KY college grads earn more than students who don’t go to college. See how much more.

College graduates in Kentucky make more money than students who did attend or graduate from college, a report from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education shows.

The report tracked over 43,600 Kentucky students from the time they graduated high school in 2011 to 2019. By 2019, students who earned a bachelor’s degree or associate degree were making more annually than those students who did not have a postsecondary degree, even after factoring in the cost of attending college and fewer years of full-time employment.

“The evidence is clear, and it’s compelling,” said CPE President Aaron Thompson. “Higher education pays for those who earn college credentials in Kentucky, despite a growing narrative that tells us that it’s not worth the time and money.”

High school graduates in the cohort made the least, with a median salary of $29,478 in 2019. Students who earned a certificate or diploma earned $37,369, students with an associate degree earned $38,268, and students who graduated in four years with a bachelor’s degree earned $41,915. The differences in earnings grew more pronounced over time, according to the report.

Students who took longer than four years to complete a bachelor’s degree paid more for college, had higher loan amounts and lower initial earnings.

Nearly 44% of graduates with a bachelor’s degree rank in the highest income percentiles of Kentucky earners, falling in the 75th percentile or above.

“There is no doubt about the economic value of earning a postsecondary credential,” said Dr. Grace Dai, the report’s lead author and researcher. “Higher education not only contributes to students’ upward economic mobility, but it also narrows the wage gap between low-income and non-low-income students.”

Over 60% of the cohort attended college directly after graduating from high school. Most of those students attended a public or independent college in Kentucky.

The study also found that grants and scholarships covered between 19% and 34% of total college costs for graduates, making a degree more affordable.

“The net cost of a credential is significantly less than the published cost of attendance, and the median loan debt of most graduates is affordable,” Thompson said in the report.

Over half of students in the cohort borrowed to finance their education, with the amount varying based on the degree type. Monthly loan payments were highest for students with a bachelor’s degree, but the debt-to-income ratio showed that median loan debt was affordable. The debt-to-income ratio looks at student loan debt divided by annual entry-level earnings. Amounts less than one are considered reasonable.

Only bachelor’s degree graduates who took longer than four years to graduate had a debt-to-income ratio above one, according to the report.