Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce analysis of data from the US Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2009–23 (pooled).

Notes: STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Earnings associated with “early-career bachelor’s degree holders” reflect earnings among full-time, full-year workers with a bachelor’s degree only, ages 22–26. Earnings associated with “prime-age bachelor’s degree holders” reflect earnings among full-time, full-year workers with a bachelor’s degree only, ages 25–54. Earnings associated with “prime-age graduate degree holders” reflect earnings among full-time, full-year workers with a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree, ages 25–54. Workers with both a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree obtained a bachelor’s degree in the stated , but could have obtained a graduate degree in any . Earnings have been rounded to the nearest thousand and are in 2024$.