The percentage of the US population with a bachelor’s degree hit 33.4% in 2016, the highest percentage ever. In 2010, the percentage of college graduates was 30%, and in 1940, the first year such data was collected, just 4.6% of the population had finished college. For those over 24, average earnings were $35,615 for high school graduates, $65,482 for baccalaureates, and $92,525 for those with an advanced degree.