A new research survey by the Pew Research Center demonstrates the rising costs of not attending college. “On virtually every measure of economic well-being and career attainment—from personal earnings to job satisfaction to the share employed full time—young college graduates are outperforming their peers with less education.”

This may sound surprising to Americans who regularly follow news media in the United States. Popular news organizations, spurred by conservative politicians and right-wing radio shows, have been repeatedly questioning the value of higher education. Numerous articles on the rising cost of college tuition have been published in print and online newspapers and magazines over the past year or so.

According to the Pew Research Center, “the economic analysis finds that Millennial college graduates ages 25 to 32 who are working full time earn more annually—about $17,500 more—than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma.”

The Pew findings also indicate a growing gap between those with and without a college degree:

Also, note that despite the Obama Administration’s continual championing of community colleges, that there is little difference in the salaries of high school and community college graduates.

See the Pew Research Center website for additional findings from this survey.