NEWS FLASH

Higher Education Can Add Over 10 Years To Life Expectancy | Wonkblog’s Sarah Kliff digs up a new study revealing yet another way inequality shapes every aspect of our lives: Possessing a college education or higher can in some cases add over a decade to a person’s lifespan, versus if they have less than a high school diploma. The gap stands at 12.9 years for white men specifically, for women at 10.4 years, and somewhat smaller for Hispanics and African-Americans. The divide has also widened substantially in the last twenty years. In sum, Americans with less than a high school education have a life expectancy little better than what could be expected in the mid-20th Century, which is consistent with previous findings that gains in life span since then have accrued almost entirely to the upper half of the income distribution: