PDF Educational Attainment: 2000

Educational Attainment: 2000

Census 2000 Brief

The education levels of the United States population reached an alltime high, according to

Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Question on Educational Attainment From Census 2000

Census 2000.1 Of the 182.2 million people aged 25 and over on April 1, 2000, 80 per-

9 What is the highest degree or level of school this person has COMPLETED? Mark x ONE box. If currently enrolled, mark the previous grade or highest degree received.

cent had a high school diploma or more, and 24 percent had completed at least a bachelor's degree.

No schooling completed Nursery school to 4th grade 5th grade or 6th grade 7th grade or 8th grade 9th grade

Education has been

10th grade

included in the United States census questionnaire since 1840, when information was collect-

11th grade

12th grade, NO DIPLOMA

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE -- high school DIPLOMA or the equivalent (for example: GED)

ed on literacy of the population 20 years and over. Since that time, questions on education have become more complex. From 1940 to 1980, the census inquired about the

Some college credit, but less than 1 year

1 or more years of college, no degree

Associate degree (for example: AA, AS)

Bachelor's degree (for example: BA, AB, BS)

Master's degree (for example: MA, MS, MEng, MEd, MSW, MBA)

Professional degree (for example: MD, DDS, DVM, LLB, JD)

number of years of

Doctorate degree (for example: PhD, EdD)

school each person had completed. In 1990

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

and 2000, the question

was updated to reflect current interest in

1 Comparison with the 1990 census shows a significantly higher proportion of the population 25 and over in 2000 completing each of the following thresholds or more: 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade without a diploma, high school diploma, some college, associate degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree, professional degree, and doctoral degree. Censuses from 1940 through 1980 showed even lower levels of education at the high school and bachelor's degree level (see Figure 3). The text of this report discusses data for the United States, including the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown in Table 1 and Figure 4.

both level of school completed and the types of degrees (if any) people had received. The Census 2000 question allowed respondents to choose from a list of 16 educational levels, ranging from no schooling completed to professional or doctoral degrees (see Figure 1).

This report, part of a series that presents population and housing data collected by

USCENSUSBUREAU

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued August 2003

C2KBR-24

By Kurt J. Bauman and Nikki L. Graf

Census 2000, presents data on the educational attainment of people 25 years and over in the United States. This report describes education distributions for the United States, including regions, states, counties, and places with populations of 100,000 or more.

Education levels in the United States were high and rising.

In 2000, most people 25 years and over in the United States had earned a high school diploma or higher degree (Figure 2).2 The three most commonly achieved education levels were high school graduate (29 percent), bachelor's degree (16 percent), and 1 or more years of college, but no degree (14 percent). More than 1 in 20 people had obtained a master's degree (6 percent), an associate degree (6 percent), or completed some college, but less than 1 year (7 percent). Professional and doctoral degrees were relatively rare, as were the categories of education below high school. No one of these education levels accounted for as much as 4 percent of the population 25 and over.

More than half the U.S. population 25 and over in 2000 (52 percent) had completed at least some college education (Table 1). Just under one quarter (24 percent) had a bachelor's degree or more. Nine percent had an advanced degree (master's degree, professional degree, or doctoral degree).

Growth in the population 25 and over contributed to an increase in the number of people with high school or more education: 146.5 million in 2000, an increase of 27.0 million over 1990. The

2 The estimates in this report are based on responses from a sample of the population. As with all surveys, estimates may vary from the actual values because of sampling variation or other factors. All statements made in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90-percent confidence level unless otherwise noted.

Figure 2.

Highest Educational Attainment Level of the Population 25 Years and Over: 2000

(In percent. Data based on sample. For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Doctoral degree Professional degree

Master's degree Bachelor's degree Associate degree 1 or more years of college, no degree Some college, but less than 1 year High school graduate 12th grade, no diploma

11th grade 10th grade

9th grade 7th grade or 8th grade 5th grade or 6th grade Nursery school to 4th grade No schooling completed

1.0 2.0 5.9

6.3

7.1

3.7 2.8 3.0 2.5 3.5 1.9 0.8 1.4

15.5 14.0

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

28.6

number with a bachelor's degree or more increased by 12.2 million to 44.5 million, while the population with less than a high school diploma actually decreased during the decade from 1990 to 2000, falling by 3.6 million to 35.7 million.

The high levels of education observed in 2000 reflect a steady increase in educational attainment that took place over much of the preceding century. Figure 3 shows the levels of high school and college completion for the 25-and-over population from the censuses of 1940 to 2000.3 In 1940, only

24 percent of the population 25 and over had completed high school. During a span of 60 years, high school has gone from being the mark of the educated minority of the population to the minimum education level for 4 out of 5 adults.

College completion rates also increased from 1940 to 2000. While just under 1 adult in 20 held a bachelor's degree in 1940, almost 1 adult in 4 had attained this educational level in 2000. For both levels of schooling recorded here (high school or more, and

3 From 1940 to 1980, the census question on educational attainment asked about years of school completed, rather than about completion of degrees. For the purposes of this comparison, people with 12 or more years of education were considered high school graduates, while those with 16 or more years of

education were considered college graduates. For further discussion of the difference between asking about years and about degrees see Robert Kominski and Paul Siegel, "Measuring Education in the Current Population Survey," Monthly Labor Review, September 1993, pp. 34-38.

2

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 1. Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over for the United States, Regions, and States, and for Puerto Rico: 1990 and 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

1990

Area

Population 25 and over

Percent

High school graduate or more

Some Bachelor's

college or degree or

more

more

Advanced degree

Population 25 and over

United States. . . . .

