On average, members of the U.S. Military are better educated than the people they serve:
THE PERCENTAGE OF ACTIVE DUTY ENLISTED MEMBER WHO HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA GED OR HIGHER IS 99.1%
WHILE IN THE U.S. POPULATION, 88.4% OF THOSE AGES 25 OR OVER HAD AT LEAST A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA/ GED IN 2015.
27.7% of active duty Air Force members HAVE A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR HIGHER — THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE AMONG SERVICE BRANCHES — COMPARED WITH ONLY 11.8% of Marine Corps members WHO HAVE A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR HIGHER
A bachelor’s degree for a military officer pays off a whooping 88% more than for a civilian counterpart with the same level of education
Since 2000, the percentage of Reserve Component enlisted personnel with no high school diploma or GED has continued to decline to 2.3% in 2015, while the percentage with a Bachelor’s degree or higher has continued to increase to 10.6%.
Source: DMDC Reserve Components Common Personnel Data System (September 2015); United States Census (2015) http://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2015-Demographics-Report.pdf
