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Chapter 8. State Indicators

Higher Education


Associate's Degree Holders or Higher Among Individuals 25–44 Years Old


Quartiles

Associate's degree holders or higher among individuals 25–44 years old: 2007 (Percent)
 
1st quartile
(59.1% – 43.2%)		 2nd quartile
(43.0% – 37.4%)		 3rd quartile
(37.2% – 33.3%)		 4th quartile
(32.8% – 26.9%)
 
Colorado California Alaska‡ Alabama‡
Connecticut Delaware‡ Florida Arizona
District of Columbia Hawaii‡ Georgia Arkansas‡
Maryland Illinois Idaho‡ Kentucky‡
Massachusetts Iowa Indiana Louisiana‡
Minnesota Kansas‡ Michigan Mississippi‡
Nebraska‡ Maine‡ Missouri Nevada‡
New Hampshire‡ Oregon Montana‡ New Mexico‡
New Jersey Pennsylvania North Carolina Oklahoma‡
New York Rhode Island‡ Ohio Tennessee
North Dakota‡ South Dakota‡ South Carolina‡ Texas
Vermont‡ Utah Wyoming‡ West Virginia‡
Virginia Washington
Wisconsin
 
‡ EPSCoR state

SOURCES: Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census; Population Estimates Program; and American Community Survey. See Data Table.



Findings

  • The early- to mid-career population with at least an associate's degree was 38.3% nationwide in 2007, which represents an increase from 34.7% in 2000.
  • Between 2000 and 2007, all states showed an increase in the percentage of their early- to mid-career population with at least an associate's degree.
  • In 2007, the percentage of this cohort with at least an associate's degree varied greatly among states, ranging from 51.8% to 26.9%.
  • States that ranked highest on this indicator tended to be located in the northern United States.
  • States with the lowest cost of living tended to rank lowest on this indicator.


Description

This indicator represents the percentage of the early- to mid-career population that has earned at least a college degree. That degree may be an associate's, bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree. The indicator represents where college degree holders live rather than where they were educated. The age cohort of 25–44 years represents the group most likely to have completed a college program.

Estimates of educational attainment are developed by the Census Bureau based on the 2000 Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS). The census is conducted every 10 years, but ACS provides annual data on the characteristics of population and housing. In 2005, ACS became the largest household survey in the United States, with an annual sample size of about 3 million addresses. Estimates of population are taken from the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, which is also based on the 2000 Decennial Census.

Data Table

Table 8-25
Associate's degree holders or higher among individuals 25–44 years old, by state: 2000, 2003, and 2007
 
  Associate's degree holders or higher
25–44 years old		   Population 25–44 years old   Associate's degree holders/
individuals 25–44 years old (%)
State 2000 2003 2007   2000 2003 2007   2000 2003 2007
 
United States 29,471,612 30,738,684 31,935,182   85,040,251 84,216,990 83,483,659   34.7 36.5 38.3
Alabama 370,196 381,050 388,036   1,288,527 1,241,184 1,234,350   28.7 30.7 31.4
Alaska 61,646 58,059 65,635   203,522 194,823 197,222   30.3 29.8 33.3
Arizona 472,901 498,703 583,947   1,511,469 1,599,029 1,781,045   31.3 31.2 32.8
Arkansas 177,657 187,589 207,170   750,972 738,579 755,981   23.7 25.4 27.4
California 3,670,622 3,918,228 3,958,150   10,714,403 10,832,873 10,581,536   34.3 36.2 37.4
Colorado 596,036 623,279 635,206   1,400,850 1,417,501 1,448,632   42.5 44.0 43.8
Connecticut 443,608 447,818 431,258   1,032,689 999,800 925,266   43.0 44.8 46.6
Delaware 84,170 90,649 86,106   236,441 233,356 230,359   35.6 38.8 37.4
District of Columbia 90,097 100,283 113,684   189,439 188,758 192,511   47.6 53.1 59.1
Florida 1,513,345 1,616,842 1,781,351   4,569,347 4,676,558 4,812,179   33.1 34.6 37.0
Georgia 884,108 929,979 1,016,236   2,652,764 2,723,720 2,834,749   33.3 34.1 35.8
Hawaii 136,758 132,630 149,667   362,336 352,806 353,251   37.7 37.6 42.4
Idaho 112,690 121,592 142,792   362,401 370,690 401,380   31.1 32.8 35.6
Illinois 1,444,942 1,487,189 1,522,302   3,795,544 3,727,314 3,600,910   38.1 39.9 42.3
Indiana 537,644 543,808 590,086   1,791,828 1,748,331 1,734,016   30.0 31.1 34.0
Iowa 289,740 294,559 324,136   808,259 775,320 753,784   35.8 38.0 43.0
Kansas 282,475 307,608 294,750   769,204 743,961 727,170   36.7 41.3 40.5
Kentucky 317,109 335,263 359,918   1,210,773 1,182,970 1,188,087   26.2 28.3 30.3
Louisiana 316,348 346,949 312,253   1,293,128 1,230,819 1,159,582   24.5 28.2 26.9
Maine 122,958 128,525 131,939   370,597 358,691 337,652   33.2 35.8 39.1
Maryland 672,460 714,825 701,070   1,664,677 1,641,907 1,568,230   40.4 43.5 44.7
Massachusetts 942,748 970,834 929,041   1,989,783 1,922,446 1,794,769   47.4 50.5 51.8
Michigan 982,169 1,026,212 992,470   2,960,544 2,840,435 2,683,585   33.2 36.1 37.0
Minnesota 631,677 668,668 680,415   1,497,320 1,465,370 1,423,704   42.2 45.6 47.8
Mississippi 208,866 214,703 227,816   807,170 782,327 766,714   25.9 27.4 29.7
Missouri 517,750 541,597 567,002   1,626,302 1,587,931 1,579,645   31.8 34.1 35.9
Montana 81,428 85,047 86,169   245,220 232,735 235,309   33.2 36.5 36.6
Nebraska 185,090 187,939 203,440   487,107 471,024 457,810   38.0 39.9 44.4
Nevada 152,536 167,370 214,807   628,572 679,392 761,550   24.3 24.6 28.2
New Hampshire 156,434 163,231 159,905   381,240 373,644 351,263   41.0 43.7 45.5
New Jersey 1,076,450 1,105,776 1,090,780   2,624,146 2,578,072 2,400,533   41.0 42.9 45.4
New Mexico 149,398 142,448 157,903   516,100 506,956 516,167   28.9 28.1 30.6
New York 2,359,507 2,432,498 2,465,176   5,831,622 5,667,484 5,383,101   40.5 42.9 45.8
North Carolina 844,019 892,169 949,768   2,500,535 2,507,025 2,552,793   33.8 35.6 37.2
North Dakota 71,509 70,144 75,163   174,891 160,522 155,217   40.9 43.7 48.4
Ohio 1,075,353 1,107,195 1,115,946   3,325,210 3,172,294 3,054,756   32.3 34.9 36.5
Oklahoma 276,525 275,638 294,617   975,169 946,358 955,471   28.4 29.1 30.8
Oregon 333,963 355,143 393,990   997,269 1,003,698 1,034,933   33.5 35.4 38.1
Pennsylvania 1,230,548 1,243,379 1,291,414   3,508,562 3,343,434 3,182,590   35.1 37.2 40.6
Rhode Island 117,758 128,487 118,325   310,636 306,459 281,590   37.9 41.9 42.0
South Carolina 357,570 370,577 411,754   1,185,955 1,167,347 1,185,520   30.2 31.7 34.7
South Dakota 73,128 76,724 81,602   206,399 197,386 197,197   35.4 38.9 41.4
Tennessee 489,940 511,871 529,569   1,718,428 1,684,796 1,725,854   28.5 30.4 30.7
Texas 1,973,279 2,059,427 2,244,095   6,484,321 6,644,003 6,926,932   30.4 31.0 32.4
Utah 222,534 247,337 289,026   626,600 648,111 753,898   35.5 38.2 38.3
Vermont 70,277 68,018 69,117   176,456 168,392 157,657   39.8 40.4 43.8
Virginia 874,239 904,354 951,423   2,237,655 2,227,978 2,204,242   39.1 40.6 43.2
Washington 693,591 721,329 772,894   1,816,217 1,803,610 1,834,696   38.2 40.0 42.1
West Virginia 115,337 123,752 130,375   501,343 479,781 473,410   23.0 25.8 27.5
Wisconsin 566,244 566,942 596,698   1,581,690 1,537,180 1,499,802   35.8 36.9 39.8
Wyoming 44,235 44,448 48,790   138,619 131,810 135,059   31.9 33.7 36.1
                       
Puerto Rico 358,595 NA 417,208   1,049,995 1,069,617 NA   34.2 NA NA
 

NA = not available

SOURCES: Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census; Population Estimates Program (various years); and American Community Survey (various years).

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010
Source Data
 

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