The Average Salary by Education Level

It’s difficult to become a high earner in this country without a college degree, making it even harder to save for retirement and meet other financial goals. Access to the middle class is increasingly reserved for those with higher education under their belts. This is the average salary by education level to see what dividends education pays.

 A financial advisor can help you plan how to fund college or vocational training.

The Average Salary With Less Than a High School Diploma

According to the latest data, 90.9% of Americans 25 and older had at least a high school diploma or GED, and 37.5% had a college degree. ¹ An advanced degree, such as a master’s or professional degree or a doctorate, was held by under 11%.

To see what a difference education makes, consider the average salary by education level.

Workers with less than a high school diploma are the lowest earners on average when you examine the average salary by education level. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), median weekly earnings in 2026 for those with less than a high school degree was $770. ² This works out to $40,040 per year, assuming a year of constant earnings.

The unemployment rate in 2026 for Americans with less than a high school diploma was 6.2%. ³

The Average Salary With a High School Diploma

Earnings are higher for those with a high school diploma.

Median weekly earnings for workers with a high school diploma but no college were $1,129. That works out to $58,708 per year.

The unemployment rate for those with a high school diploma is 4.4%.

The Average Salary With Some College, No Degree

Having some college credits but no degree still improves your earnings over having just a high school diploma.

The average salary for someone with some college but no degree is $1,097 per week, or $57,044 per year. The unemployment rate for people in this category is 3.0%.

The problem for many people in the some-college-no-degree category is that they have student debt from their college days but lack the degree that would put them in a higher-earning category that could help them get out of debt.

The Average Salary With an Associate’s Degree

Having an associate’s degree gives you an edge over someone with no degree, but your average earnings are lower than those of someone with a bachelor’s degree.

Median weekly earnings for workers with an associate’s degree are $1,229, for an annualized salary of $63,908. The unemployment rate in this category is 3.0%.

The Average Salary With a Bachelor’s Degree

Americans with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $1,558 per week. Average earnings for workers with bachelor’s degrees are $81,016 per year.

The unemployment rate for Americans with a bachelor’s degree is 2.6%.

The Average Salary With an Advanced Degree

This includes those with a master’s, professional or doctorate degree.

Median earnings are $1,910 per week, or $99,320 per year. The unemployment rate for workers with bachelor’s and advanced degrees is 2.6%.

The number of Americans with a master’s degree has been steadily rising. In part, that’s because of the wage premium that comes with a graduate degree. This wage premium is the extra income that those with a master’s degree earn relative to those with only a bachelor’s degree.

The Return on Investment of Each Degree: Is the Cost Worth It?

Salary data by education level tells you what people earn, but it does not tell you whether the degree that got them there was worth the cost. That requires looking at the earnings premium against the investment required to achieve it.

A bachelor’s degree costs an average of $46,150 per year at a four-year private nonprofit institution, according to the College Board’s 2026 data. ⁴ This puts the total cost of a four-year degree at roughly $184,600 before financial aid.

Against a lifetime earnings premium of roughly $900,000, the financial case for a bachelor’s degree remains strong for most fields. However, the payoff timeline and debt load may vary considerably.

The math shifts for graduate degrees. A master’s degree typically adds one to two years of tuition and forgone income, in addition to the bachelor’s degree investment. The weekly earnings premium of roughly $350 over a bachelor’s degree holder translates to about $18,200 per year.

This means the additional investment can take a decade or more to break even. It ultimately depends on program cost and field of study.

Professional degrees present the clearest financial case of any category. Doctors, lawyers and other licensed professionals face some of the highest educational costs, but the earnings premium over a bachelor’s degree is also large at over $18,000.

The risk is concentration. Professional degree holders are often locked into a single career path, and the financial return depends heavily on actually working in that field.

The weakest return on paper is the some-college-no-degree category. These individuals have taken on some of the cost without capturing the full earnings premium. This makes completing a degree, even over time through part-time enrollment, a financially meaningful decision for many in that group.

How Education Affects Lifetime Earnings, Not Just Annual Salary

Weekly and annual salary figures are useful snapshots, but the more revealing number is what each education level compounds to over a full working career. Small differences in annual earnings become very large differences over 40 years, particularly when the higher income is invested consistently along the way.

Consider this comparison using BLS median figures and a working career from age 25 to 65.

These figures do not account for career progression, which tends to widen the gap further over time.

Workers with bachelor’s and advanced degrees generally experience steeper earnings growth as they advance, while those without degrees tend to plateau earlier. The BLS medians capture a cross-section of all workers at a point in time. This means they underrepresent the earnings trajectory available to younger degree holders still early in their careers.

Compounding matters here, as well. A worker earning $32,000 more per year than a peer with a lower credential, and saving even 10% of that difference would accumulate roughly $200,000 in additional retirement savings over 30 years at a 6% return. This is before any employer match or tax advantages.

The lifetime wealth gap between education levels is considerably wider than the salary gap alone suggests.

How to Manage Money Regardless of Where You Fall on the Scale

Where you fall on the education and earnings spectrum shapes the numbers you are working with. However, the principles that determine long-term financial health are consistent across income levels.

Savings Rate

The single most important variable is not how much you earn but how much of it you keep and put to work. Savings rates matter more than income at most levels. A worker earning $55,000 who saves 15% of their income and invests it consistently will accumulate more wealth over 30 years than someone earning $90,000 who saves 3%.

The earnings advantage is real. However, it is regularly erased by the lifestyle expansion that tends to follow income increases at every level.

Tax Strategy

Tax strategy becomes more consequential as income rises.

Workers in the lower brackets benefit most from Roth IRA contributions, locking in tax-free growth at a lower current rate. Workers in higher brackets gain more from traditional 401(k) and IRA contributions that lower taxable income today. The difference in after-tax wealth between someone who uses these accounts strategically and someone who does not can reach six figures over a full career.

Emergency Savings and Debt

Emergency savings and debt management are the foundation regardless of income.

High-interest debt erodes investment returns, and a lack of an emergency fund can force the liquidation of invested assets at the worst possible times. Building three to six months of expenses in accessible savings before focusing on investment growth is not a compromise on wealth building. It is what makes wealth building sustainable.

A financial advisor can help you build a plan that reflects your actual income, timeline and goals rather than benchmarks built for someone else’s situation.

Bottom Line

Examining average salaries by education level can be illuminating. However, keep in mind that salary isn’t everything. Even people with high salaries may live beyond their means and end up with less retirement income than they need to be comfortable. If your salary isn’t as high as the average in your educational cohort, there’s no need to panic. These averages are for all full-time workers over 25, so if you’re still in the earlier stage of your career, keep in mind that the BLS averages are counting more senior workers, too.

Tips on Education

• If you want help getting your finances on track or meeting your goals, a financial advisor can help. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors who serve your area. You can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
• Deciding how to pay for college is no easy task but fortunately, there are multiple ways to approach it. Besides these ideas, other options for paying for college include getting a part-time job or starting a side hustle if you’re a student.

Photo credit: ©iStock.com/Rawpixel, ©iStock.com/monkeybusinessimages, ©iStock.com/PeopleImages