Educational attainment gives people greater opportunities to work in higher-paying jobs than are generally available to those with less education. Earning a bachelor’s degree also prepares them for advanced education.
Educational attainment varies by several demographic characteristics including age. The cohort 18–24 years old was chosen to approximate the age range of most students who are pursuing an undergraduate degree. This indicator represents the extent to which the 18–24-year-old population has earned a bachelor’s degree.
The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded is based on an actual count provided by the National Center for Education Statistics. Estimates of the population aged 18–24 years are provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. 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 is not accounted for, which 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 characteristic of the District of Columbia and of some states with small resident populations.
Table 8-17 | |||||||||||
Bachelor’s degrees conferred per 1,000 individuals 18–24 years old, by state: 2001, 2006, and 2011 | |||||||||||
Bachelor’s degrees | Population 18–24 years old |
Degrees/1,000 individuals 18–24 years old |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | ||
United States | 1,244,171 | 1,485,242 | 1,715,913 | 27,992,652 | 29,602,839 | 31,067,478 | 44.4 | 50.2 | 55.2 | ||
Alabama | 20,823 | 21,995 | 27,248 | 447,963 | 459,114 | 482,405 | 46.5 | 47.9 | 56.5 | ||
Alaska | 1,338 | 1,573 | 1,770 | 61,774 | 74,369 | 77,271 | 21.7 | 21.2 | 22.9 | ||
Arizona | 20,856 | 32,708 | 50,928 | 536,018 | 591,986 | 643,726 | 38.9 | 55.3 | 79.1 | ||
Arkansas | 9,628 | 11,340 | 13,259 | 268,131 | 273,882 | 287,131 | 35.9 | 41.4 | 46.2 | ||
California | 123,382 | 151,021 | 169,623 | 3,488,933 | 3,700,882 | 3,975,377 | 35.4 | 40.8 | 42.7 | ||
Colorado | 22,272 | 28,554 | 30,570 | 453,712 | 477,387 | 498,956 | 49.1 | 59.8 | 61.3 | ||
Connecticut | 14,245 | 17,997 | 19,970 | 278,499 | 310,891 | 333,524 | 51.1 | 57.9 | 59.9 | ||
Delaware | 4,504 | 5,410 | 5,877 | 78,530 | 84,759 | 92,520 | 57.4 | 63.8 | 63.5 | ||
District of Columbia | 8,166 | 10,556 | 8,402 | 72,568 | 76,839 | 84,786 | 112.5 | 137.4 | 99.1 | ||
Florida | 52,557 | 69,899 | 86,281 | 1,401,785 | 1,652,892 | 1,773,048 | 37.5 | 42.3 | 48.7 | ||
Georgia | 28,790 | 36,332 | 45,075 | 866,190 | 915,634 | 996,088 | 33.2 | 39.7 | 45.3 | ||
Hawaii | 4,896 | 5,813 | 5,751 | 120,970 | 131,489 | 133,388 | 40.5 | 44.2 | 43.1 | ||
Idaho | 4,646 | 7,781 | 9,171 | 144,212 | 153,844 | 155,895 | 32.2 | 50.6 | 58.8 | ||
Illinois | 55,633 | 68,016 | 71,580 | 1,230,513 | 1,238,706 | 1,246,926 | 45.2 | 54.9 | 57.4 | ||
Indiana | 31,881 | 38,093 | 43,519 | 628,372 | 638,724 | 656,136 | 50.7 | 59.6 | 66.3 | ||
Iowa | 18,652 | 21,435 | 36,266 | 303,271 | 312,319 | 310,985 | 61.5 | 68.6 | 116.6 | ||
Kansas | 14,734 | 16,731 | 18,191 | 282,851 | 296,431 | 291,056 | 52.1 | 56.4 | 62.5 | ||
Kentucky | 15,434 | 18,646 | 21,078 | 411,270 | 405,029 | 418,168 | 37.5 | 46.0 | 50.4 | ||
Louisiana | 19,990 | 19,936 | 21,509 | 485,975 | 459,662 | 474,817 | 41.1 | 43.4 | 45.3 | ||
Maine | 5,429 | 6,544 | 7,347 | 107,177 | 117,346 | 116,333 | 50.7 | 55.8 | 63.2 | ||
Maryland | 23,001 | 26,685 | 30,264 | 470,318 | 525,903 | 567,560 | 48.9 | 50.7 | 53.3 | ||
Massachusetts | 42,792 | 47,074 | 53,749 | 594,747 | 637,145 | 685,891 | 71.9 | 73.9 | 78.4 | ||
Michigan | 46,115 | 51,756 | 56,217 | 955,459 | 975,541 | 986,710 | 48.3 | 53.1 | 57.0 | ||
Minnesota | 23,355 | 28,927 | 33,386 | 486,444 | 517,679 | 505,955 | 48.0 | 55.9 | 66.0 | ||
Mississippi | 11,232 | 11,803 | 13,230 | 316,243 | 306,076 | 308,468 | 35.5 | 38.6 | 42.9 | ||
Missouri | 30,102 | 35,161 | 41,648 | 552,622 | 583,691 | 591,301 | 54.5 | 60.2 | 70.4 | ||
Montana | 5,183 | 5,118 | 5,512 | 89,343 | 99,357 | 96,660 | 58.0 | 51.5 | 57.0 | ||
Nebraska | 10,782 | 12,150 | 13,510 | 178,947 | 188,966 | 183,949 | 60.3 | 64.3 | 73.4 | ||
Nevada | 4,358 | 6,595 | 7,556 | 190,232 | 229,614 | 250,650 | 22.9 | 28.7 | 30.1 | ||
New Hampshire | 7,254 | 8,030 | 9,479 | 107,717 | 121,400 | 125,008 | 67.3 | 66.1 | 75.8 | ||
New Jersey | 26,948 | 32,251 | 37,087 | 690,374 | 729,181 | 779,067 | 39.0 | 44.2 | 47.6 | ||
New Mexico | 6,551 | 7,491 | 8,179 | 184,493 | 202,027 | 206,918 | 35.5 | 37.1 | 39.5 | ||
New York | 97,415 | 113,094 | 128,472 | 1,802,422 | 1,869,014 | 1,996,795 | 54.0 | 60.5 | 64.3 | ||
North Carolina | 34,767 | 39,969 | 48,670 | 824,717 | 876,910 | 953,966 | 42.2 | 45.6 | 51.0 | ||
North Dakota | 4,688 | 5,487 | 5,674 | 76,459 | 85,992 | 83,807 | 61.3 | 63.8 | 67.7 | ||
Ohio | 50,856 | 58,522 | 63,882 | 1,079,689 | 1,083,220 | 1,106,053 | 47.1 | 54.0 | 57.8 | ||
Oklahoma | 15,932 | 18,909 | 19,511 | 369,614 | 381,715 | 385,762 | 43.1 | 49.5 | 50.6 | ||
Oregon | 13,887 | 17,631 | 19,542 | 337,357 | 350,178 | 362,400 | 41.2 | 50.3 | 53.9 | ||
Pennsylvania | 66,514 | 79,791 | 88,205 | 1,121,223 | 1,200,427 | 1,269,203 | 59.3 | 66.5 | 69.5 | ||
Rhode Island | 8,222 | 9,636 | 10,863 | 109,990 | 116,788 | 120,607 | 74.8 | 82.5 | 90.1 | ||
South Carolina | 16,316 | 19,313 | 23,034 | 418,111 | 440,769 | 481,483 | 39.0 | 43.8 | 47.8 | ||
South Dakota | 4,223 | 4,850 | 5,211 | 79,716 | 84,428 | 82,667 | 53.0 | 57.4 | 63.0 | ||
Tennessee | 22,823 | 26,330 | 31,026 | 563,268 | 572,909 | 613,516 | 40.5 | 46.0 | 50.6 | ||
Texas | 76,074 | 92,027 | 107,438 | 2,283,119 | 2,463,849 | 2,628,169 | 33.3 | 37.4 | 40.9 | ||
Utah | 17,091 | 20,677 | 24,461 | 328,513 | 322,408 | 321,208 | 52.0 | 64.1 | 76.2 | ||
Vermont | 4,697 | 4,981 | 6,100 | 58,845 | 65,566 | 65,966 | 79.8 | 76.0 | 92.5 | ||
Virginia | 32,822 | 38,775 | 49,077 | 706,828 | 781,520 | 815,225 | 46.4 | 49.6 | 60.2 | ||
Washington | 23,441 | 28,570 | 31,398 | 586,456 | 628,998 | 665,328 | 40.0 | 45.4 | 47.2 | ||
West Virginia | 8,704 | 10,033 | 12,978 | 174,409 | 168,204 | 170,502 | 49.9 | 59.6 | 76.1 | ||
Wisconsin | 28,493 | 31,434 | 35,279 | 534,453 | 564,587 | 551,418 | 53.3 | 55.7 | 64.0 | ||
Wyoming | 1,677 | 1,792 | 1,860 | 51,810 | 56,592 | 56,730 | 32.4 | 31.7 | 32.8 | ||
Puerto Rico | 15,758 | 17,129 | 17,698 | 429,366 | 400,529 | 376,652 | 36.7 | 42.8 | 47.0 | ||
SOURCES: National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (various years); Census Bureau, 2000 and 2010 Decennial Censuses and Population Estimates Program (various years). Science and Engineering Indicators 2014 |
The state data tool allows interactive exploration of the 58 indicators in this chapter. Users have the ability to choose and explore a single indicator in-depth, compare multiple indicators for preselected groups, customize their own graphics, or download data tables. Click the button below to get started.