Not to be confused with higher education leading to a higher income. As we have seen, incomes have not risen with increasing rates of attainment. People today are making almost the exact same amount of money (inflation adjusted) as people were 40 years ago, back when having a higher education was quite rare.
It is true that people who are born successful are successful in what they do, be it the workplace or academia, and as more people seek to attain a post-secondary education the share of those on the most successful end of the spectrum with higher education grows, but that's not particularly useful information to those who were not born successful.
If 100% of the population had higher education, 50% of the population would still be making less than $31k. I live in what the OECD calls the most education nation in the world, where well over half of the population have a higher education, and the median income is still almost exactly what you shared here ($33,600 to be precise).
It is true that people who are born successful are successful in what they do, be it the workplace or academia, and as more people seek to attain a post-secondary education the share of those on the most successful end of the spectrum with higher education grows, but that's not particularly useful information to those who were not born successful.
If 100% of the population had higher education, 50% of the population would still be making less than $31k. I live in what the OECD calls the most education nation in the world, where well over half of the population have a higher education, and the median income is still almost exactly what you shared here ($33,600 to be precise).