[jeffrey]

The Census Bureau's annual look at achievement in America March 2004 (with questions asked about income generated in 2003) survey shows that a college degree is worth tens of thousands of dollars a year in the workplace. This college education is worth an extra $23,000 a year on average for anyone who graduates from college with the average college graduate earning $51,000 a year compared to only $28,000 a year for people with a high school diploma or equivalent degree.

The worth of a college degree for men is almost twice as much as having a high school diploma at an extra $30,000 a year. Men with college degrees averaged $63,000 while men with a high school diploma or equivalent degree only took home $33,000 a year.




Although the disparity between high school and college diploma women was far less than men, it still was a 5 figure a year difference in income. A woman college graduate earned approximately $38,000 a year while women with only a high school diploma earned $22,000 a year.

As expected, white male college graduates came out on top with earned incomes of about $66,000 a year when college graduates when broken down into race. This compares to similarly educated Asian men who earned approximately $52,000 a year, Hispanic men who earned approximately $49,000 a year and black men who earned approximately $45,000 a year.