• Issues

    • Education and Career Advancement

    Education is a cornerstone of economic security. Apprenticeships, workforce development, and other policies that reduce student debt and make college more accessible for women will break down barriers to career advancement.

    Data

    See data by gender below. Click "Visualize data" for a breakdown by gender and race/ethnicity, where applicable.

    Educational Attainment

    Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education an individual has completed.
    Visualize data
    United States Women Men All
    Less than High School 9.4% 11.0% 10.2%
    High School Diploma or Equivalent 24.5% 27.4% 25.9%
    Some College or Associate’s Degree 28.6% 26.7% 27.7%
    Bachelor’s Degree 22.4% 21.3% 21.8%
    Graduate Degree 15.2% 13.6% 14.4%
    United States
    Women
    Men
    All

    Source: American Community Survey, 2023.

    Notes: Data shown for individuals aged 25+.

    Earnings by Educational Attainment

    Visualize data
    United States Less than HS HS Diploma or Equivalent Some College or Associate Degree Bachelors Degree Graduate Degree All
    Women's Earnings by Educational Attainment (25+) $32,000 $39,500 $46,000 $67,000 $85,000 $55,000
    Men's Earnings by Educational Attainment (25+) $42,000 $50,000 $60,000 $90,000 $120,000 $67,000
    Gender Earnings Ratio by Educational Attainment (25+) 76.2% 79.0% 76.7% 74.4% 70.8% 82.1%
    United States
    Less than HS
    HS Diploma or Equivalent
    Some College or Associate Degree
    Bachelors Degree
    Graduate Degree
    All

    Source: American Community Survey, 2023.

    Notes: Data shown for individuals aged 25+. Earnings data are median annual values.

    Where no value is listed, the sample size is too small to compute an estimate. U = sample size is insufficient for the reported value to be representative of the population. Estimates marked unreliable should be interpreted with caution.

    Policy

    Updated August 21, 2025
    As the costs of higher education soar, states have implemented affordability measures to create free access to community college for eligible students.
    A student loan borrower bill of rights protects students from predatory lending practices with licensing requirements and transparency measures, and can lessen the burden of student debt.

    State policy or data requests?

    Stakeholders and partners can get support from IWPR’s experts on state-specific data and policy landscape insights. Submit a hotline request to get started.

    Hotline statepal@iwpr.org