Chart assignment

Charts to read and discuss

Read each chart, then answer its questions. Every chart shows its source and date; open it for a table of the numbers and the data to download.

  1. Which college majors pay the most?
  2. How fast are US prices rising?

Chart 1 of 2 · College

Which college majors pay the most?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

Of the 20 most common bachelor's degree majors, computer science paid the most four years after graduating: a median of $107,009 a year, 2.3 times the $47,382 of teacher education. These earnings cover only graduates who received federal student aid (grants or loans) and were working and not in school. They describe earnings in the two years through 2023, adjusted for inflation.

Questions to discuss

  1. In one sentence of your own, what does this chart show?
  2. Find the biggest change or difference in the chart. What might explain it?
  3. Who collected these numbers, and how recent are they? What else would you want to know before drawing a conclusion?

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Dec 31, 2023

Open the chart and its numbers

Chart 2 of 2 · Inflation

How fast are US prices rising?

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are on the chart's page.

The inflation rate was 3.7% in September 2026: how much consumer prices changed from the same month a year earlier. Each point makes that comparison, back to 1914, the first year BLS can compare. Inflation peaked at 23.7% in June 1920 and at 14.8% in March 1980; the 9.1% of June 2022 was the highest since 1981. Prices fell as fast as 15.8% a year in 1921 and 10.7% in 1932. BLS collected no prices in October 2025, during a lapse in federal funding, so that month and October 2026 are missing.

How to read this chart

Each point compares consumer prices in a month with the same month a year earlier. A value of 3 means things cost about 3% more than a year before; below zero means prices fell. The chart shows how fast prices change, not how high they are.

Questions to discuss

  1. Find two times when inflation was highest. What was happening in the country then?
  2. If inflation falls from 8% to 3%, are prices going down, or just rising more slowly?
  3. Find a stretch when the line is below zero. Why might falling prices be bad news for workers and businesses?

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items) (Public domain (U.S. government work)) · Data as of Sep 30, 2026

Open the chart and its numbers

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