In 2021, about ** percent of the United States population aged 25 to 34 years had attained a bachelor's degree or higher. In comparison, only ** percent of the U.S. population aged 65 years or older had a bachelor's degree.

In 2022, about 37.7 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from college or another higher education institution, a slight decline from 37.9 the previous year. However, this is a significant increase from 1960, when only 7.7 percent of the U.S. population had graduated from college. Demographics Educational attainment varies by gender, location, race, and age throughout the United States. Asian-American and Pacific Islanders had the highest level of education, on average, while Massachusetts and the District of Colombia are areas home to the highest rates of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, education levels are correlated with wealth. While public education is free up until the 12th grade, the cost of university is out of reach for many Americans, making social mobility increasingly difficult. Earnings White Americans with a professional degree earned the most money on average, compared to other educational levels and races. However, regardless of educational attainment, males typically earned far more on average compared to females. Despite the decreasing wage gap over the years in the country, it remains an issue to this day. Not only is there a large wage gap between males and females, but there is also a large income gap linked to race as well.

Overall educational attainment measures the highest level of education attained by a given individual: for example, an individual counted in the percentage of the measured population with a master’s or professional degree can be assumed to also have a bachelor’s degree and a high school diploma, but they are not counted in the population percentages for those two categories. Overall educational attainment is the broadest education indicator available, providing information about the measured county population as a whole.

Only members of the population aged 25 and older are included in these educational attainment estimates, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS).

Champaign County has high educational attainment: over 48 percent of the county's population aged 25 or older has a bachelor's degree or graduate or professional degree as their highest level of education. In comparison, the percentage of the population aged 25 or older in the United States and Illinois with a bachelor's degree in 2023 was 21.8% (+/-0.1) and 22.8% (+/-0.2), respectively. The population aged 25 or older in the U.S. and Illinois with a graduate or professional degree in 2022, respectively, was 14.3% (+/-0.1) and 15.5% (+/-0.2).

Educational attainment data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, which are released annually.

As with any datasets that are estimates rather than exact counts, it is important to take into account the margins of error (listed in the column beside each figure) when drawing conclusions from the data.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of providing the standard 1-year data products, the Census Bureau released experimental estimates from the 1-year data in 2020. This includes a limited number of data tables for the nation, states, and the District of Columbia. The Census Bureau states that the 2020 ACS 1-year experimental tables use an experimental estimation methodology and should not be compared with other ACS data. For these reasons, and because data is not available for Champaign County, no data for 2020 is included in this Indicator.

For interested data users, the 2020 ACS 1-Year Experimental data release includes a dataset on Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (16 October 2024).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (29 September 2023).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (6 October 2022).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (4 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (4 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (13 September 2018).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (13 September 2018). U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (19 September 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2006 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2005 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).

Dataset

This dataset was created by Brandon Chung

Released under U.S. Government Works

Contents

In an impressive increase from years past, 40.1 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2024. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 37.1 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2024, up from 5.5 percent in 1940. 4- and 2-year colleges In the United States, college students are able to choose between attending a 2-year postsecondary program and a 4-year postsecondary program. Generally, attending a 2-year program results in an Associate’s Degree, and 4-year programs result in a Bachelor’s Degree. Many 2-year programs are designed so that attendees can transfer to a college or university offering a 4-year program upon completing their Associate’s. Completion of a 4-year program is the generally accepted standard for entry-level positions when looking for a job. Earnings after college Factors such as gender, degree achieved, and the level of postsecondary education can have an impact on employment and earnings later in life. Some Bachelor’s degrees continue to attract more male students than female, particularly in STEM fields, while liberal arts degrees such as education, languages and literatures, and communication tend to see higher female attendance. All of these factors have an impact on earnings after college, and despite nearly the same rate of attendance within the American population between males and females, men with a Bachelor’s Degree continue to have higher weekly earnings on average than their female counterparts.

This map shows the percentage of people age 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher education level. This is shown by state, county, and census tracts throughout the US. Zoom to any city to see the pattern there, or use one of the bookmarks to explore different areas. For more information about the education attainment breakdown from the US Census Bureau, click here.The pop-up is configured to show the overall breakdown of educational attainment for the population 25+. The data shown is current-year American Community Survey (ACS) data from the US Census Bureau. The data is updated each year when the ACS releases its new 5-year estimates. For more information about the data, visit this page.To learn more about when the ACS releases data updates, click here.

