Report · Money and Finance

Many Americans with college degrees are not using them

Reading

In a Verasight survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 1 to 6, 2025, 34% of Americans said they are not currently using a college or university degree they earned in their job or daily life.

A similar share said they are using a degree they earned (34%), while 32% said they do not currently have a college or university degree.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

34% of Americans say they are not currently using a college or university degree they earned.

Are you currently using the degree you earned in college or university (post-secondary education) in your job or daily life?

  • No 34.5%
  • Yes 33.8%
  • I don't currently have a college/university degree 31.7%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.2%

B

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-08-01 → 2025-08-06
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.2%
Module
B

Source

Citation

Verasight Quirks Omnibus Survey, fielded August 1-6, 2025, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.2%.

https://verasight-quirks-2025.tiiny.co

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.