income by level

This leaves out investment income or opportunity cost. If you took the $200K college will cost and invest it, how do you make out? The numbers are a surprisingly different...

http://www.michaelrobertson...

The Michael Robertson site posted above is short-sighted. Part of the claim is based on the HSer investing $70K when he turns 18 vs. paying for/going to college. In neither case, does MR consider how the HSer will get a bank or his parents to agree to give a loan or grant (free money) to NOT go to college. How many banks do you know who give loans to HSers for the sole purpose of investing it in the stock market? How many HSers who don't have the grades or ambition to go to college will be astute enough to put MR's theory to the test?

Terry, you've certainly got a point. But the same ideas also work in reverse. If a HS graduate is unlikely to have initiative to invest, how much is THAT the cause of the difference in income? Unfortunately there is no easy way of getting this data out. What you need is a group of otherwise similar students, one group which CHOOSES not to go on to college and the other that chooses to GO to college. Because that's what people care about when they see this graph: Should I choose to go to college or not?

The graph as it stands lumps those who can't and those who choose not to all together, and that really isn't an interesting question.

Is it just me, or are the numbers in the graph off by an order of magnitude?

The numbers may seem off because this graph shows the total income across several years. Average income may make more sense (it doesn't change the overall picture though): http://swivel.com/graphs/sh... You can edit the graph and change Display option to 'Average' to get this view.