In a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, more college graduates are able to afford housing. At least, another report from the Census Bureau shows an uptick in homeownership in this age demographic.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the data show how quickly the post-recession image is fading of college graduates doomed to work in coffee shops. Their experience highlights instead a growing divide in the U.S. economy — between those with a college degree and those without.
“After the great recession, there was a lot of concern about people graduating, not being able to get a job,” said Richard Dietz, a senior economist at the New York Fed. People became uncertain “whether a college degree was worth it anymore.”
Per the Wall Street Journal, Dietz and his colleague Jaison Abel developed this new data, which the New York Fed will begin to publish on a regular basis, to answer whether the benefits of college were beginning to deteriorate.
Graduates who received a bachelor’s degree earned a median $43,000 in 2015, compared to the $40,000 they earned in 2014. The highest earners, the top 25%, earn at least $65k.
While some graduates who chose majors like engineering, are able to afford housing, there are still some who struggle with even affording an apartment. Popular majors like communications or anthropology only earn a median of $30,000.
Per the Census Bureau’s second quarter report:
For householders from 35-44 years of age, the homeownership rate increased the most, from 58.1% to 59.3%.
Unlike previous years when graduates couldn’t afford to buy a home, Wall Street Journal reports director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce said, he estimates that the average college graduate will earn $1 million more than the average high-school graduate over the course of a lifetime. Many holders of graduate degrees will earn an additional $3 million.
