The impact of a college degree on compensation
This report examines differences in pay between college graduates and non-college graduates. We also provide a free guide for HR on managing graduate premiums and preparing for a skills-based workforce in the modern era.
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Introduction
As alternative paths to earning a high salary emerge that do not require a college degree, enrollment in college has been shrinking and the cost of tuition has skyrocketed. Unsurprisingly, prospective college students and their families are asking the question: Is getting a college education still worth it?
To answer this question, our College ROI Report ranks the best-value colleges based on median salary over 20 years minus the cost of investment compared to a high school diploma. The College ROI Report indicates that the answer to the question is, “Yes, college is still worth it” provided students are strategic with their career goals.
However, there is more to discuss. Due to the expanding spectrum of knowledge workers, there is a trend among employers of removing college degree requirements from job descriptions as well as the pay premiums that go with them. In fact, according to Payscale’s 2024 Compensation Best Practices Survey, only 41 percent of organizations say that they adjust salaries for hires with a certification or college degree, and only 16 percent do so for a bachelor’s degree specifically.
In this report, we examine the overall difference in salary for having a bachelor’s degree versus a high school diploma or GED. To shed light on why pay premiums may or may not be necessary for college graduates, we provide an analysis of the highest-paying jobs with a college degree, the highest paying bachelor’s degrees, jobs with an even mix of high school and college grads, and jobs with the highest pay differentials between college grads and non-college grads.
We then explore whether the premiums earned by college graduates are fair and when they may perpetuate systemic inequities. The answers are complex, because while education is an acceptable compensable factor, how exactly it’s compensated depends on the policies and biases of individual organizations. Overall, these trends necessitate the need for a skills-forward compensation strategy supported by compensation technology and data.
College graduates earn higher pay
The data are incontrovertible: College graduates earn higher pay than non-college graduates at the median. In fact, college graduates earn 37 percent higher pay than non-college graduates in 2024.
[Highschool pay ($49,400) is 63 percent of what bachelor degrees earn ($78,400): 49,400/78,400 = 0.63. This tells us that bachelor degree pay is (1-0.63= 0.37) 37 percent higher.]
This is about the same as in 2010, so we are not seeing a decline.
What this chart shows is that a college degree is a competitive advantage in the workforce, with employers historically setting a college degree as a key entry requirement — thus resulting in more opportunity and a fast track to accelerated pay progression. While some higher-paying positions require a college degree, others may only prefer it, and for some positions, it’s questionable whether a college degree is even necessary.
Highest-paying jobs with a bachelor’s degree
High-paying jobs where employees are more likely to have a bachelor’s degree are typically complex, requiring more knowledge, skills, and responsibility. According to the list below, the highest-paid jobs with a bachelor’s degree are in digital marketing, technology, and engineering. Note that because jobs requiring post-graduate degrees are not included, we do not see doctors and surgeons on this list — but we do see nurse coordinators (RN), a role which requires a degree from an accredited program and a license.
Many of the jobs on this list are also leadership positions with a manager or director title, implying a high amount of responsibility even if there is not necessarily supervision of staff. Historically, there has been a preference for employing candidates with a degree for such positions because a college education indicates a proficiency in the ability to learn and progress into leadership. However, there are alternative paths to acquiring the prerequisite knowledge and skills.
Highest-paying bachelor's degrees
The list below shows that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) degrees earn the most. STEM degrees are also more likely to be tied to the jobs that graduates with these degrees end up working. Technology and engineering degrees dominate the list.
While there are alternative paths to high-paying technology jobs outside of a college education, a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering or computer science communicates a well-rounded base of knowledge on which to build additional skills and connective understanding, which can be valuable to an organization. Similarly, a degree is required for most engineering positions due to the high level of technical knowledge required and the risks involved with making mistakes.
Jobs with an even mix of high school and college graduates and their pay differentials
The list below shows jobs held by survey respondents which have an even mix of high school and college graduates as well as their associated pay — for both those with a bachelor’s degree and those without. While in rank order, this is not a list of top-ranking jobs.
What this list shows is that there are also jobs where degree requirements may be antiquated or arbitrary, or where the pay differential between those who have a bachelor’s degree and those who don’t is unjustifiably wide. For example, in the list below, we see that an Operations Team Leader with a bachelor’s degree makes over 30 percent more at the median than someone doing the same job without a bachelor’s degree.
This position may be likely to prefer a college degree because it is a high-impact and high-risk job that benefits from an education in business administration or equivalent experience. It may be that it is unusual to rise to this position without a college degree; however, anyone doing similar work with the skills and experience equivalent to a college education should be entitled to similar pay.
It is questionable when the pay differential is so wide, even acknowledging that this listing is informed by an aggregate of jobs across many locations and organizations with different compensation policies. If these differences existed within the same organization, it could be grounds for a pay equity dispute — especially if it can be shown that protected classes are systemically getting paid less in these positions, such as women, racial minorities, employees who identity as LGBTQ+, or those who are being discriminated against due to age, religion, or disability.
However, some jobs on this list are less questionable. Those at the bottom of the list with lower median pay and a pay differential in the single digits may be explained by legally defensible policies to reward a college graduate with a modest pay premium because a college degree is preferred — even if it is somewhat superfluous. For some of these positions, a college degree may be preferred owing to a more well-rounded knowledge base that the organization values as part of a broad talent strategy. Provided that a graduate premium is transparently communicated and consistently deployed, this isn’t necessarily a pay equity issue, even if it happens within the same organization.
Jobs with the highest pay differentials for a college degree
We also looked at a list of jobs with the highest pay differentials between college and high school graduates. This list features a wide mix of jobs with a variety of skills. While these jobs have complexities and associated risks that may mean a college degree is preferred, many non-college graduates are also working in these roles. Unfortunately, employees without a degree are being paid quite a bit less at the national median in these positions.
While the high pay differential does not necessarily confirm that there are pay inequities happening, it does raise questions. For example, a small business might hire or promote an employee to Marketing Director based on skills, regardless of education, while a larger company might require a bachelor’s degree for all manager positions. The 25 percent difference in pay is extreme but could be more indicative of organization size and responsibility than job title. However, the wide differential across so many people being paid less with the same job title suggests that some inequity is likely happening somewhere.
Organizations must ensure that their compensation practices are fair, clearly communicated, and judiciously deployed so that they don’t get into a situation where an employee without a college degree is being severely underpaid compared to an employee with a college degree for no discernible reason, especially if both employees are equally proficient in their roles and have the same responsibilities in similar working conditions. If there is a pay premium associated with a college education, it should be clearly articulated and consistently enforced.
Methodology
Payscale analyzed 380,513 salary profiles from Payscale's Employee Reported Salary Survey completed by U.S. workers who shared their educational attainment. Samples were collected between 05/01/2022 and 05/01/2024. For this analysis, we included only those with a Bachelor's degree and no higher educational attainment. Likewise, the sample analyzed for high school graduates included those with an educational attainment no higher than a high school diploma or GED.
To curate a list of highest paying jobs with bachelor's degrees, Payscale only included jobs with a majority of workers that have a bachelor's degree and no higher educational attainment.
Tuition and enrollment trends data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Definitions
Total cash compensation (TCC): TCC combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or value of other non-cash benefits (e.g., healthcare).
Median pay: The median pay is the national median (50th percentile) annual total cash compensation. Half the people doing the job earn more than the median, while half earn less. Median pay reported for each job title is representative of those within these jobs who have an education no higher than a bachelor’s degree or no higher than a high school diploma or GED.
Highest paying jobs with a bachelor’s degree: This list shows the top paying jobs (in rank order) that have a majority (>50%) of survey respondents with bachelor’s degrees (and no higher) along with the associated median pay for their current job.
Highest paying bachelor degrees: This list shows the top paying degrees (in rank order) held by survey respondents according to the overall median pay of workers in jobs with that degree.
Jobs with an even mix of high school and college graduates and their pay differentials: This list shows jobs with an even mix of high school and college graduates held by survey respondents as well as their associated pay — both with a bachelor’s degree and without. While in rank order, this is not a list of top-ranking jobs.
About Payscale
As the industry leader in compensation management, Payscale is on a mission to help job seekers, employees, and businesses get pay right and to make sustainable fair pay a reality. Empowering more than 50% of the Fortune 500 in 56 countries, Payscale provides a combination of diverse and dynamic data sources, experienced compensation services, and scalable software to enable organizations such as Angel City Football Club, Panasonic, Mars Global, eBay, American Airlines, and PetSmart to make fair and appropriate pay decisions.
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Get our HR guide on managing graduate premiums and preparing for skills-based pay
Our data show that a college education is still valuable today. However, when it comes to compensation best practices, HR and compensation professionals need to be both careful and forward-thinking. Paying graduate premiums where a college degree is not really required can lead to inequities. This is especially dangerous in the age of pay transparency.
Employers need to have an articulated approach to compensation that transparently rewards compensable factors in a manner that is legally defensible and consistently applied. Working on how precisely education, experience, and abilities are valued in specific jobs will also help prepare you for skills-based talent hiring in the future.
For a deeper dive, download our HR guide on managing graduate premiums, which provides insights into best practices as well as advice on how to shift toward a skills-based workforce in the age of pay transparency.
Need more help? Contact your customer representative about how Payscale’s compensation technology and Employee Reported data can help you apply differentials to market-priced jobs — or ask for a demo.
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