A new study by the nonprofit organization Campaign for College Opportunity, finds that African Americans in California benefit more from a college education, in terms of reducing poverty, than any other ethnic group. The survey found that Blacks with a college education spend on average six fewer years in poverty than Blacks with only a high school education.
The report also found that lifetime earnings for African Americans with a four-year college degree in California have grown 85 percent, after adjusting for inflation, over the past 30 years. This is the highest rate of earnings increase among all ethnic groups measured.
In real dollar terms, African Americans with some college but no degree can expect to earn $73,000 more over the course of their lifetimes than Whites who graduated from high school but did not attend college. African American’s with at least a bachelor’s degree have lifetime earnings that are more than $1 million more than Whites with only a high school diploma.
Here is a chart from the report by the Campaign for College Opportunity which shows the impact of higher education in lifetime earnings for minorities in California.
The full reported may be downloaded here.
