Over one in three students who started college in 2012 did not enroll in the fall immediately following their high school graduation. Despite the prevalence of delayed college enrollment, however, little is known about its consequences for labor market outcomes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this paper examines the characteristics and earnings trajectories of students who do not enroll in college immediately after high school ("delayers") and the effects of this choice on academic and labor market outcomes. Propensity score matching results show that delaying college enrollment decreases individuals' likelihood of enrolling in college and increases their tendency to enroll in two-year colleges if they do return to school. They also show that, consistent with the study's descriptive results, the early earnings benefits experienced by delayers fade out after their mid-20s and turn to significant losses over time. Oaxaca decomposition results indicate that differences in student characteristics only explain one third of the pay gap between the two groups; 60 percent of the pay gap is explained by delayers' reduced likelihood of attending and obtaining a degree at a four-year college.