Search Results
Do College Degrees Mean More Wealth?
College degrees usually indicate higher income and wealth over those without. But the college wealth premium for those born more recently is getting smaller.
Report
Educational Attainment and Wage Growth in New England: Evidence from Four Decades of Administrative Wage Records
Per capita personal income in New England grew from $10,731 to $87,655 during the 1980–2024 period. This increase, the largest among all US census divisions, coincided with significant growth in educational attainment in the region. As of 2024, 53 percent of New England workers aged 25 to 64 held at least a bachelor’s degree, and 23 percent possessed advanced degrees, compared with national averages of 44 percent and 17 percent, respectively. This study provides new insights into the relationship between educational attainment and income growth in New England, examining both individual ...
Journal Article
Decline in Number of Workers with “Some College” Is Boosting Healthcare Wage Inflation
Compared with the pre-pandemic period, the labor force contains about 1.5 million fewer individuals who have some post-secondary schooling but less than a bachelor’s degree. As a result, vacancies for jobs that require a post-secondary certificate or an associate degree remain elevated, especially in health-related fields. These shortages have contributed to higher wages in the fast-growing healthcare field and are unlikely to resolve quickly.
Who Works from Home? Education, Job Type and Location All Play a Role
Workers’ education, occupations and the remote‑work patterns of their counties all influence how likely they are to work from home.
How Nonmonetary Job Amenities Improve with Higher Education
Nonmonetary job amenities tend to improve in occupations that require higher levels of education, providing an additional reason for college enrollment.
Sources of Intergenerational Persistence in College Attainment
Financial resources and cognitive and noncognitive abilities may help explain why children tend to achieve levels of education similar to their parents, this analysis suggests.
Journal Article
The Return on Investing in a College Education
Comparing higher education’s costs and benefits—tuition and greater future earnings, respectively—shows that the returns on investing in college can be high.
Immigrants’ Educational Attainment in the U.S. and Eighth District: An Update
Compared with the native-born population, immigrants to the U.S. are more concentrated at the upper and lower ends of the educational attainment spectrum.
Working Paper
Educational Attainment and the Evolution of Cumulative Earnings across 45 US Birth Cohorts
Educational attainment profoundly shapes cumulative earnings trends across US birth cohorts. Between the 1933 and 1977 cohorts, men with an advanced degree experienced rising earnings in both the early-career (ages 25 to 44) and late-career (ages 45 to 64) stages, while those with a sub-baccalaureate education―and college graduates outside the 1951–1965 cohorts―saw minimal earnings growth. Women experienced broad-based gains, with larger increases among those with a bachelor’s or advanced degree. For less educated men, extended work life represented the primary growth margin in the ...
Residential Segregation and the Black-White College Gap
Using an economic model, researchers find that racial wage disparities, the amenity externality and racial barriers to moving could help explain the Black-white gap in college attainment.