\n<\/p>\n
As debates over workforce needs and economic mobility heat up, the Lumina Foundation is tracking which Americans are earning credentials that actually pay off.<\/p>\n
This week, the foundation, dedicated to increasing the share of U.S. adults with high-quality degrees, released its annual A Stronger Nation report, which uses its public data tool to measure the value of credentials. For 2024, the report shows that 43.6\u00a0percent of U.S. adults ages 25 to 64 in the labor force have a college degree or other credential\u2014such as a certificate or industry-recognized certification\u2014and are earning more than someone with only a high school diploma.<\/p>\n
Courtney Brown, vice president of strategic impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation, said the conversation around higher education has shifted from access alone to economic value.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople began asking not just if I can get a credential but is it actually going to lead to a better job with higher pay,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThat shift is what really brings us to where we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the public data tool was first released in 2009, only about 39\u00a0percent of U.S. adults held a degree or workforce credential beyond high school. By 2024, that figure had climbed to nearly 55\u00a0percent, reflecting growth in credential attainment overall\u2014even if not all credentials meet the foundation\u2019s benchmark for higher earnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say for all intents and purposes it worked,\u201d Brown said regarding the foundation\u2019s goal to increase degree attainment nationwide. \u201cThat represents millions more people with post\u2013high school education and training than we actually saw a generation ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s release establishes the national baseline for the foundation\u2019s 2040 goal: 75\u00a0percent of adults in the U.S. labor force should have a college degree or credential beyond high school that leads to economic prosperity, which the foundation defines as earning at least 15\u00a0percent more than someone with only a high school diploma.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat [15\u00a0percent] benchmark gives us this clear, consistent way to move the conversation away from just opinions\u00a0\u2026 to outcomes and real data,\u201d Brown said, adding that the updated data tool allows the foundation to see \u201cnot just who earned a credential but whether that credential is actually delivering on the promise of economic payoff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Labor force landscape:<\/strong> Brown said bachelor\u2019s and graduate or professional degrees remain the most reliable pathway to higher earnings. About 70\u00a0percent of U.S. adults with a bachelor\u2019s degree earn at least 15\u00a0percent more than those with only a high school diploma, and the share rises to roughly 80\u00a0percent for those with graduate or professional degrees.<\/p>\n Outcomes for associate degrees and shorter-term credentials vary more widely. About 55\u00a0percent of those with a certification and about 54\u00a0percent of those with an associate degree earn above the 15\u00a0percent benchmark, the report found.<\/p>\n \u201cThose point to real opportunities to strengthen quality and alignment with labor market demand,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe see that many credentials are delivering this value, and we see that others can do better.\u201d<\/p>\n Several states\u2014plus the District of Columbia\u2014exceed the national average share of U.S. adults in the labor force with high-quality degrees, with some already surpassing 50\u00a0percent. This includes Colorado with 51.7\u00a0percent, Massachusetts with 52.5\u00a0percent and the District of Columbia with 67.7\u00a0percent.<\/p>\n At the other end of the spectrum, those with the lowest shares include West Virginia with 34.6\u00a0percent, Nevada with 33.6\u00a0percent and Puerto Rico with 25.7\u00a0percent.<\/p>\n \u201cOne example that I would say is more striking is Puerto Rico,\u201d Brown said. Despite having the lowest share of adults earning at least 1\u00a0percent more than those with only a high school diploma, the territory has a relatively high degree-attainment rate, at 60.1\u00a0percent. She noted that Puerto Rico\u2019s lower share is likely due to lower overall income levels.<\/p>\n Signs of progress:<\/strong> Brown said a misconception she often hears is that degrees don\u2019t pay off for students.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see, especially for bachelor\u2019s degrees, that they do for the majority of people provide at least that 15\u00a0percent,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWhat it does show me is that some credentials need to do a better job of making sure they align with the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Brown said the data should push institutions and policymakers to strengthen the connection between education and the labor market.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see this as a story about education failing. I see it as a story about progress,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt\u2019s a story about transparency and evolving expectations about what people are looking for and what they want to make sure they get.\u201d<\/p>\n Get more content like this directly to your inbox. <\/em>Subscribe here<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As debates over workforce needs and economic mobility heat up, the Lumina Foundation is tracking which Americans are earning credentials that actually pay off. This week, the foundation, dedicated to increasing the share of U.S. adults with high-quality degrees, released its annual A Stronger Nation report, which uses its public data tool to measure the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[22923,22924,293,1142],"class_list":{"0":"post-44011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-degreesbut","9":"tag-payoff","10":"tag-report","11":"tag-tracks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}