- 14 For others, college is seen as an important pathway to middle-class economic security. The average wealth of households with a college degree significantly exceeds the average wealth of those without a college degree (figure 10). A key reason is that college graduates generally have higher incomes.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree have median weekly earnings that are about 65 percent higher than high school graduates and unemployment rates that are 2 percentage points lower, and they are often better positioned to adapt to changes in the labor market. 30 However, the cost of higher education has been rising, placing an increasing financial burden on many middle-income households.