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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.<\/p>\n
Two Princeton University researchers analyzed death certificate information, including the cause of death, age, and education acquisition. Their findings<\/a> showed that college-educated Americans had an eight-and-a-half-year longer lifespan than their no-degree counterparts in 2021.<\/p>\n The news may explain why the U.S. has a higher mortality rate<\/a> than most rich nations like Switzerland and Japan. Because two-thirds of Americans do not have a college degree, their experience increases the country\u2019s overall mortality rate.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. Covering healthcare costs is difficult, if not impossible, for people without high wages or good healthcare benefits.<\/p>\n Moreover, many of the two-thirds of Americans who don\u2019t have a college degree are also more likely than their counterparts to live in areas without job opportunities.<\/p>\n According to the same research, the life expectancy gap was much lower in 1992, although still remarkable.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n By 2021, an adult without a four-year degree could only expect to live another 50 years<\/a> instead of 58 years for an adult with a degree.<\/p>\n The authors attributed this shocking decrease in lifespan for the working class<\/a> to many factors, including a lower likelihood of being able to work from home during the pandemic.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nTwo-Thirds of American Adults Don’t Have a Bachelor’s Degree<\/h2>\n
In 1992, the Life Expectancy Gap Was Only 2.5 Years<\/h2>\n
The Life-Expectancy Gap Widened After 2019<\/h2>\n