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).

As of 2022, there were approximately 4.86 million people in the United States who had completed their doctorate degree. Furthermore, there were 74.53 million people in the U.S. whose highest educational attainment was a high school degree.

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.

United States US: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Primary: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data was reported at 98.774 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 98.793 % for 2014. United States US: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Primary: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 98.677 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2015, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 98.867 % in 2013 and a record low of 94.500 % in 1970. United States US: Educational Attainment: At Least Completed Primary: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed primary education.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

US: Children Out of School: Primary: Female data was reported at 437,901.000 Person in 1996. This records an increase from the previous number of 321,013.000 Person for 1995. US: Children Out of School: Primary: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 373,553.500 Person from Dec 1986 (Median) to 1996, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 561,183.000 Person in 1986 and a record low of 106,133.000 Person in 1990. US: Children Out of School: Primary: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. Children out of school are the number of primary-school-age children not enrolled in primary or secondary school.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Sum; Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2018 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018).

United States US: Educational Attainment: At Least Master's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data was reported at 11.995 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 11.765 % for 2014. United States US: Educational Attainment: At Least Master's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 11.765 % from Dec 2013 (Median) to 2015, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.995 % in 2015 and a record low of 11.566 % in 2013. United States US: Educational Attainment: At Least Master's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Total: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Master's or equivalent.; ; UNESCO Institute for Statistics; ;

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.

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.

The Colleges and Universities feature class/shapefile is composed of all Post Secondary Education facilities as defined by the Integrated Post Secondary Education System (IPEDS, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, https://nces.ed.gov/), US Department of Education for the 2018-2019 school year. Included are Doctoral/Research Universities, Masters Colleges and Universities, Baccalaureate Colleges, Associates Colleges, Theological seminaries, Medical Schools and other health care professions, Schools of engineering and technology, business and management, art, music, design, Law schools, Teachers colleges, Tribal colleges, and other specialized institutions. Overall, this data layer covers all 50 states, as well as Puerto Rico and other assorted U.S. territories. This feature class contains all MEDS/MEDS+ as approved by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Homeland Security Infrastructure Program (HSIP) Team. Complete field and attribute information is available in the ”Entities and Attributes” metadata section. Geographical coverage is depicted in the thumbnail above and detailed in the "Place Keyword" section of the metadata. This feature class does not have a relationship class but is related to Supplemental Colleges. Colleges and Universities that are not included in the NCES IPEDS data are added to the Supplemental Colleges feature class when found. This release includes the addition of 175 new records, the removal of 468 no longer reported by NCES, and modifications to the spatial location and/or attribution of 6682 records.

Graph and download economic data for Bachelor's Degree or Higher for Maine (GCT1502ME) from 2006 to 2024 about ME, educational attainment, 25 years +, tertiary schooling, education, and USA.

Higher Education Institutions in the United States of America Dataset

This repository contains a dataset of higher education institutions in the United States of America. This dataset was compiled in response to a cybersecurity research of American higher education institutions' websites [1]. The data is being made publicly available to promote open science principles [2].

Data

The data includes the following fields for each institution:

• Id: A unique identifier assigned to each institution.
• Region: The federal state in which the institution is located.
• Name: The full name of the institution.
• Category: Indicates whether the institution is public or private.
• Url: The website of the institution.

Methodology

The dataset was obtained from the Higher Education Integrated Data System (IPEDS) website [3], which is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES serves as the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing education-related data in the United States. The data was collected on February 2, 2023.

The initial list of institutions was derived from the IPEDS database using the following criteria: (1) US institutions only, (2) degree-granting institutions, primarily bachelor's or higher, and (3) industry classification, which includes: public 4 - year or above, private not-for-profit 4 years or more, private for-profit 4 years or more, public 2 years, private not-for-profit 2 years, private for-profit 2 years, public less than 2 years, private not-for-profit for-profit less than 2 years and private for-profit less than 2 years.

The following variables have been added to the list of institutions: Control of the institution, state abbreviation, degree-granting status, Status of the institution, and Institution's internet website address. This resulted in a report with 1,979 institutions.

The institution's status was labeled with the following values: A (Active), N (New), R (Restored), M (Closed in the current year), C (Combined with another institution), D (Deleted out of business), I (Inactive due to hurricane-related issues), O (Outside IPEDS scope), P (Potential new/add institution), Q (Potential institution reestablishment), W (Potential addition outside IPEDS scope), X ( Potential restoration outside the scope of IPEDS) and G (Perfect Children's Campus).

A filter was applied to the report to retain only institutions with an A, N, or R status, resulting in 1,978 institutions. Finally, a data cleaning process was applied, which involved removing the whitespace at the beginning and end of cell content and duplicate whitespace. The final data were compiled into the dataset included in this repository.

Usage

This data is available under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license and can be used for any purpose, including academic research purposes. We encourage the sharing of knowledge and the advancement of research in this field by adhering to open science principles [2].

If you use this data in your research, please cite the source and include a link to this repository. To properly attribute this data, please use the following DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7614862

Contribution

If you have any updates or corrections to the data, please feel free to open a pull request or contact us directly. Let's work together to keep this data accurate and up-to-date.

Acknowledgment

We would like to acknowledge the support of the Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), within the project "Cybers SeC IP" (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000044). This study was also developed as part of the Master in Cybersecurity Program at the Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Portugal.

References

1. Pending.
2. S. Bezjak, A. Clyburne-Sherin, P. Conzett, P. Fernandes, E. Görögh, K. Helbig, B. Kramer, I. Labastida, K. Niemeyer, F. Psomopoulos, T. Ross-Hellauer, R. Schneider, J. Tennant, E. Verbakel, H. Brinken, and L. Heller, Open Science Training Handbook. Zenodo, Apr. 2018. [Online]. Available: [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1212496]
3. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Compare Institutions", Fev 2023. [online]. Available: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data

Graph and download economic data for People 25 Years and Over Who Have Completed a Bachelor's Degree for the United States (DISCONTINUED) (GCT1502US) from 2006 to 2012 about educational attainment, 25 years +, tertiary schooling, education, and USA.

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.

This data collection contains information from the first wave of High School and Beyond (HSB), a longitudinal study of American youth conducted by the National Opinion Research Center on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Data were collected from 58,270 high school students (28,240 seniors and 30,030 sophomores) and 1,015 secondary schools in the spring of 1980. Many items overlap with the NCES's NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE CLASS OF 1972 (ICPSR 8085). The HSB study's data are contained in eight files. Part 1 (School Data) contains data from questionnaires completed by high school principals about various school attributes and programs. Part 2 (Student Data) contains data from surveys administered to students. Included are questionnaire responses on family and religious background, perceptions of self and others, personal values, extracurricular activities, type of high school program, and educational expectations and aspirations. Also supplied are scores on a battery of cognitive tests including vocabulary, reading, mathematics, science, writing, civics, spatial orientation, and visualization. To gather the data in Part 3 (Parent Data), a subsample of the seniors and sophomores surveyed in HSB was drawn, and questionnaires were administered to one parent of each of 3,367 sophomores and of 3,197 seniors. The questionnaires contain a number of items in common with the student questionnaires, and there are a number of items in common between the parent-of-sophomore and the parent-of-senior questionnaires. This is a revised file from the one originally released in Autumn 1981, and it includes 22 new analytically constructed variables imputed by NCES from the original survey data gathered from parents. The new data are concerned primarily with the areas of family income, liabilities, and assets. Other data in the file concentrate on financing of post-secondary education, including numerous parent opinions and projections concerning the educational future of the student, anticipated financial aid, student's plans after high school, expected ages for student's marriage and childbearing, estimated costs of post-secondary education, and government financial aid policies. Also supplied are data on family size, value of property and other assets, home financing, family income and debts, and the age, sex, marital, and employment status of parents, plus current income and expenses for the student. Part 4 (Language Data) provides information on each student who reported some non-English language experience, with data on past and current exposure to and use of languages. In Parts 5-6, there are responses from 14,103 teachers about 18,291 senior and sophomore students from 616 schools. Students were evaluated by an average of four different teachers who had the opportunity to express knowledge or opinions of HSB students whom they had taught during the 1979-1980 school year. Part 5 (Teacher Comment Data: Seniors) contains 67,053 records, and Part 6 (Teacher Comment Data: Sophomores) contains 76,560 records. Questions were asked regarding the teacher's opinions of their student's likelihood of attending college, popularity, and physical or emotional handicaps affecting school work. The sophomore file also contains questions on teacher characteristics, e.g., sex, ethnic origin, subjects taught, and time devoted to maintaining order. The data in Part 7 (Twins and Siblings Data) are from students in the HSB sample identified as twins, triplets, or other siblings. Of the 1,348 families included, 524 had twins or triplets only, 810 contained non-twin siblings only, and the remaining 14 contained both types of siblings. Finally, Part 8 (Friends Data) contained the first-, second-, and third-choice friends listed by each of the students in Part 2, along with identifying information allowing links between friendship pairs.

