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Chapter 8. State Indicators

Higher Education


Bachelor's Degrees Conferred per 1,000 Individuals 18–24 Years Old


Quartiles

Bachelor's degrees conferred per 1,000 individuals 18–24 years old: 2007
 
1st quartile
(139.6 – 63.2)		 2nd quartile
(62.2 – 54.4)		 3rd quartile
(54.0 – 45.6)		 4th quartile
(44.1 – 20.7)
 
Arizona Colorado Alabama‡ Alaska‡
District of Columbia Connecticut Idaho‡ Arkansas‡
Indiana Delaware‡ Illinois California
Iowa Kansas‡ Kentucky‡ Florida
Massachusetts Maine‡ Louisiana‡ Georgia
Missouri Michigan Maryland Hawaii‡
Nebraska‡ Minnesota North Carolina Mississippi‡
New Hampshire‡ Montana‡ Oklahoma‡ Nevada‡
North Dakota‡ New York Oregon New Jersey
Pennsylvania Ohio South Carolina‡ New Mexico‡
Rhode Island‡ South Dakota‡ Tennessee Texas
Vermont‡ Utah Virginia Wyoming‡
West Virginia‡ Wisconsin Washington
 
‡ EPSCoR state

SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census; and Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program. See Data Table.



Findings

  • In 2007, 1.5 million bachelor's degrees were conferred nationally in all fields, which is up from 1.2 million in 1997 and represents an increase of 27%. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of bachelor's degrees conferred per 1,000 individuals 18–24 years old in the population has increased by 8% nationwide.
  • In 2007, state values on this indicator varied greatly. They ranged from 89.9 to 20.7 bachelor's degrees conferred per 1,000 individuals 18–24 years old.
  • In 12 states and the District of Columbia, fewer bachelor's degrees were conferred per 1,000 individuals 18–24 years old in 2007 than in 1997.


Description

Earning a bachelor's degree gives people greater opportunities to work in higher-paying jobs than are generally available to those with less education. It also prepares them for advanced education. In addition, the presence of higher education institutions that produce such degrees may generate resources for the state. The cohort 18–24 years old was chosen to approximate the age range of most students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree.

Although the number of bachelor's degrees awarded is based on an actual count, the population ages 18–24 years is an estimate developed by the Census Bureau in the Population Estimates Program, which relies on the Decennial Census. Small differences in the indicator value between states or across time generally are not meaningful.

A high value for this indicator may suggest the successful provision of educational opportunity at this level. Student mobility after graduation, however, may make this indicator less meaningful in predicting the qualifications of a state's future workforce. A state's value for this indicator may also be high when its higher education system draws a large percentage of out-of-state students, a situation that sometimes occurs in states with small resident populations and the District of Columbia.

Data Table

Table 8-15
Bachelor's degrees conferred per 1,000 individuals 18–24 years old, by state: 1997, 2002, and 2007
 
  Bachelor's degrees   Population 18–24 years old   Degrees/1,000 individuals 18–24 years old
State 1997 2002 2007   1997 2002 2007   1997 2002 2007
 
