Education by earnings
mean_earnings_by_educationMean earnings by educational attainment
Mean earnings by educational attainment for Deaf and hearing adults.
What this measure means
Mean earnings by educational attainment, estimated with person and replicate weights from the ACS PUMS. Full-time, year-round civilian noninstitutionalized workers age 16–64 with valid adjusted earnings, including zero and net losses. Total earnings use the Census PERNP recode with ADJINC; separately rounded wage and self-employment components are not substituted. Education means currently reported highest attainment at interview, including younger adults still completing schooling.
Who is included
- Population (universe)
- Full-time, year-round civilian noninstitutionalized workers age 16–64 with valid adjusted earnings, including zero and net losses
- Age range
- 16–64
- Measure and unit
- Mean; Dollars for the final year of the ACS period
- Denominator
- full-time, year-round workers with valid adjusted earnings, including zero and net losses in each education category
Supported data sources and areas
These are the combinations this definition supports. Available estimates depend on the selected release, source coverage and reporting rules. National estimates can use annual or pooled ACS data; state estimates use pooled data. Eligible PUMA estimates use annual or pooled data with the selected release's native boundaries.
Products
- ACS 1-year
- ACS 5-year
Geographies
- United States
- Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA), using the selected release’s documented native boundaries
- State and District of Columbia
Compatible ACS release years
ACS 1-year: 2015 onward, excluding 2020; ACS 5-year: periods ending in 2015 onward
Analysis options defined for this measure
The explorer shows the options available in the selected release. Calculated changes between periods are currently unavailable.
Filters and breakdowns
- Educational attainment
- Age
- Race and ethnicity
- Sex reported in the ACS
- Additional disability
- Disability
Calculations
- Difference
- Ratio
- Percent change
Uncertainty and reliability
- When results are withheld
- Results are withheld when fewer than 351 survey records are included in the denominator.
- When to use caution
- Results are marked unstable when the standard error exceeds 30% of the estimate's absolute value. This is the relative standard error (RSE). Use these estimates with caution.
Survey weights used: PWGTP and PWGTP1–PWGTP80
Version and sources
- Definition version
- ndc-definitions-2026.12
- Methodology version
- ndc-observatory-2026.3
- Change note
- Uses official PERNP total earnings rather than summing rounded WAGP and SEMP components; retains explicit full-time/year-round eligibility and includes zero earnings and net losses. The education comparison covers ages 16–64; current reported attainment is not a completed-lifetime-education assumption.