The U.S. Census Bureau released new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates showing a notable rise in educational attainment among adults in metropolitan statistical areas. According to the data, the share of adults aged 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree increased from 34.2% during 2015-2019 to 37.8% in the 2020-2024 period.
“Over the last five years, we’ve noticed a significant increase in the percentage of adults completing higher education,” said Erik Hernandez, a Census Bureau statistician. “Approximately 89% of metro areas experienced an increase in the percentage of population 25 years and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher when compared to the 2015-2019 period.”
Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, recorded one of the largest gains, with its share rising from 45.3% to 53.4%. Springfield, Massachusetts was the only metro area where educational attainment declined, dropping from 32.8% to 29.3%.
Micropolitan statistical areas also saw improvements; about half reported increases in educational attainment for those aged 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Taos, New Mexico micro area had one of the largest positive changes—from 28.7% to 38.5%.
The ACS also looked at fields of study among college graduates age 25 and older:
– In education degrees: Gadsden, Alabama saw an increase from 24.5% to 29.1%, while Elizabethtown, Kentucky fell from 19% to 13%.
– In science and engineering: Enid, Oklahoma rose from 24.8% to 33%; Carson City, Nevada dropped from 37.6% to 31%.
– In arts and humanities: Carson City increased from 19.5% to 27.5%, but Enid decreased from 21.7% to15.6%.
The ACS provides detailed local statistics on people and housing across more than forty topics nationwide and allows for comparison across four nonoverlapping five-year periods since its start—2005-2009 through this latest release.
Other highlights include income changes during this time frame:
– The U.S median household income reached $80,734 for the period.
– Adjusted for inflation (2024 dollars), median household income grew by about four percent compared with previous estimates.
– Most counties did not see statistically significant changes in median income; some increased while others declined.
– Over seventy percent of counties had median incomes below the national figure.
Poverty rates also shifted:
– Nationally, poverty decreased slightly—from13.4% down to12 .5%.
– More than six hundred counties saw declines in poverty rates; fewer than two hundred had increases.
– For children under18 , poverty dropped significantly in many counties; for those65 and older , it rose in most places but fell elsewhere.
Broadband access improved across all metropolitan areas included both before and after periods; Brownsville-Harlingen , Texas had one of biggest jumps—from57 .5 %to84 .4 %. However , Farmington , New Mexico remained lowest among metros at72 .4 %with broadband .
Language use trends varied by region ; Las Cruces , New Mexico saw more English-only speakers at home while Lakeland-Winter Haven , Florida reported fewer—with Spanish spoken by nearly one quarter there .
Household numbers grew notably among major cities like New York City , Los Angeles , Chicago ,and Phoenix since2005 -2009 . Shares of never-married adults also rose —for example Houston ’s never-married women went up eight points since then .
The Census Bureau will release additional public-use microdata samples on March 5 of next year . Data users can find full results online or access historical data through APIs or summary files as described by bureau guidance .
Definitions used for metro/micro areas follow Office of Management and Budget standards based on population size and commuting patterns.
All comparisons have been tested for statistical significance at ninety percent confidence unless noted otherwise.
“Approximately 89 percent of metro areas experienced an increase…” – Erik Hernandez
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