Below, find United States average individual income by education and median individual income by education in 2026. Per tradition, also find the top 1% and individual income percentiles by education in the attached percentile calculator.
Find the statistics for people with educational attainment:
- Below high school
- Some high school but no diploma
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Some college but no degree
- Associate's degree, occupational/vocational program
- Associate's degree, academic program
- Bachelor's degree
- Master's degree
- Professional school degree
- Doctorate degree
Average and median income by education
Overall in 2026 (income earned between January and December 2025), the median individual income for a worker in the United States was $55,584. The average income was $82,030.90. See our individual income research for details.
For every educational achievement category*, here is the average, median, 25th percentile, 75th percentile, top 10%, and top 1% income (you can find the rest of the percentiles in the tool, below):
| Educational Attainment | 25% Income | Median Income | 75% Income | Top 10% Income | Top 1% Income | Average Income |
| Below high school | $20,000 | $31,600 | $48,003 | $72,000 | $301,000 | $43,150 |
| Some high school but no degree | $3,145 | $17,455 | $40,000 | $62,685 | $190,835 | $29,217 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | $25,000 | $41,500 | $65,000 | $100,000 | $244,000 | $53,526 |
| Some college but no degree | $23,000 | $45,001 | $74,501 | $116,000 | $277,361 | $59,397 |
| Associate's degree, occupational/vocational program | $35,000 | $54,000 | $84,005 | $122,100 | $260,000 | $68,540 |
| Associate's degree, academic program | $34,620 | $55,800 | $87,250 | $130,003 | $258,818 | $68,516 |
| Bachelor's degree | $46,374 | $76,720 | $125,000 | $198,431 | $545,020 | $103,806 |
| Master's degree | $61,151 | $99,000 | $157,115 | $246,306 | $872,000 | $132,975 |
| Professional school degree | $85,391 | $150,085 | $261,400 | $476,227 | $1,118,079 | $217,494 |
| Doctorate degree | $79,569 | $129,501 | $210,017 | $358,000 | $922,270 | $179,015 |
*Read these as "highest educational achievement". For example, "Doctorate Degree" means graduated with a degree, not only pursued.
Income by education visualization, comparison, and income percentile calculator
Here is a calculator for plotting income percentile by education. It includes every income percentile for each group. Enter an income plus educational attainment to see where that income would rank.
Additionally, use the chart to overlay multiple educational groups. Then you can compare attainment cohorts for every percentile.
Income percentile by education methodology
This data uses 2026 IPUMS-CPS data to calculate incomes versus educational attainment. See the income percentile calculator for methodology around the worker screen.
I've only included people who were in (or close to) the workforce in full-year 2025. Also, find the deeper explanation of educational attainment here.
EDUC of 2-39 is grouped as Below high school. EDUC 40-72 is Some high school but no degree in the tool. And yes, Below high school tended to earn more than Some high school but no degree.
Sarah Flood, Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, J. Robert Warren, Daniel Backman, Etienne Breton, Grace Cooper, Julia A. Rivera Drew, Stephanie Richards, David Van Riper, and Kari C.W. Williams. IPUMS CPS: Version 13.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2025. https://doi.org/10.18128/D030.V13.0
Workforce size by educational achievement
This next table shows the number of samples we used to make the estimates, and the number of "workers" that maps to in the screen. You can use this information to decide just how much you trust the estimates – if at all!
| Educational Attainment | Samples | Estimated Workforce Population |
| Below high school | 1,499 | 3,585,227 |
| Some high school but no degree | 4,389 | 10,318,798 |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 18,616 | 47,104,148 |
| Some college but no degree | 10,431 | 27,751,530 |
| Associate's degree, occupational/vocational program | 3,285 | 8,147,992 |
| Associate's degree, academic program | 4,213 | 11,046,908 |
| Bachelor's degree | 17,330 | 46,451,041 |
| Master's degree | 8,046 | 20,905,883 |
| Professional school degree | 1,132 | 2,793,332 |
| Doctorate degree | 1,848 | 4,738,148 |
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