Economic Returns of a Washington Education

Earnings Premium Estimates for Bachelor’s Degrees in Washington State

Did workers with Bachelor’s degrees earn more than workers without?

After receiving their bachelor's degree, both male and female workers earned more than similar workers with only a high school diploma. Female workers with only a high school diploma earned less than male workers with only a high school diploma. Among those who received their bachelor’s degree, female workers and male workers earned similar amounts before graduation. After graduation, male workers earned more.

Earnings Premium Estimates for Associate’s Degrees in Washington State

Did workers with Associate's degrees earn more than workers without?

Male workers who received associates degrees earned more than similar workers who only received a high school diploma. The conclusions are more tentative for female workers: they did not earn more than comparable workers with only a high school diploma until six years after graduation (and at the time of this study, we did not have data beyond that).

Earnings Premium Estimates for STEM Bachelor's Degrees in Washington State

Did workers with Bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields earn more than workers with Bachelor’s degrees in other fields?

Male workers with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field earned more than similar male workers with a non-STEM degree. The same differences were not observed among female workers. There were small differences in the earnings of male workers with STEM-related degrees based on race, but these differences were dwarfed by the differences between the earnings of STEM and non-STEM workers.

A Comparison of Pathways to Bachelor’s Degrees in Washington State

Did workers who went straight into a Bachelor’s degree program earn more than those who first went to community college (and then transferred)?

There was no difference in earnings after graduation between workers who went straight into a four-year program, and those who went to community college first and then transferred into a four-year program. There a small difference in earnings before graduation (those who went to a community college first earned more while in school). Overall, male workers earned more than female workers, regardless of their path to degree.

Earnings Premium Estimate for General Education Development Certificate in Washington State

Did high school dropouts who received their GED earn more than high school dropouts who did not?

Overall, there was almost no difference in earnings between high school dropouts who later received their GED and high school dropouts who did not. However, for some racial and ethnic sub-groups (Hispanic, Asian, and other races), there were small earnings advantages for high school dropouts who later received their GED over those who did not.