Enrollment in American graduate degree programs is increasing, even as undergraduate enrollment declines continue in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With rising numbers of graduate awards, there has been increased attention on understanding the value of these degrees, especially master's degrees. With more workers attaining higher credentials, the value of this credential could be diluted, causing the typical worker to earn less than they did a decade ago. This brief examines graduate degree attainment and workers' earnings over the past 30 years using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the American Community Survey (ACS), and student survey data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Findings show that the earnings of graduate degree recipients rose, in inflation-adjusted dollars, until around 2000 and have stayed steady since. Although typical earnings for graduate degree recipients have remained level, the cost of a graduate degree, particularly in the form of student debt, has risen sharply, biting into the overall return on investment for graduate education.