Income returns to education
Published:
18 December 2025
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Data on the effect of different levels of education on the earnings of young people aged 25 to 29 years, by socio-economic background.
Summary main findings
Higher education levels among young people (25 to 29 year olds) are linked with higher earnings.
In the 3 years to 2024, young people with a higher degree – such as a master’s degree – earned 41% more than those from the same socio-economic background with no GCSEs. Young people with an undergraduate degree earned 27% more.
The gaps between young people with different qualification levels have mostly persisted over time. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, young people with lower educational qualifications have had a slightly faster increase in income than young people with higher qualifications. This does not mean they earn more – just that their income has increased faster, making the gap narrower. Overall, higher education levels still lead to higher earnings.
In 2014 to 2024 combined:
- young women earned significantly less than young men with the same qualifications and socio-economic background
- young people from most ethnic minority groups earned around the same as White British young people with the same qualifications and socio-economic background – young people from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups earned less
- young people with a disability earned less than those without a disability but with the same qualifications – for young people with an undergraduate degree, those with a disability earned 90% of the earnings of those without a disability
By education level
Visualisation
Percentage differences in hourly earnings of 25 to 29 year olds, relative to those with lower level qualifications (below GCSE grade 1 or equivalent), controlling for socio-economic background, sex and age (UK, 2022 to 2024 combined)
Data
| Highest qualification | Percentage difference relative to lower level (%) |
|---|---|
| Higher degree | 41.4 |
| First degree | 27.2 |
| Further education below degree | 15.6 |
| A level and equivalent | 7.9 |
| O level, GCSE and equivalent | 3.1 |
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Changes over time
Visualisation
Hourly earnings of 25 to 29 year olds, adjusted for inflation, by highest qualification controlling for socio-economic background, sex and age (UK, 2014 to 2024, 3-year averages)
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Data
| Year | Lower level (below GCSE grade 1) (£) | O level, GCSE and equivalent (£) | A level and equivalent (£) | Further education below degree (£) | First degree (£) | Higher degree (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 to 2024 | 12.27 | 12.65 | 13.24 | 14.19 | 15.61 | 17.35 |
| 2021 to 2023 | 11.94 | 12.45 | 13.01 | 14.40 | 16.46 | 17.34 |
| 2020 to 2022 | 11.58 | 11.96 | 13.39 | 14.96 | 17.13 | 18.25 |
| 2019 to 2021 | 10.90 | 12.14 | 13.04 | 14.23 | 16.93 | 17.85 |
| 2018 to 2020 | 10.76 | 12.07 | 12.86 | 13.70 | 16.69 | 18.38 |
| 2017 to 2019 | 10.79 | 12.26 | 12.72 | 13.62 | 16.23 | 17.55 |
| 2016 to 2018 | 10.87 | 11.75 | 12.54 | 13.34 | 15.78 | 17.56 |
| 2015 to 2017 | 10.36 | 11.76 | 12.26 | 13.37 | 15.42 | 17.50 |
| 2014 to 2016 | 9.99 | 11.57 | 12.09 | 12.97 | 15.26 | 18.07 |
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By sex
Visualisation
Mean hourly earnings of 25 to 29 year olds, by educational level and sex, controlling for socio-economic background and age (UK, 2014 to 2024 combined)
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Data
| Highest qualification | Men (£) | Women (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Higher degree | 17.50 | 15.86 |
| First degree | 16.08 | 14.15 |
| Further education below degree | 14.13 | 11.93 |
| A level and equivalent | 13.29 | 10.80 |
| O level, GCSE and equivalent | 12.15 | 10.79 |
| Lower level (below GCSE grade 1) | 10.56 | 10.16 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By ethnicity
Visualisation
Mean hourly earnings of 25 to 29 year olds, by educational level and ethnicity, controlling for socio-economic background and age (UK, 2014 to 2024 combined)
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Data
| Ethnicity | Degree (£) | No degree (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladeshi | 11.95 | 9.11 |
| Chinese | 14.83 | 11.31 |
| Indian | 14.88 | 11.34 |
| Pakistani | 13.91 | 10.61 |
| Black African | 15.15 | 11.55 |
| Black Caribbean | 14.99 | 11.43 |
| Mixed | 15.31 | 11.67 |
| White British | 15.47 | 11.79 |
| White other | 15.19 | 11.58 |
| Other | 14.44 | 11.01 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
By disability status
Visualisation
Mean hourly earnings of 25 to 29 year olds, by educational level and disability status, controlling for socio-economic background and age (UK, 2014 to 2024 combined)
Click or tap on legend items to toggle visibility
Data
| Highest qualification | Disabled (£) | Not disabled (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Higher degree | 16.88 | 16.60 |
| First degree | 13.73 | 15.19 |
| Further education below degree | 11.56 | 13.31 |
| A level and equivalent | 11.55 | 12.15 |
| O level, GCSE and equivalent | 10.82 | 11.66 |
| Lower level (below GCSE grade 1) | 10.15 | 10.38 |
Download
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data source
Office for National Statistics, Labour Force Survey (LFS)
Time period
- 2022 to 2024 combined (By education level)
- 2014 to 2024, 3-year averages (Changes over time)
- 2014 to 2024 combined (By sex, ethnicity and disability status)
Geographic area
UK
What the data measures
The data shows the effect of different levels of education on the earnings of young people aged 25 to 29 years in the UK.
Things you need to know
This year’s estimates are not directly comparable to those in State of the Nation 2024. This is due to changes to the methodology and the inflation base year to 2024.
Data is weighted using LFS income weights.
For data by education level, the percentages shown are the differences in income for men aged 27 from lower working class backgrounds by level of qualification, compared with similar men with lower level qualifications (below GCSE grade 1 or equivalent). Data from 2022 to 2024 is combined to get more accurate estimates.
For data by year, ethnicity and disability, the estimates shown are the hourly earnings of 27-year-old men from a lower working-class background. Data by year is combined into 3-year averages (for example, 2020 to 2022). Data by ethnicity and disability is combined from 2014 to 2024.
For data by sex, the estimates shown are the hourly earnings of 27-year-old men and women from a lower working-class background. Data from 2014 to 2024 is combined.
An interaction between education and time (pre- versus post- COVID-19) was included, to test whether the pay gap by education level has changed after the pandemic. This was significant, indicating that the gap has changed.
The error bars show 95% confidence intervals. Read more about confidence intervals.
Type of data
Survey data
Full report
Read more in State of the Nation 2025 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 23KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Measure code
- Measure title
- Chart type
- Area code
- Area type
- Area name
- Primary split type
- Primary split value
- Secondary split type
- Secondary split value
- Tertiary split type
- Tertiary split value
- Time period
- Value
- Lower confidence interval
- Upper confidence interval
- Sample size
- Unit
- Value note
Page history
Publication release date:
18 December 2025