While it’s known that education leads to better jobs and higher income, research also shows strong links between education and longevity, reduced risk of illness, and increased vitality and school success for future generations. Yet, changing demographic trends and rising college costs portend poorly for health.

This brief examines the role that education plays in health and finds that: 

• Better-educated individuals live longer, healthier lives than those with less education, and their children are more likely to thrive. 
• An action plan released by the National Prevention Council, comprised of 17 federal departments, includes efforts to bolster education outcomes for youth.
• Changing demographics and other trends forecast that young people in the United States today are less likely than members of their parents’ generation to graduate from high school, posing challenges to efforts to improve health status.