--- description: Think the rising cost of college is rough? Get ready for the rising cost of not going to college title: College Degree Increases Earnings by $831,000 Over Lifetime image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bb24582060016e8/69868df21eebf7193c370bf4/462137953.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Your College Diploma Is Worth $831,000  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 5, 2014 9:13 PM CUT  Graduation day Graduation dayGetty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 5, 2014 9:13 PM CUT College tuition may hit the wallet hard, but skipping college can hit it even harder, a new study finds. [Released](http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2014/may/is-college-worth-it-education-tuition-wages/ "undefined") by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the survey found that college graduates, on average, earned $830,800 more than the high school graduates over the course of their working lives. That’s after accounting for the cost of tuition and the wages foregone during four years of study. The authors were able to trace lifetime earnings by using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a uniquely lengthy survey of several thousand families over the course of 40 years, beginning in 1968. “We find that college is still worth it,” the authors write in an economic [letter](http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2014/may/is-college-worth-it-education-tuition-wages/ "undefined") to sticker-shocked students and parents everywhere. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/88348/college-diploma-831000-lifetime-earnings/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/88348/college-diploma-831000-lifetime-earnings/"},"headline":"Your College Diploma Is Worth $831,000","datePublished":"2014-05-05T21:13:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:39:52.334Z","description":"According to survey results released by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco lifetime earnings for college graduates do eventually pay off. The survey followed several thousand families over the course of 40 years, beginning in 1968.","url":"https://time.com/88348/college-diploma-831000-lifetime-earnings/","keywords":["Education","College","High School","Earnings","investment","income","tuition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bb24582060016e8/69868df21eebf7193c370bf4/462137953.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8bb24582060016e8/69868df21eebf7193c370bf4/462137953.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"462137953","caption":"462137953","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/88348/college-diploma-831000-lifetime-earnings/","name":"Your College Diploma Is Worth $831,000"}}]}] ```