Skip all navigation and go to page content

Chapter 8. State Indicators

Higher Education


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


Quartiles

Bachelor's degree holders or higher among individuals 25–44 years old: 2007 (Percent)
 
1st quartile
(56.4% – 33.5%)		 2nd quartile
(32.3% – 28.3%)		 3rd quartile
(28.1% – 24.5%)		 4th quartile
(24.4% – 19.4%)
 
Colorado California Arizona Alabama‡
Connecticut Delaware‡ Florida Alaska‡
District of Columbia Georgia Idaho‡ Arkansas‡
Illinois Hawaii‡ Indiana Kentucky‡
Maryland Iowa Michigan Louisiana‡
Massachusetts Kansas‡ Missouri Mississippi‡
Minnesota Maine‡ Montana‡ Nevada‡
New Hampshire‡ Nebraska‡ North Carolina New Mexico‡
New Jersey North Dakota‡ Ohio Oklahoma‡
New York Oregon South Carolina‡ Tennessee
Rhode Island‡ Pennsylvania Texas West Virginia‡
Vermont‡ South Dakota‡ Wyoming‡
Virginia Utah
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 a bachelor's degree was 29.8% nationwide in 2007, which represents an increase from 26.8% in 2000.
  • All states showed an increase in the percentage of their early-career population with at least a bachelor's degree between 2000 and 2007.
  • In 2007, the percentage of the early-career population with at least a bachelor's degree varied among states, ranging from 44.2% to 19.4%. The highest percentages tended to be found in the New England and Middle Atlantic states.
  • States with the lowest cost of living tended to rank lowest on this indicator.
  • EPSCoR states tended to be clustered in the lower quartiles for this indicator. However, several northern EPSCoR states showed high values.


Description

This indicator represents the percentage of the early- to mid-career population that has earned at least a 4-year undergraduate degree. That degree may be at the bachelor's, master's, or doctoral level. The indicator represents where college degree holders live rather than where they were educated. The age cohort of 25–44 years represents a group of individuals who are potential long-term participants in a state's workforce.

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 8-26
Bachelor's degree holders or higher among individuals 25–44 years old, by state: 2000, 2003, and 2007
 
  Bachelor's degree holders 25–44 years old   Population 25–44 years old   Bachelor's degree holders/
individuals 25–44 years old (%)
State 2000 2003 2007   2000 2003 2007   2000 2003 2007
 
