Since 2006, the gap between what the median college graduate earned compared with the median high-school graduate has narrowed by $1,387 for men over 25 working full time, a 5% fall. Women in the same category have fared worse, losing 7% of their income advantage ($1,496).
Does the median tell the whole story though? What about the skewness? Maybe non-degree-holders' income has a heavy negative skew, while for degree holders a heavy positive skew. So while the mean income may not be very different, the two paths still offer very different prospects. How much is the chance that your income will not have a low ceiling worth to you?
Even if not, the decrease in earnings per year of $1,387 is a 5% drop, that would indicate that the median college graduate earned $27,740 more than the median high-school graduate PER YEAR.
Of course, that is before the "narrowing" of the gap-- the number is now $26,382 PER YEAR.
This annual difference in earning is much, much higher than the median debt amount for almost any college.
Does the median tell the whole story though? What about the skewness? Maybe non-degree-holders' income has a heavy negative skew, while for degree holders a heavy positive skew. So while the mean income may not be very different, the two paths still offer very different prospects. How much is the chance that your income will not have a low ceiling worth to you?