According to a paper discussed at the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) conference in September 2023, the gap in death rates between Americans with and without college education is widening.
Two Princeton University researchers analyzed death certificate information, including the cause of death, age, and education acquisition. Their findings showed that college-educated Americans had an eight-and-a-half-year longer lifespan than their no-degree counterparts in 2021.
Two-Thirds of American Adults Don’t Have a Bachelor’s Degree
The news may explain why the U.S. has a higher mortality rate than most rich nations like Switzerland and Japan. Because two-thirds of Americans do not have a college degree, their experience increases the country’s overall mortality rate.
The two researchers looked at potential causes for this situation. An obvious one is the lack of access to high-paying jobs and healthcare benefits for the no-degree majority. Covering healthcare costs is difficult, if not impossible, for people without high wages or good healthcare benefits.
Moreover, many of the two-thirds of Americans who don’t have a college degree are also more likely than their counterparts to live in areas without job opportunities.
In 1992, the Life Expectancy Gap Was Only 2.5 Years
According to the same research, the life expectancy gap was much lower in 1992, although still remarkable.
Between 1992 and 2010, the life expectancies of both college-educated and no-degree Americans increased. In 2010, a 25-year-old without a degree expected to live another 54 years, while a degreed American adult added four more years to that, for a total of 58 years.
The Life-Expectancy Gap Widened After 2019
After 2019, the gap became even wider, up to where we are today. Both groups have seen their life expectancy decline. Yet, the no-degree majority has seen a huge decline, similar to what happened in the former Communist countries in Eastern Europe after the USSR collapsed, according to the researchers.
By 2021, an adult without a four-year degree could only expect to live another 50 years instead of 58 years for an adult with a degree.
The authors attributed this shocking decrease in lifespan for the working class to many factors, including a lower likelihood of being able to work from home during the pandemic.
However, it is sobering to consider that something as simple as a four-year degree may impact our quality of life and how many years we live.
