NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas ranks 17th in the nation in people who have a "high quality" postsecondary credential, according to a group that promotes learning after high school.
"Even with recent concerns about, is a college degree worth it and student debt and all these things, which are real concerns, the fact is, the higher level of education a person has, on average, the more they make, the less likely they are to be in poverty, the more likely they are to be employed, the more household wealth they are likely to achieve," said Mark Tallman with the Kansas Association of School Boards.
The Lumina Foundation report says 55.7 percent of Kansans aged 25-65 have such credentials.
"If a state has higher educational attainment, all those benefits apply to the state, as well," Tallman said. "It's an important outcome of education, both at the individual and at the state, or for that matter, even national level."
The key here is that, other than the very young end of that range, those credentials were most likely earned before the pandemic.
"The average earnings, if you have not finished high school, is about $30,000 a year. Every other educational increment increases that. Graduate and professional degree earnings are more than double that. Over a lifetime, that really compounds. That doesn't count other benefits."
As income rises with credentials, poverty declines. In 2021, Kansans without a high school diploma had a 20 percent poverty rate; high school graduates had a 15 percent; up to two years of college, 9 percent; and those with a four-year degree or more, 4 percent.
The Tallman Education Report blog contributed to this story.
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