GRADUATE EARNINGS
Demonstrating the tangible benefits of a college education in Arizona, the board’s 2017 Wages of Graduates Report shows the value of earning a degree.
Arizonans with an undergraduate degree earn a median wage that is $22,771 more than individuals with a high-school diploma. The contrast is even stronger among those with an Arizona graduate degree with median annual earnings that are approximately $34,000 more than those with no college education.
The median annual earnings for an Arizonan with a graduate degree were $62,034, while bachelor’s holders saw median earnings of $50,479. Conversely, Arizonans with some college, but no degree, had median earnings of $34,251. Those with a high-school diploma had median annual earnings of $27,708, a decrease from 2015 when high school graduates earned $27,947.
In 2007, an Arizonan with a bachelor’s degree earned a median wage that is 70 percent more than someone with a high-school diploma. The difference has now increased to 82 percent, according to the 2017 report.
Arizona’s public university enterprise recognizes the importance of earning a higher education degree for individuals and the value it brings to the state’s growing economy, especially for the future when two-thirds of jobs in Arizona will require education past high school.