Raw Data: The High School Wage Premium for Men

The median income for men with a high school diploma is about $36,000 these days. Men who completed only grades 9-12 without graduating have a median income of about $23,000. In other words, they earn 65 cents for every dollar that high school grads earn. This penalty for being able to read and write at only a 9-10th grade level has been steady for the past three decades:

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

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No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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