United States 1,171,891 1,288,674 1,490,321   24,980,036 28,419,861 29,407,260   46.9 45.3 50.7
Alabama 20,638 20,223 21,762   433,513 448,685 446,162   47.6 45.1 48.8
Alaska 1,473 1,377 1,512   66,729 64,031 72,877   22.1 21.5 20.7
Arizona 20,029 26,553 41,640   430,444 548,385 589,973   46.5 48.4 70.6
Arkansas 9,214 10,078 11,421   248,415 270,578 262,261   37.1 37.2 43.5
California 108,255 126,507 145,083   3,050,146 3,564,996 3,797,718   35.5 35.5 38.2
Colorado 20,213 22,577 25,677   362,705 458,430 457,831   55.7 49.2 56.1
Connecticut 13,684 14,820 18,524   258,320 290,083 319,957   53.0 51.1 57.9
Delaware 4,295 4,894 5,093   65,110 80,006 83,909   66.0 61.2 60.7
District of Columbia 7,869 8,564 10,261   43,082 71,859 73,516   182.7 119.2 139.6
Florida 47,428 53,542 65,682   1,183,286 1,439,912 1,588,214   40.1 37.2 41.4
Georgia 27,396 29,820 36,564   736,994 876,433 900,438   37.2 34.0 40.6
Hawaii 4,702 4,757 5,486   117,605 122,728 124,276   40.0 38.8 44.1
Idaho 4,509 4,913 7,894   134,718 145,770 146,117   33.5 33.7 54.0
Illinois 51,742 57,862 63,214   1,108,589 1,246,753 1,303,052   46.7 46.4 48.5
Indiana 30,477 33,918 38,369   566,940 625,957 600,127   53.8 54.2 63.9
Iowa 17,939 19,255 20,538   270,541 304,469 304,047   66.3 63.2 67.5
Kansas 14,739 15,135 17,372   254,180 286,702 288,019   58.0 52.8 60.3
Kentucky 14,705 16,419 19,125   394,870 409,809 381,413   37.2 40.1 50.1
Louisiana 17,506 20,216 21,428   463,579 491,999 469,512   37.8 41.1 45.6
Maine 5,565 5,787 6,859   110,057 109,039 111,798   50.6 53.1 61.4
Maryland 21,391 23,161 26,513   427,282 486,971 539,344   50.1 47.6 49.2
Massachusetts 40,378 43,069 47,567   501,116 600,205 656,481   80.6 71.8 72.5
Michigan 44,427 47,538 52,625   916,990 971,354 967,733   48.4 48.9 54.4
Minnesota 22,594 24,475 29,044   426,154 492,940 503,943   53.0 49.7 57.6
Mississippi 10,252 11,899 12,052   296,825 315,700 303,351   34.5 37.7 39.7
Missouri 27,994 31,990 35,127   498,637 557,922 555,959   56.1 57.3 63.2
Montana 4,752 5,277 5,217   86,917 90,990 93,761   54.7 58.0 55.6
Nebraska 9,871 10,646 12,065   163,298 181,923 185,182   60.4 58.5 65.2
Nevada 3,669 4,244 5,568   140,784 191,087 207,957   26.1 22.2 26.8
New Hampshire 7,581 7,260 8,274   93,994 110,493 117,693   80.7 65.7 70.3
New Jersey 24,845 28,376 32,695   667,162 702,715 759,003   37.2 40.4 43.1
New Mexico 6,088 5,823 6,815   171,641 193,224 203,225   35.5 30.1 33.5
New York 96,193 101,741 117,274   1,588,411 1,836,834 1,977,437   60.6 55.4 59.3
North Carolina 34,202 36,132 40,920   694,894 821,050 857,552   49.2 44.0 47.7
North Dakota 4,627 4,810 5,543   66,864 77,340 82,096   69.2 62.2 67.5
Ohio 49,163 52,934 58,813   1,046,134 1,092,489 1,074,846   47.0 48.5 54.7
Oklahoma 15,116 16,005 18,553   330,430 376,524 368,779   45.7 42.5 50.3
Oregon 13,194 13,955 17,270   295,027 342,012 332,599   44.7 40.8 51.9
Pennsylvania 62,482 69,542 81,168   1,021,108 1,133,927 1,192,303   61.2 61.3 68.1
Rhode Island 8,409 9,038 10,215   82,236 112,316 113,670   102.3 80.5 89.9
South Carolina 15,177 17,294 20,092   379,854 419,038 430,733   40.0 41.3 46.6
South Dakota 4,390 4,477 5,104   74,361 80,949 82,097   59.0 55.3 62.2
Tennessee 21,147 23,330 26,877   509,421 564,930 548,165   41.5 41.3 49.0
Texas 71,409 79,556 94,601   1,979,779 2,335,170 2,421,150   36.1 34.1 39.1
Utah 15,606 17,876 19,655   277,479 340,031 328,226   56.2 52.6 59.9
Vermont 4,299 4,642 5,060   51,147 59,065 61,388   84.1 78.6 82.4
Virginia 30,207 32,819 39,151   648,469 711,752 762,960   46.6 46.1 51.3
Washington 22,846 24,172 28,500   521,036 594,975 596,815   43.8 40.6 47.8
West Virginia 8,172 9,022 10,543   183,414 173,637 157,857   44.6 52.0 66.8
Wisconsin 27,380 28,699 32,229   487,388 543,276 550,539   56.2 52.8 58.5
Wyoming 1,652 1,655 1,687   51,961 52,398 53,199   31.8 31.6 31.7
                       
Puerto Rico 14,107 16,464 16,989   NA NA NA   NA NA NA
 

NA = not available

SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (various years); Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census; and Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (various years).

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010
Source Data
 

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010   Arlington, VA (NSB 10-01) | January 2010