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SALT LAKE CITY — Is how much schooling a person has a good indicator of economic opportunity in the U.S.?
A newly released study from Smartest Dollar suggests so — and the Beehive State's capital city is no exception.
Unemployment rates tend to be lower for people with higher levels of education, and wages tend to be higher.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median weekly earnings for workers with a high school diploma total $809. For college degree holders that figure is $1,334, while those with professional degrees earn $1,924 per week.
At the same time, students across the nation are grappling with increasing tuition costs. According to data from the College Board, inflation-adjusted tuition and fees for a public four-year college are 2.25 times higher than they were three decades ago, while private nonprofit four-year colleges cost 1.8 times more.
This past fall, undergraduate tuition at Utah's public colleges and universities grew by an average of 3.41% across all degree-granting institutions, with the University of Utah increasing tuition by nearly 5%.
Tuition grew by 4.5% at Snow College and 4.33% at Utah Valley University. At Salt Lake Community College, it grew by 3.99%, under the rates approved by the Utah Board of Higher Education last March.
However, historical data shows that students are willing to put up with rising tuition costs in hopes of better economic futures.
"In 2000, the share of Americans 25 years and older with bachelor degrees was 25%. Bachelor's degree attainment in the U.S. has grown steadily since the turn of the century, and today, 35% of the 25-years-and-older population has their bachelor's degree," the San Diego-based financial advisement firm said in its study. "The importance of education for economic opportunity has become even clearer as gaps in earnings between more and less-educated workers have grown over time. In inflation-adjusted dollars, professional degree holders have seen median wage growth of more than 15% since the year 2000."
Over the same time span, bachelor's, master's and doctorate degree holders have also seen "modest" growth in real dollars. When looking at high school graduates, however, real median annual wages have declined by 4.1% since 2000.
To compile this information into state and city-based data, Smartest Dollar used data from the U.S. Census Bureau, calculating the educational wage gap as the percentage difference in median annual wages for college graduates (including advanced degree holders) and high school graduates only.
"The analysis found that college graduates working full-time in the Salt Lake City metro area earn a median annual wage of $75,000, while full-time high school graduates earn a median (of) $42,000," said the study.
Here's the full breakdown of Salt Lake's data from Smartest Dollar's study:
- Educational wage gap: +78.6%
- Median annual wage for full-time college graduates: $75,000
- Median annual wage for full-time high school graduates: $42,000
- Percentage of full-time workers with college degrees: 40.4%
Compared with statistics from the rest of the U.S.:
- Educational wage gap: +95.0%
- Median annual wage for full-time college graduates: $78,000
- Median annual wage for full-time high school graduates: $40,000
- Percentage of full-time workers with college degrees: 43.9%
Despite the data from the study, there are still pathways to career advancement (without going to college) offered in Utah.
One such example is Utah Tech University's recent expansion of its Learn and Work Program, which offers free access via Pluralsight to over 7,000 noncredit courses, certification paths, labs and skill assessments.
"It's designed for anyone in Utah that's looking to either get some technical skills or improve on the current technical skills they have," said Mark Adkins, Utah Tech's Learn and Work Program coordinator. "It's really just designed to kind of upskill the workforce here in Utah via technology."
Through the asynchronous program, participants can design their own track or leverage the 20 in-demand technological training specializations that Utah Tech has created. The technical skills acquired through the program can help individuals gain relevant experience in a variety of professions including web development, data analysis, cloud engineering and project management.
All that is required for participants to enroll is to be a Utah resident and have a high school degree or equivalent.
More information and the complete results of the Smartest Dollar study can be found online here.
