Does college pay off for the poor?

Yes. But college by itself cannot fix income inequality. Other policies are also needed.

In our research, we find that people from low-income backgrounds who complete college, compared to those who complete only high school, increase their career earnings by 71 percent. That is a hefty return.

To put that 71 percent return in dollar terms: For the average college graduate from a low-income background (those who grow up with family earnings below 185 percent of the poverty line), lifetime earnings are about $810,000. But for the average person from a low-income background with just a high school diploma, average lifetime earnings are about $475,000.

That boost of $335,000 vastly exceeds tuition costs and any foregone earnings from attending college instead of immediately working full-time after high school.