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).

College Scorecard

The College Scorecard dataset is provided by the U.S. Department of Education and contains information on nearly every college and university in the United States. The dataset includes data on student loan repayment rates, graduation rates, affordability, earnings after graduation, and more. The goal of this dataset is to help students make informed decisions about their college choice by providing them with clear and concise information about each school's performance

How to use the dataset

This dataset can help understand the cost of attending college in the United States, as well as the average debt load for students. It can also be used to compare different schools in terms of their graduation rates and repayment rates

Columns

• UNITID: Unit ID for institution
• INSTNM: Institution name
• CITY: City
• STABBR: State
• ZIP: Zip code
• OPEID: OPE ID for institution
• OPEID6: OPE ID for institution (6-digit)
• ACCREDAGENCY: Accrediting Agency
• INSTURL: Institution URL
• NPCURL: Net Price Calculator URL
• SCH_DEG: Highest degree awarded
• HCM2: Carnegie Classification 2010:** Basic
• MAIN: Carnegie Classification 2010:** Main
• NUMBRANCH: Number of branch campuses
• PREDDEG: Predominant degree awarded
• HIGHDEG: Highest degree awarded
• CONTROL: Control of institution
• ST_FIPS: State FIPS code
• REGION: Region
• LOCALE: Locale code
• LOCALE2: Locale code (multiple categories per state)
• CCBASIC: Carnegie Classification 2010:** Basic
• CCMAIN: Carnegie Classification 2010:** Main
• CCUGPROF: Carnegie Classification 2010:** Undergraduate Profile
• CCSIZSET: Carnegie Classification 2010:** Size and Setting
• HBCU: Historically Black College or University
• PBI: Predominantly Black Institution
• ANNHI: Tribal College or University
• TRIBAL: Tribal College or University (Public)
• AANAPII: Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution
• HSIP: Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)
• NANTI: Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution
• MENONLY: Men only
• WOMENONLY: Women only
• RELAFFIL: Religious affiliation
• DISTANCEONLY: Distance-only
• CURROPER: Currently operating
• VETERAN: Veteran-supportive
• LIMDEP: Limited-degree-granting
• HIGHDEG_GRANTED: Highest degree granted
• PS: Predominantly two-year public
• UGRD_ENRL_TOTAL: Undergraduate total enrollment
• GRAD_ENRL_TOTAL: Graduate total enrollment
• UGRD_ENRL_ORIG_YR2_RT: Undergraduate, first-time, first-year retention rate (%)

Acknowledgements

This data was originally collected by the US Department of Education and made available on their website. Thank you to the US Department of Education for making this data available!

Graph and download economic data for Bachelor's Degree or Higher for Arkansas (GCT1502AR) from 2006 to 2024 about educational attainment, AR, 25 years +, tertiary schooling, education, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for People 25 Years and Over Who Have Completed a Graduate or Professional Degree for Iowa (GCT1503IA) from 2006 to 2024 about advanced degree, IA, educational attainment, 25 years +, education, and USA.

UIS: Percentage of population age 25+ with at least completed post-secondary education (ISCED 4 or higher). Female in United States was reported at 46.44 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Percentage of population age 25+ with at least completed post-secondary education (ISCED 4 or higher). Female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.