According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000, Average Annual Earnings of Workers 25 to 64 Years Old by Educational Attainment - 1997-1999:
$18,900 for high school dropouts
$25,900 for high school graduates
$45,400 for college graduates
$99,300 for professional degrees (M.D., J.D., D.D.S., or D.V.M)
According to a 2002 report from the Commerce Department's Census Bureau in a report titled "The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings," over an adult's working life one could anticipate earning:
