Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Has the median wage for recent college graduates increased in line with the price of college tuition?

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

By Mia Dillon

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Over the past 30 years, in constant-dollar terms, the median income for recent college graduates has remained stagnant, while the price of the average four-year college has nearly doubled.

In 1990, the median wage for recent college graduates was $45,739, when the average price of tuition, fees, room and board for all four-year institutions was around $14,376. In 2018, median wages fell to $44,798 for recent graduates, while the average price of college in the 2018-19 academic year had jumped to $28,123.

Private colleges are more than double the price of public ones, but their prices have increased similarly. The average total cost for a four-year public school was $9,915 in 1990-91 and $20,598 in 2018-19. The average total cost for a four-year private school was $25,035 in 1990-91 and $44,662 in 2018-19.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Labor market for college graduates

National Center for Education Statistics: Average undergraduate tuition, fees and room and board rate for US colleges

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.