Median Earnings and Tax payments by Level of Education

According to statistics from "Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society", a value of a college degree is rising. Statistics in the paper show that median earning and tax payments of workers who had a doctorate degree was $79,400 as of 2003. They earned $29,500 more than those with a bachelor's degree and $48,600 more than those with a high school diploma. Those without a high school diploma earned $21,600 as of 2003. People with master's degrees earned over twice times as much, and people with professional degrees earned over four times as much as those even without a high school diploma. The average college graduate with a docorate degree paid over $20,000 in federal, state, and local taxes. This amount is almost same as the average workers without a high school diploma earned before the taxes paid. In this paper, authors claimed people in the workforce with a higher education degree earned more (Baum, Sandy, and Kathleen 10).