Summary
Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand public views on the importance of a four-year college degree. The study also explores key trends in the economic outcomes of those who have and have not completed a four year degree. About 6% of young adults have not finished high school.
Only one-in-four U.S. adults say it’s extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree in order to get a well-paying job. Only 22% say the cost of getting a four year degree is worth it even if someone has to take out loans.
A narrow majority of workers ages 25 to 34 do not have a four-year college degree. Earnings for these young workers mostly trended downward from the mid-1970s until roughly a decade ago. Outcomes have been especially poor for young men without a college degree, the Center says.
Median earnings for young women without a college degree were relatively flat until about a decade ago. By contrast, earnings have grown over the decades for women with a college degrees. In 2014, 31% of women with no college degree lived in poverty. By 2021, that figure had fallen to 21%.