EPSCoR states 3,004,954 3,180,725 3,264,082   13,582,778 13,252,012 13,214,968   22.1 24.0 24.7
Non-EPSCoR states 19,692,206 20,707,252 21,483,835   71,268,034 70,776,220 70,076,180   27.6 29.3 30.7
Average EPSCoR state value na na na   na na na   23.4 25.4 26.3
Average non-EPSCoR state value na na na   na na na   28.0 29.7 31.2
United States 22,781,996 23,984,096 24,856,576   85,040,251 84,216,990 83,483,659   26.8 28.5 29.8
Alabama 275,759 282,805 290,288   1,288,527 1,241,184 1,234,350   21.4 22.8 23.5
Alaska 45,560 44,868 48,098   203,522 194,823 197,222   22.4 23.0 24.4
Arizona 355,836 374,059 435,697   1,511,469 1,599,029 1,781,045   23.5 23.4 24.5
Arkansas 136,883 149,619 151,406   750,972 738,579 755,981   18.2 20.3 20.0
California 2,882,717 3,134,086 3,171,265   10,714,403 10,832,873 10,581,536   26.9 28.9 30.0
Colorado 480,984 513,973 518,478   1,400,850 1,417,501 1,448,632   34.3 36.3 35.8
Connecticut 362,272 380,576 356,702   1,032,689 999,800 925,266   35.1 38.1 38.6
Delaware 65,811 73,052 65,103   236,441 233,356 230,359   27.8 31.3 28.3
District of Columbia 84,836 96,119 108,659   189,439 188,758 192,511   44.8 50.9 56.4
Florida 1,081,551 1,159,165 1,285,284   4,569,347 4,676,558 4,812,179   23.7 24.8 26.7
Georgia 718,591 766,181 815,246   2,652,764 2,723,720 2,834,749   27.1 28.1 28.8
Hawaii 99,378 97,202 104,925   362,336 352,806 353,251   27.4 27.6 29.7
Idaho 80,235 88,937 102,126   362,401 370,690 401,380   22.1 24.0 25.4
Illinois 1,149,688 1,191,554 1,225,024   3,795,544 3,727,314 3,600,910   30.3 32.0 34.0
Indiana 397,050 404,241 431,559   1,791,828 1,748,331 1,734,016   22.2 23.1 24.9
Iowa 202,004 200,579 225,941   808,259 775,320 753,784   25.0 25.9 30.0
Kansas 223,467 243,308 230,048   769,204 743,961 727,170   29.1 32.7 31.6
Kentucky 234,921 247,142 268,167   1,210,773 1,182,970 1,188,087   19.4 20.9 22.6
Louisiana 256,363 283,161 242,865   1,293,128 1,230,819 1,159,582   19.8 23.0 20.9
Maine 86,989 92,827 95,436   370,597 358,691 337,652   23.5 25.9 28.3
Maryland 566,294 600,135 587,903   1,664,677 1,641,907 1,568,230   34.0 36.6 37.5
Massachusetts 773,569 820,821 793,674   1,989,783 1,922,446 1,794,769   38.9 42.7 44.2
Michigan 719,607 764,082 753,761   2,960,544 2,840,435 2,683,585   24.3 26.9 28.1
Minnesota 476,707 506,833 512,435   1,497,320 1,465,370 1,423,704   31.8 34.6 36.0
Mississippi 144,488 149,176 156,955   807,170 782,327 766,714   17.9 19.1 20.5
Missouri 407,449 424,660 443,268   1,626,302 1,587,931 1,579,645   25.1 26.7 28.1
Montana 62,682 63,186 64,466   245,220 232,735 235,309   25.6 27.1 27.4
Nebraska 134,516 138,152 147,777   487,107 471,024 457,810   27.6 29.3 32.3
Nevada 111,517 128,178 160,041   628,572 679,392 761,550   17.7 18.9 21.0
New Hampshire 114,745 121,639 123,284   381,240 373,644 351,263   30.1 32.6 35.1
New Jersey 899,016 932,505 922,809   2,624,146 2,578,072 2,400,533   34.3 36.2 38.4
New Mexico 110,360 106,530 116,114   516,100 506,956 516,167   21.4 21.0 22.5
New York 1,817,661 1,885,493 1,967,978   5,831,622 5,667,484 5,383,101   31.2 33.3 36.6
North Carolina 636,799 682,432 712,815   2,500,535 2,507,025 2,552,793   25.5 27.2 27.9
North Dakota 46,291 49,712 49,433   174,891 160,522 155,217   26.5 31.0 31.8
Ohio 806,803 835,693 840,228   3,325,210 3,172,294 3,054,756   24.3 26.3 27.5
Oklahoma 209,025 211,507 223,073   975,169 946,358 955,471   21.4 22.3 23.3
Oregon 257,875 278,460 307,422   997,269 1,003,698 1,034,933   25.9 27.7 29.7
Pennsylvania 938,930 959,366 989,049   3,508,562 3,343,434 3,182,590   26.8 28.7 31.1
Rhode Island 88,647 101,468 94,366   310,636 306,459 281,590   28.5 33.1 33.5
South Carolina 259,773 279,322 297,357   1,185,955 1,167,347 1,185,520   21.9 23.9 25.1
South Dakota 51,213 52,989 56,132   206,399 197,386 197,197   24.8 26.8 28.5
Tennessee 380,929 393,328 411,337   1,718,428 1,684,796 1,725,854   22.2 23.3 23.8
Texas 1,571,951 1,623,020 1,761,431   6,484,321 6,644,003 6,926,932   24.2 24.4 25.4
Utah 162,495 174,787 213,575   626,600 648,111 753,898   25.9 27.0 28.3
Vermont 52,787 53,121 53,807   176,456 168,392 157,657   29.9 31.5 34.1
Virginia 722,081 750,953 788,015   2,237,655 2,227,978 2,204,242   32.3 33.7 35.7
Washington 520,382 553,669 577,393   1,816,217 1,803,610 1,834,696   28.7 30.7 31.5
West Virginia 83,441 92,148 91,998   501,343 479,781 473,410   16.6 19.2 19.4
Wisconsin 402,965 396,601 435,546   1,581,690 1,537,180 1,499,802   25.5 25.8 29.0
Wyoming 30,103 30,676 30,817   138,619 131,810 135,059   21.7 23.3 22.8
                       
Puerto Rico 245,975 NA 291,498   1,049,995 1,069,617 NA   23.4 NA NA
 

na = not applicable; NA = not available

EPSCoR = Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

NOTE: For explanation of EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR averages, see chapter introduction.

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