We have published several blog posts recently on the impact of education on income. It should be common knowledge that higher levels of education correspond with higher incomes. But how do income brackets break down across education levels? Or asked differently, how badly do you need a bachelor’s degree if you want to make six figures?

“Just over 60% of those making $100,000 or more have at least a bachelor’s degree.”

We wanted to know, and we conducted some research. In the chart below, income cohorts are broken down by educational composition. Right away, it becomes apparent that higher education levels are significantly more prevalent among the higher income brackets. High school degrees and below sharply taper off as incomes rise and bachelor’s degrees or higher begin to dominate the graph.

All of the educational brackets are represented to some extent at all levels of income, even if they are extreme outliers. But, the only one that represents a majority at any point is the bachelor’s degree or higher bracket. Just over 60 percent of those making $100,000 or more have at least a bachelor’s degree. So, the answer to the earlier question of what is required to make a six figure income is simple, “Stay in school, kid.”

This is not cause for dismay; rather this should be taken as a positive. As previously discussed, we are living in the most prevalently educated time in our country’s history. More people than ever, particularly Millennials, go to college and earn degrees. This means that, in spite of student loan debts, people with higher degrees of education are better equipped to pay them back and afford housing given income projections like this. It might take more time to earn a college degree, but we can see that it does pay off, making both debt and housing more affordable.

Connor Currie contributed to this post.