Economic Program | Idea Brief

Getting To and Through College

by Cristy Gallagher, Jim Kessler and Tess Stovall

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In the past, a high school diploma meant permanent entry into the middle class. That is no longer the case. Real, inflation-adjusted wages for high school graduates reached their peak in 1973 and have declined ever since. Meanwhile, college earnings have remained on an upward trajectory, and it is clear that a college degree is the ticket for success. Yet the cost of college tuition has increased faster than inflation for 30 consecutive years.

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