WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The number of people with academic degrees, particularly doctorates and master's, grew substantially in the past decade, the U.S. Census Bureau said Wednesday.
The department said a statistical survey -- Educational Attainment in the United States: 2012 -- found the population with a doctorate grew by about 1 million, or 45 percent, from 2002 to 2012, while the group with master's degrees grew by 5 million, or 43 percent.
The population with an associate degree rose by 5 million, or 31 percent, and those whose highest degree was a bachelor's increased 25 percent to 41 million.
The report found 21 million women held bachelor's degrees as their highest level of education as of 2012, compared to 19 million men. Women also outnumbered men in earning master's degrees, 9 million to 7.4 million.
Men held more doctorates -- leading women 2 million over 1.2 million -- and held 1.8 million professional degrees, compared to 1.2 million for women.
The number of those without a high school or GED diploma fell by 13 percent to 25 million.
Among people 25 and older who reported earnings in 2011, the average income for people with bachelor's degrees but no higher degrees was $59,415. People with high school diplomas but no college reported average earnings of $32,493.
The report is based on statistics from the Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which surveys people annually in about 100,000 homes in February, March and April each year.
