The decision to drop out of high school is not just a personal one anymore. Students who don’t receive their high school diplomas have a negative impact on society. Because they earn less than graduates—or don’t earn at all—they strain the tax base and public assistance programs. Because they are likely to lack health insurance, they drive up the cost of health care. Because they are more likely to turn to crime than their better-educated peers, they endanger citizens and burden the criminal-justice system. And because they don’t become the educated, productive citizens they have every right to be, they make us less competitive globally.
 

In North Carolina, only 70 percent of today’s high school freshmen will make it to graduation. If that statistic weren’t sobering enough, here are some other grim facts about dropouts:

Years ago, having a good education wasn’t a prerequisite to success. In 1964, a high school dropout earned 64 cents for every dollar earned by an individual with at least a high school degree. But by 2004, a high school dropout earned only 37 cents for each dollar earned by an individual with more education. And college graduates earn more than twice what dropouts do over their lifetimes.

The average salary of a high school dropout in the U.S. is approximately $18,600. But according to the U.S. Center for Economic and Policy Research, a “good” job should pay about $34,000 a year and also offer health insurance and a pension—perks that most jobs taken by dropouts just don’t provide.

Because they are more likely to be unemployed, receive public assistance and enter the criminal justice system than graduates, the average dropout costs taxpayers $260,000 over his or her lifetime. Thus whole families, entire communities, and even people across the country feel the ripple effects of one person’s decision to drop out of school.

People without a high school diploma aren’t as healthy as those with more education. In fact, high school dropouts have a life expectancy that is 9.2 years shorter than high school graduates.

Dropouts make us less competitive as a nation. Based on adults ages 25 to 34, the U.S. ranks 11th among nations in the percentage of its citizens with a high school diploma. It used to be first.