The following chart is based on earnings distribution data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on workers 25 and older by education level:
Explanation of Terms:
First Decile: 10% of all full-time wage and salary workers (25+) earn less than the bar’s upper limit. For example, 10% of all full-time workers with less than a high school diploma earned less than $20,000 in 2019.
First Quartile: 25% of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than bar’s upper limit.
Median: 50% of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than bar’s upper limit.
Third Quartile: 75% of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than bar’s upper limit.
Ninth Decile: 90% of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than bar’s upper limit.
Earnings tend to increase with age. Thus, full-time workers at the top of the earnings distribution for any given education level will be mostly middle-aged or older. Of course, education level is only part of the story of what we earn over time: occupation, skills, work behaviors, ambition, and luck matter too.