Black College Grads Borrow 35% More for a Public Education but Earn 22% Less Than Their Peers — from Kamaron McNair with thanks to Frankie Rendón for this resource

KEY FINDINGS
  • Census data shows that Black millennials with a Bachelor’s earn 22% less ($44,498 versus $56,731) on average than other degree-holding millennials.

  • Black millennials outpaced their peers in just three states — Oregon, Maine and Alaska. But only by an average of 2% — or roughly $1,200.

  • The earnings gap for recent graduates widened in more than half of U.S. states. From 2014 to 2019, the earnings gap for graduates widened in 28 states and the District of Columbia. The gap widened by more than 29 percentage points in Vermont, the most of any state.

  • The worst wage gap for Black millennials was in Montana, where Black bachelor’s degree graduates working full time earn 50.3% less on average than non-Black workers.

  • North Dakota recorded the smallest earnings gap at 2.7%. Here, Black millennial bachelor’s degree-holders earn just $1,400 less on average than non-Black earners.

  • Black students borrowed more in student loans than their fellow students. At four-year public schools, Black students and their families borrowed 35% more. Non-Black families contributed an average of $14,434 to their student’s education, more than double the $5,545 Black families contributed.

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Addendum on 6/23/21: