The Indicator from Planet Money

The economic challenges facing men without college degrees

December 27, 2025

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  • Real wage growth for men in the U.S. over the past few decades is highly dependent on education level, with men holding a four-year college degree seeing a 38% increase while those with only a high school degree saw a 7% drop. 
  • Declining male labor force participation among men without college degrees is largely driven by health issues (sickness/disability), contrasting sharply with college-educated men who are more likely to be out of the labor force due to education or early retirement. 
  • A significant cultural disconnect exists where working-class men, who are least able to be the primary economic provider, are often the most attached to that traditional role, leading to a sense of failure that is often overlooked by elites who are not experiencing this economic decline. 

Segments

Defining Men’s Wage Changes
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(00:00:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Answering questions about men’s wage changes requires specifying the time span, age group (e.g., 25-54), and inflation adjustment method used.
  • Summary: The analysis of men’s wages is complex, depending heavily on the comparison span and the definition of ‘prime age’ men (25 to 54). Decisions on how to adjust for inflation, such as using the Consumer Price Index versus other measures, can drastically alter the resulting narrative about wage trends.
Wage Growth by Education Level
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(00:04:11)
  • Key Takeaway: From 1979 to 2023, men with four-year degrees saw 38% wage growth, while those without degrees experienced stagnation or decline.
  • Summary: Men with a four-year college degree saw real wage growth of 38% between 1979 and 2023. Wages for men with some college or an associate’s degree were essentially flat, rising only 3%. Wages dropped by 7% for men with a high school degree and 11% for those with less than a high school degree.
Inflation Measurement Detail
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(00:05:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) measure is preferred over the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for deflating wages because PCE accounts for substitution effects in consumer spending.
  • Summary: The PCE measure is considered the best deflator for wages as it accurately captures buying power by allowing for substitution effects, recognizing that consumers switch to cheaper goods when others become expensive. CPI tends to present a gloomier picture of wage growth because it does not account for this substitution behavior.
Causes of Wage Stagnation
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(00:06:49)
  • Key Takeaway: The decline in wages for less-educated men stems from the erosion of well-paying manufacturing jobs and increased competition from globalization and greater inclusion of women and people of color.
  • Summary: Jobs previously accessible to men without college degrees, such as in manufacturing and mining, have declined, reducing high-paying, physically demanding roles. Wage suppression is partly due to fairer competition from women and workers of color entering these fields, alongside increased competition from abroad due to free trade.
Generational Comparison and Provider Role
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(00:07:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Many working-class men feel poorer than their fathers, a psychological burden exacerbated by the cultural expectation that men should be the main economic provider, even as women’s earnings offset household income drops.
  • Summary: For many men, the relevant comparison for success is their parents’ economic standing, leading to a sense of downward mobility if their wages are lower than their fathers’. While increased female earnings have prevented steeper household income drops, many men experience a psychological toll when they cannot fulfill the traditional role of main provider.
Shifting Gender Earnings Landscape
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(00:10:13)
  • Key Takeaway: The proportion of women earning more than the median man has dramatically increased from 13% in 1979 to 40% today, leading to a cultural lag regarding men’s evolving roles.
  • Summary: In 1979, only 13% of women earned more than the median man, but this figure is now 40%, making wage distributions between genders much more similar. The cultural view of the male provider role has not updated as quickly as the economy, particularly among less-educated men who most strongly hold this traditional view.
Labor Force Participation by Education
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(00:15:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Male labor force participation has declined since 1979, with men without college degrees seeing a drop to an 81% employment rate compared to 93% for college graduates.
  • Summary: Male labor force participation has decreased overall, while it has increased for women. For men without a four-year degree, about one in five are now out of the labor force, compared to one in ten in 1979. The primary reason working-class men are out of the labor force is sickness or disability, not childcare.
Solutions: Training and Occupational Shifts
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(00:17:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Solutions require economic investment in infrastructure and vocational training, alongside a cultural shift encouraging men into growth sectors traditionally dominated by women, like healthcare and education.
  • Summary: Economic solutions include infrastructure investment and significantly better access to vocational training and trade schools, as the four-year degree path is not suitable for many men. There is a failure to encourage men into ‘heel jobs’ (health, education, administration), which are growth fields experiencing labor shortages, leading to professions becoming even more gendered.
Redefining Masculinity Beyond Paycheck
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(00:21:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Modern masculinity must be broadly defined beyond the narrow economic role of breadwinner to include contributions as a father, volunteer, and community member to avoid societal backlash.
  • Summary: It is crucial to signal to men that they matter as fathers and community members, not just based on their paycheck size. Failure to complete this cultural shift toward a broader, positive definition of masculinity risks triggering a reactionary backlash. Acknowledging and addressing the real problems facing boys and men prevents these issues from hardening into grievances.