42.2 | 42.4 | ||
| Family type | ||||
| Two parents | 53.7 | 56.5 | ||
| One or no parent | 49.7 | 56.1 | ||
| Mother's education | ||||
| Less than high school | 31.5 | 38.3 | ||
| High school diploma or equivalent | 45.8 | 47.1 | ||
| Some college, including vocational/technical | 60.2 | 62.0 | ||
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 71.9 | 69.5 | ||
| Mother's employment status | ||||
| Worked 35 hours or more per week | 59.3 | 62.9 | ||
| Worked less than 35 hours per week | 58.0 | 61.4 | ||
| Looking for work | 43.2 | 46.9 | ||
| Not in labor force | 45.3 | 46.8 | ||
older than twenty-five had graduated from high school—the highest number ever. More than one in four (27.2%) had earned a bachelor's degree or more. (See Figure 6.4.)
The level of educational attainment has traditionally been higher for men than for women. In 2003, however, for the second year in a row, the high school graduation rate for women ages twenty-five and over (85%) exceeded that of men (84.1%). (See Table 6.4.) The 2002 difference was the first statistically significant one in high school graduation rates between men and women since 1989. In 2003 28.9% of men and 25.7% of women had obtained bachelor's degrees or higher. Although college attainment had increased since 1990 for both men and women, women were narrowing the gap and making faster gains then men.
FIGURE 6.4
Educational attainment also varied by race and ethnic origin. Non-Hispanic whites were most likely to complete high school (89.4%), followed by Asians (87.6%), African-Americans (80%), and Hispanics (57%). (See Table 6.4 and Figure 6.5.) Asians were by far the most likely to be college graduates (49.8%), followed by non-Hispanic whites (30%), African-Americans (17.3%), and Hispanics (11.4%).
Earning levels rise with increased education. For people ages eighteen or older who had not finished high school the average annual income in 2002 was $18,826. (See Table 6.5.) High school graduates earned an average income of $27,280, and people with some college or an associate degree earned an average income of $31,046. The incomes of college graduates increased with the level of the degree earned. People with a bachelor's degree had mean earnings of $51,194, while holders of advanced degrees earned an average of $72,824.
These averages differed considerably by gender and race or ethnicity. On average, women earned sixty-two cents for every dollar men earned. (See Table 6.5.) The most highly educated women earned the least compared to their male counterparts—fifty-six cents for every dollar
TABLE 6.4
| Educational attainment of the population 25 years and over, by age, sex, race, ethnicity, nativity, marital status, and region, 2003 | ||||
| Number of people (in thousands) | High school graduate or more | Some college or more | Bachelor's degree or more | |
| Characteristic | Percent | Percent | Percent | |
| SOURCE: Nicole Stoops, "Table A. Summary Measures of the Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over: 2003," in Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003, Current Population Reports, P20–550, U.S. Census Bureau, June 2004, http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p20-550.pdf (accessed September 16, 2004) | ||||
| Population 25 years and over | 185,183 | 84.6 | 52.5 | 27.2 |
| Age group: | ||||
| 25 to 29 years | 18,721 | 86.5 | 57.4 | 28.4 |
| 30 to 34 years | 20,521 | 87.6 | 58.6 | 31.5 |
| 35 to 39 years | 21,284 | 87.6 | 56.5 | 29.8 |
| 40 to 44 years | 22,790 | 88.4 | 56.5 | 29.1 |
| 45 to 49 years | 21,420 | 89.3 | 57.4 | 29.9 |
| 50 to 54 years | 18,814 | 88.7 | 58.9 | 31.1 |
| 55 to 59 years | 15,470 | 86.9 | 55.1 | 29.0 |
| 60 to 64 years | 11,930 | 83.0 | 47.3 | 24.5 |
| 65 to 69 years | 9,438 | 76.9 | 39.1 | 19.6 |
| 70 to 74 years | 8,673 | 72.8 | 36.4 | 18.5 |
| 75 years and over | 16,123 | 67.5 | 32.4 | 15.4 |
| Sex: | ||||
| Men | 88,597 | 84.1 | 53.2 | 28.9 |
| Women | 96,586 | 85 | 51.0 | 25.7 |
| Race and origin: | ||||
| White alone | 153,188 | 85.1 | 52.9 | 27.6 |
| Non-Hispanic white alone | 133,488 | 89.4 | 56.4 | 30.0 |
| Black alone | 20,527 | 80.0 | 44.7 | 17.3 |
| Asian alone | 7,691 | 87.6 | 67.4 | 49.8 |
| Hispanic (of any race) | 21,189 | 57.0 | 29.6 | 11.4 |
| Nativity: | ||||
| Native | 158,128 | 87.5 | 87.5 | 54.2 |
| Foreign born | 27,055 | 67.2 | 42.7 | 27.2 |
| Marital status: | ||||
| Never married | 28,694 | 84.9 | 54.8 | 29.0 |
| Married spouse present | 113,748 | 87.0 | 55.9 | 30.5 |
| Married spouse absent | 7,389 | 72.5 | 38.2 | 16.1 |
| Separated | 4,447 | 74.5 | 38.6 | 13.8 |
| Widowed | 13,970 | 67.2 | 30.3 | 12.5 |
| Divorced | 21,382 | 86.5 | 50.9 | 21.0 |
| Region: | ||||
| Northeast | 36,182 | 85.7 | 50.7 | 30.3 |
| Midwest | 41,728 | 87.8 | 52.5 | 26.0 |
| South | 66,071 | 82.2 | 50.1 | 25.3 |
| West | 41,202 | 84.0 | 58.1 | 28.7 |
the men earned. The disparity between races and ethnic groups was not as pronounced. Annual earnings for high school graduates ranged from $28,756 for non-Hispanic whites to $22,823 for African-Americans. For college graduates earnings ranged from $40,949 for Hispanics to $53,185 for non-Hispanic whites.
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