Education Pays
The benefits of higher education for individuals and society
Students who attend institutions of higher education obtain a wide range of personal, financial, and other lifelong benefits; likewise, taxpayers and society as a whole derive a multitude of direct and indirect benefits when citizens have access to postsecondary education.
The College Board report Education Pays 2004 presents detailed evidence of both the private and public benefits of higher education. It also sheds light on the distribution of these benefits by examining both the progress and the persistent disparities in participation in postsecondary education.
Education Pays 2007 updates many of the indicators included in our original 2004 publication, as well as in the 2005 and 2006 supplements. We have also added new information about the benefits generated by higher education and differences in educational attainment among various groups within American society.
The 2007 report and publications
- Education Pays 2007 (.pdf/557K) Requires Adobe Reader (latest version recommended).
- Benefits to Society (.pdf/85K)
- Financial Benefits to the Individual (.pdf/89K)
- Benefits to Health and Parenting (.pdf/90K)
- 2007 Press Release: Study: Higher Education Improves Quality of Life for Recipients, Society
Previous Education Pays publications
- Education Pays Update 2006 (.pdf/462K)
- Presentation: Education Pays 2006 Update (.ppt/12.3MB)
- 2006 Student Aid Tables & Charts (.xls/120K)
- 2006 College Pricing Tables & Charts (.xls/119K)
- Presentation: Education Pays 2005 (.ppt/5.4MB)
- Education Pays 2004 (.pdf/1.36MB)
The Trends reports
Education Pays and its supplement were released with the companion reports Trends in College Pricing and Trends in Student Aid. Taken together, these reports tell much about the financing of postsecondary educational opportunity in America.