A recent study by the Pew Research Center has found that a majority of Americans do not believe that going into debt for a four-year college degree is worth it. The study, which surveyed 5,200 respondents, found that only 22% of participants believe that college is worth the cost if a student has to take on debt, while another 47% said that a four-year degree is only worth it if the student does not have to take out loans. Additionally, 29% of respondents said that college is not worth its cost at all, regardless of the circumstances. Even among college graduates, skepticism about the value of a degree is prevalent, with only a third believing that college is worth the cost if loans are required.
The skepticism surrounding the value of a college degree may not be surprising, given that total student debt in the U.S. has surpassed $1.6 trillion, with the average loan balance exceeding $29,000 for 2021-22 graduates. Tuition prices have also continued to increase year after year, with some universities charging over $80,000 per year for tuition, fees, room, and board. Despite these rising costs, inflation-adjusted earnings for young adults (aged 25 to 34) without college degrees have increased in the past decade after years of decline for men and stagnation for women. However, there is still a significant earnings gap between college graduates and those without degrees.
In 2023, young men with a bachelor’s degree earned a median of $77,000, 71% more than men with only a high school diploma, while young women with a bachelor’s degree earned a median of $65,000, 81% more than women with only a high school diploma. Despite these earnings increases, the majority of younger workers in the U.S. have not completed college. This has led to employers reevaluating their job requirements, with some companies removing degree requirements from their job postings in favor of skills-based hiring strategies.
The shift in employer requirements, along with the rising cost of college education and student debt, has contributed to a growing belief among the American public that a college degree is not as necessary for obtaining a well-paying job. According to the Pew study, 49% of all adults surveyed believe that a college degree is less important now than it was 20 years ago, while only 32% believe it is more important. Even among political parties, doubts about the value of a degree are prevalent, with 57% of Republicans and 43% of Democrats believing that a degree is less important than it was two decades ago.
Overall, only 25% of adults believe that having a four-year degree is very or extremely important for obtaining a well-paying job, while 35% say it is somewhat important and 40% say it is not too or not at all important. The study surveyed 5,203 U.S. adults between November 23 and December 3, 2023, using the American Trends Panel, an online survey that selects participants using random sampling of addresses. The results are weighted to be representative of the entire adult population with respect to race, gender, ethnicity, and partisan affiliation, and the study also relied on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve.
