Why college is still worth it, monetarily
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The share of Americans who say college is "very important" plummeted over the past decade, new Gallup polling finds.
Why it matters: College may not live up to the American Dream that it promised in the past, and there are other paths for success becoming more appealing for Gen Z, but in terms of lifetime earnings, a college degree is still incredibly important.
By the numbers: Median yearly earnings for a college grad in Portland topped $76,000 between 2015-2024, per data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Those with graduate degrees pulled in nearly $94,000, compared to just over $45,000 for workers whose education stopped at high school.
The big picture: Higher education has taken a reputational hit for a variety of reasons: It's expensive, doesn't always result in job security and there has been growing interest in skilled trades — especially as AI appears to threaten white collar work.
The bottom line: "It feels bad right now to be a recent college graduate, but it doesn't necessarily feel better to be someone with a high-school diploma who's just going onto the labor market either," says Chris Martin, lead researcher on jobs site Glassdoor's economic research team.
- "While there may be declines in the returns to a college education, you're still better off."