The Four Year College Degree and the Middle Class Living Standard: A Tenuous Relationship

Abstract

This working paper extends the author's prior line of analysis of precisely what "middle classness" may be considered to consist of, and just how widespread it may actually be (most recently seen in "The Remaking—and Decline—of the Middle Class: A Note"). In so doing it specifically considers the data on educational levels and income and argues that while more education does generally correlate with higher income, the equation of a bachelor's degree with a middle class living standard (as previously established by the author, the measure of comfort, security and opportunity associated with it) has been increasingly divergent from the reality.

Keywords: Middle Class, Education Levels, Education and Income, Higher Education, Living Standards