Final answer:
A bachelor's degree can increase a person's lifetime earnings by around $1.2 million more than the earnings of a high school graduate. College graduates also benefit from a lower unemployment rate. However, in 2014, only about one-third of the U.S adult population had a bachelor's degree.
Step-by-step explanation:
Earning a bachelor's degree increases your income by approximately $1.2 million more times in a lifetime compared with peers that only have a high school diploma. This estimation accounts for the difference in lifetime earnings reported by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. The value of a bachelor's degree is considerable as adults with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $2.8 million during their careers, which is $1.2 million more than the median for workers with a high school diploma. Additionally, college graduates enjoy a significantly lower unemployment rate than those with lower educational attainments.
Despite these financial incentives, many individuals opt not to pursue higher education. In 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted that while a vast majority of the U.S. population had completed high school, only a third had obtained bachelor's degrees, and an even smaller percentage had earned a master's degree.