Context

The United States Census Bureau conducts regular surveys to assess education levels in the U.S. These surveys sample participants' highest levels of education (i.e. high school diploma, bachelor's degree, etc.) The attached CSV file aggregates data for the years 1995, 2005, and 2015.

Content

Data is organized into columns representing the survey year, age range, sex of participants, and education level. For example, [1995, 18_24, Male, ...] represents the 1995 survey for men ages 18-24.

It's worth noting that the surveys varied somewhat in granularity. The 2015 survey divided categories more finely (18-24, 25-29, 29-34...) while the 2005 and 1995 surveys were coarser (18-24, 25-34, ...). This could create some distortion depending on the analysis used.

Sources

Main

https://www.census.gov/topics/education/educational-attainment/data/tables.All.html

2015

Table 1. Educational Attainment of the Population 18 Years and Over, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2015

https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2015/demo/education-attainment/p20-578.html

2005

Table 6. Educational Attainment of Employed Civilians 18 to 64 Years, by Occupation, Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2005

https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2005/demo/educational-attainment/cps-detailed-tables.html

1995

Educational Attainment in the United States: March 1995

https://www.census.gov/data/tables/1995/demo/educational-attainment/p20-489.html

Graph and download economic data for Employment Level - Less Than a High School Diploma, 25 Yrs. & over (LNS12027659) from Jan 1992 to Sep 2025 about secondary schooling, secondary, 25 years +, education, household survey, employment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Labor Force Participation Rate - Bachelor's Degree and Higher, 25 Yrs. & over (LNS11327662) from Jan 1992 to Sep 2025 about 25 years +, tertiary schooling, participation, civilian, education, labor force, labor, household survey, rate, and USA.

This statistic shows the rate of educational attainment amongst 25 to 34 year olds in the United States each decade from 1940 to 2009. In 1940, 64 percent of 25 to 34 year olds didn't complete high school. In 2009, the share of people who didn't finish high school was down to 12 percent.

US State Education Analysis for Tech Product Launch

About This Dataset

This comprehensive dataset provides detailed educational attainment and demographic analysis across all 50 US states from 2021-2023, specifically designed for tech companies planning strategic market entry and product launch decisions.

Dataset Overview

• 150 rows of data (50 states × 3 years)
• 17 columns of educational, demographic, and economic indicators
• Complete coverage of all US states from 2021-2023
• Ready-to-analyze format with calculated percentages and rankings

Key Features

🎯 Strategic Market Intelligence

• Educational attainment levels by degree type (Bachelor's, Master's, Professional, Doctoral)
• Calculated education scores and state rankings for quick market prioritization
• Median household income data for purchasing power assessment

📊 Comprehensive Demographics

• Population data for adults 25+ (primary tech consumer demographic)
• Household count data for market sizing
• College graduate percentages for targeted marketing

🔢 Advanced Analytics Ready

• Pre-calculated composite education scores
• State rankings based on education levels
• Percentage breakdowns for immediate insights

Column Definitions

Use Cases

🚀 Tech Product Launches

• Identify states with highest concentrations of educated early adopters
• Prioritize markets based on education levels and income
• Size potential customer segments by state

📈 Market Research & Analysis

• Compare educational demographics across regions
• Analyze trends in educational attainment over time
• Correlate education levels with income potential

🎯 Customer Segmentation

• Target high-value customer segments (graduate degree holders)
• Develop region-specific marketing strategies
• Plan B2B tech sales territories

📊 Business Intelligence

• Regional expansion planning
• Competitive market analysis
• Investment and resource allocation decisions

Data Quality & Sources

• Primary Sources: US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Data Validation: Cross-referenced against multiple official sources
• Calculation Methodology: All percentages and scores calculated using consistent formulas
• Update Frequency: Annual updates as new official data becomes available

Sample Insights

The dataset reveals that Massachusetts consistently ranks #1 in education metrics with: - 47.78% college graduation rate (2023) - 22.42% graduate degree holders - $99,858 median household income - Education score of 28.76

Perfect for identifying premium tech markets and highly-educated consumer bases for sophisticated technology products.

This dataset is ideal for data scientists, market researchers, business analysts, and tech companies looking to make data-driven decisions about market entry, customer targeting, and regional strategy.

In 2024, about four percent of the people with a Bachelor's degree or higher were living below the poverty line in the United States. This is far below the poverty rate of those without a high school diploma, which was 23.1 percent that year.

Graph and download economic data for High School Graduate or Higher for California (GCT1501CA) from 2006 to 2024 about secondary schooling, secondary, educational attainment, 25 years +, education, CA, and USA.

This dataset provides a comprehensive view of wage differences between college graduates and high school graduates in the United States from 1973 to 2022.

The data is sourced from the Economic Policy Institute's State of Working America Data Library and includes adjusted wages.

Interesting Task Ideas:

1. Analyze the overall trend in the wage gap between college graduates and high school graduates over the years.
2. Investigate whether the wage gap has been narrowing or widening for different genders.
3. Determine the year(s) when the wage gap was at its lowest and highest points.
4. Identify the demographic group(s) that have experienced the largest increase in wages over time.
5. Compare the wage gap between men and women within each educational group and analyze how it has changed over the years.
6. Create visualizations to visualize and compare wage trends for high school graduates and college graduates across different time periods.

If you find this dataset valuable, don't forget to hit the upvote button! 😊💝

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Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - Bachelor's Degree and Higher, 25 Yrs. & over (LNU04027662) from Jan 1992 to Aug 2025 about 25 years +, tertiary schooling, education, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

This map shows the predominant highest level of education for the population age 25+ in the United States. This is shown by state, county, and census tracts throughout the US. Click on a feature to learn more about the breakdown of population by their highest level of education.The categories are grouped as:Less than High SchoolHigh SchoolAssociate's DegreeSome CollegeBachelor's Degree or HigherThe data shown is current-year American Community Survey (ACS) data from the US Census. The data is updated each year when the ACS releases its new 5-year estimates. For more information about the data layer used in this map, visit this page.To learn more about when the ACS releases data updates, click here.

According to a 2020 survey, ** percent of Indian American respondents in the United States had obtained a postgraduate degree. Only *** percent of survey participants did not have any high school education.

This web map shows the predominant education level attained by the US population aged 25 or over. This is shown by Census Tract and County centroids. This data is from the 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-year estimates in the S1501 Table for Educational Attainment by age and gender. The popup in the map provides a breakdown of the highest level of education attained by the population in an area.The color of the symbols represent the most common level of education. This predominance map style compares the count of people based on their highest level of education, and returns the value with the highest count. The census breaks down the 25+ population by the following education levels:Less than 9th grade9th to 12th grade [no diploma]High school graduate [includes equivalency]Some College [no degree]Associates degreeBachelor's degreeGraduate or professional degreeThe size of the symbols represents how many people are 25 years or older, which helps highlight the quantity of people that live within an area. The strength of the color represents HOW predominant an education level is within an area. If the symbol is a strong color, it makes up a larger portion of the population. This map helps to show the most common level of education at a local and regional level. The tract pattern shows how distinct neighborhoods are clustered by their level of education. The county pattern shows an rural/urban difference in education. This pattern is shown by census tracts at large scales, and counties at smaller scales.This data was downloaded from the United States Census Bureau American Fact Finder on January 10, 2018. It was then joined with 2016 vintage centroid points and hosted to ArcGIS Online and the Living Atlas as hosted feature layers. Census Tract Centroid Layer with educational attainment attributesCounties Layer with educational attainment attributesNationally, the breakdown of education for the population 25+ is as follows:

Total Estimate Margin of Error Percent Estimate Margin of Error

Population 25 years and over 213,649,147 +/-15,761 (X) (X)

Less than 9th grade 11,913,913 +/-60,796 5.60% +/-0.1

9th to 12th grade, no diploma 15,904,467 +/-70,156 7.40% +/-0.1

High school graduate (includes equivalency) 58,820,411 +/-182,369 27.50% +/-0.1

Some college, no degree 44,772,845 +/-41,794 21.00% +/-0.1

Associate's degree 17,469,724 +/-41,879 8.20% +/-0.1

Bachelor's degree 40,189,920 +/-142,140 18.80% +/-0.1

Graduate or professional degree 24,577,867 +/-151,189 11.50% +/-0.1

School enrollment data are used to assess the socioeconomic condition of school-age children. Government agencies also require these data for funding allocations and program planning and implementation.

Data on school enrollment and grade or level attending were derived from answers to Question 10 in the 2015 American Community Survey (ACS). People were classified as enrolled in school if they were attending a public or private school or college at any time during the 3 months prior to the time of interview. The question included instructions to “include only nursery or preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, home school, and schooling which leads to a high school diploma, or a college degree.” Respondents who did not answer the enrollment question were assigned the enrollment status and type of school of a person with the same age, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino origin whose residence was in the same or nearby area.

School enrollment is only recorded if the schooling advances a person toward an elementary school certificate, a high school diploma, or a college, university, or professional school (such as law or medicine) degree. Tutoring or correspondence schools are included if credit can be obtained from a public or private school or college. People enrolled in “vocational, technical, or business school” such as post secondary vocational, trade, hospital school, and on job training were not reported as enrolled in school. Field interviewers were instructed to classify individuals who were home schooled as enrolled in private school. The guide sent out with the mail questionnaire includes instructions for how to classify home schoolers.

Enrolled in Public and Private School – Includes people who attended school in the reference period and indicated they were enrolled by marking one of the questionnaire categories for “public school, public college,” or “private school, private college, home school.” The instruction guide defines a public school as “any school or college controlled and supported primarily by a local, county, state, or federal government.” Private schools are defined as schools supported and controlled primarily by religious organizations or other private groups. Home schools are defined as “parental-guided education outside of public or private school for grades 1-12.” Respondents who marked both the “public” and “private” boxes are edited to the first entry, “public.”

Grade in Which Enrolled – From 1999-2007, in the ACS, people reported to be enrolled in “public school, public college” or “private school, private college” were classified by grade or level according to responses to Question 10b, “What grade or level was this person attending?” Seven levels were identified: “nursery school, preschool;” “kindergarten;” elementary “grade 1 to grade 4” or “grade 5 to grade 8;” high school “grade 9 to grade 12;” “college undergraduate years (freshman to senior);” and “graduate or professional school (for example: medical, dental, or law school).”

In 2008, the school enrollment questions had several changes. “Home school” was explicitly included in the “private school, private college” category. For question 10b the categories changed to the following “Nursery school, preschool,” “Kindergarten,” “Grade 1 through grade 12,” “College undergraduate years (freshman to senior),” “Graduate or professional school beyond a bachelor’s degree (for example: MA or PhD program, or medical or law school).” The survey question allowed a write-in for the grades enrolled from 1-12.

Question/Concept History – Since 1999, the ACS enrollment status question (Question 10a) refers to “regular school or college,” while the 1996-1998 ACS did not restrict reporting to “regular” school, and contained an additional category for the “vocational, technical or business school.” The 1996-1998 ACS used the educational attainment question to estimate level of enrollment for those reported to be enrolled in school, and had a single year write-in for the attainment of grades 1 through 11. Grade levels estimated using the attainment question were not consistent with other estimates, so a new question specifically asking grade or level of enrollment was added starting with the 1999 ACS questionnaire.

Limitation of the Data – Beginning in 2006, the population universe in the ACS includes people living in group quarters. Data users may see slight differences in levels of school enrollment in any given geographic area due to the inclusion of this population. The extent of this difference, if any, depends on the type of group quarters present and whether the group quarters population makes up a large proportion of the total population. For example, in areas that are home to several colleges and universities, the percent of individuals 18 to 24 who were enrolled in college or graduate school would increase, as people living in college dormitories are now included in the universe.

United States US: Primary Education: Pupils: % Female data was reported at 48.937 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 48.838 % for 2014. United States US: Primary Education: Pupils: % Female data is updated yearly, averaging 48.719 % from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2015, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49.474 % in 1999 and a record low of 48.294 % in 1983. United States US: Primary Education: Pupils: % Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Education Statistics. Female pupils as a percentage of total pupils at primary level include enrollments in public and private schools.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Weighted average; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).