Lifetime Earnings Estimator
Project your total career earnings from now to age 65 based on your education level and current salary.
Source: US BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; BLS Employment Projections · May 2024 wages; 2025-35 projections — US only · last verified 2026-09-13
How this is calculated
Your education level (and optional field) sets a baseline salary, which is then scaled across five age bands using a standard age-earnings profile curve — rising from entry level, peaking in your mid-40s to mid-50s, then easing slightly toward 65. Summing your remaining working years gives the projected total, compared against a high-school-only baseline over the same years.
For a current-year salary figure by specific degree field rather than a full-career projection, see the Graduate Salary by Degree Field calculator, which feeds a similar baseline dataset. Once you have a lifetime earnings estimate, the Retirement Savings Adequacy calculator can help translate a portion of that projected income into a concrete savings plan.
Frequently asked questions
- What does "to age 65" assume?
- Continuous full-time employment from your current age to 65, using an age-earnings curve — it does not model unemployment, career breaks, part-time years, or early retirement.
- How is the earnings curve shaped?
- Earnings rise from entry level, peak in the 45-54 age band, then ease slightly toward 65 — a standard age-earnings profile shape, applied on top of your education level's baseline (and field, if selected).
- What is the "premium vs high school baseline"?
- How much more (as a percentage) your projected lifetime earnings are compared to a high-school-only baseline over the same remaining working years.
- What does lifetime earnings mean?
- Lifetime earnings is the total income you're projected to earn over your remaining working years, from now until age 65 — a single cumulative figure rather than an annual salary snapshot.
- How is the projection calculated?
- Your education level (and optional field of study) sets a baseline salary, which is scaled across five age bands using a standard age-earnings profile curve — rising from entry level, peaking in your mid-40s to mid-50s, then easing slightly toward 65 — and summed across your remaining working years.
- Does this account for salary growth?
- Yes, implicitly — the age-earnings curve itself captures typical salary progression through a career, rising toward a peak in the mid-career years. It does not separately model inflation, so the projection is in today's dollar terms rather than future nominal dollars.
- How does education level affect lifetime earnings?
- Higher education levels are associated with substantially higher lifetime earnings on average in published labour statistics — the gap compounds over a full career, which is why the calculator shows a "premium vs high school baseline" figure rather than just a single annual salary difference.
- What is the earnings premium for a degree?
- The earnings premium varies by degree level and field, but bachelor's degree holders have historically earned meaningfully more over a career than high-school-only workers, with the premium generally increasing further for master's and doctoral/professional degrees — and varying significantly by field of study, which is why selecting a specific field gives a more targeted estimate.