Region

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

State

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . California . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia . . . . . Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts. . . . . . . . . Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . .

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico. . . . . . . . . . . New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . .

South Carolina. . . . . . . . . South Dakota. . . . . . . . . . Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . . . Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . .

158,868,436

33,544,628 37,873,006 54,335,585 33,115,217

2,545,969 323,429

2,301,177 1,496,150 18,695,499 2,107,072 2,198,963

428,499 409,131 8,887,168

4,023,420 709,820 601,292

7,293,930 3,489,470 1,776,798 1,565,936 2,333,833 2,536,994

795,613

3,122,665 3,962,223 5,842,642 2,770,562 1,538,997 3,291,579

507,851 996,049 789,638 713,894

5,166,233 922,590

11,818,569 4,253,494

396,550 6,924,764 1,995,424 1,855,369 7,872,932

658,956

2,167,590 430,500

3,139,066 10,310,605

897,321 357,245 3,974,814 3,126,390 1,171,766 3,094,226 277,769

1,952,297

75.2

76.2 77.1 71.3 78.6

66.9 86.6 78.7 66.3 76.2 84.4 79.2 77.5 73.1 74.4

70.9 80.1 79.7 76.2 75.6 80.1 81.3 64.6 68.3 78.8

78.4 80.0 76.8 82.4 64.3 73.9 81.0 81.8 78.8 82.2

76.7 75.1 74.8 70.0 76.7 75.7 74.6 81.5 74.7 72.0

68.3 77.1 67.1 72.1 85.1 80.8 75.2 83.8 66.0 78.6 83.0

49.7

45.2

44.0 43.1 42.3 53.7

37.4 57.9 52.5 33.6 53.9 57.9 49.7 44.8 51.9 44.3

41.3 51.3 49.3 46.2 37.4 41.6 48.4 32.9 36.6 41.7

50.3 50.3 44.5 49.4 36.8 40.8 47.5 47.1 47.2 50.5

45.6 46.4 45.3 41.0 48.6 39.3 44.1 52.6 36.1 42.6

38.8 43.4 37.0 46.5 57.9 46.2 48.5 55.9 29.4 41.5 49.9

28.7

20.3

22.8 18.4 18.7 22.7

15.7 23.0 20.3 13.3 23.4 27.0 27.2 21.4 33.3 18.3

19.3 22.9 17.7 21.0 15.6 16.9 21.1 13.6 16.1 18.8

26.5 27.2 17.4 21.8 14.7 17.8 19.8 18.9 15.3 24.4

24.9 20.4 23.1 17.4 18.1 17.0 17.8 20.6 17.9 21.3

16.6 17.2 16.0 20.3 22.3 24.3 24.5 22.9 12.3 17.7 18.8

14.3

7.2 182,211,639

9.0 35,828,187 6.3 41,537,007 6.5 64,921,533 7.7 39,924,912

5.5 2,887,400

8.0

379,556

7.0 3,256,184

4.5 1,731,200

8.1 21,298,900

9.0 2,776,632

11.0 2,295,617

7.7

514,658

17.2

384,535

6.3 11,024,645

6.4 5,185,965

7.1

802,477

5.3

787,505

7.5 7,973,671

6.4 3,893,278

5.2 1,895,856

7.0 1,701,207

5.5 2,646,397

5.6 2,775,468

6.1

869,893

10.9 3,495,595

10.6 4,273,275

6.4 6,415,941

6.3 3,164,345

5.1 1,757,517

6.1 3,634,906

5.7

586,621

5.9 1,087,241

5.2 1,310,176

7.9

823,987

8.8 5,657,799

8.3 1,134,801

9.9 12,542,536

5.4 5,282,994

4.5

408,585

5.9 7,411,740

6.0 2,203,173

7.0 2,250,998

6.6 8,266,284

7.8

694,573

5.4 2,596,010

4.9

474,359

5.4 3,744,928

6.5 12,790,893

6.8 1,197,892

8.9

404,223

9.1 4,666,574

7.0 3,827,507

4.8 1,233,581

5.6 3,475,878

5.7

315,663

3.6 2,288,326

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3; 1990 Census of Population.

2000

Percent

High school graduate or more

Some Bachelor's

college or degree or

more

more

80.4

51.8

24.4

81.6

50.9

27.5

83.5

51.1

22.9

77.7

49.0

22.5

80.5

57.7

26.2

75.3

44.9

19.0

88.3

60.5

24.7

81.0

56.7

23.5

75.3

41.2

16.7

76.8

56.7

26.6

86.9

63.7

32.7

84.0

55.5

31.4

82.6

51.2

25.0

77.8

57.2

39.1

79.9

51.1

22.3

78.6

49.9

24.3

84.6

56.1

26.2

84.7

56.2

21.7

81.4

53.7

26.1

82.1

44.9

19.4

86.1

50.0

21.2

86.0

56.2

25.8

74.1

40.6

17.1

74.8

42.4

18.7

85.4

49.2

22.9

83.8

57.1

31.4

84.8

57.5

33.2

83.4

52.1

21.8

87.9

59.1

27.4

72.9

43.5

16.9

81.3

48.6

21.6

87.2

55.9

24.4

86.6

55.3

23.7

80.7

51.3

18.2

87.4

57.3

28.7

82.1

52.7

29.8

78.9

52.3

23.5

79.1

51.3

27.4

78.1

49.7

22.5

83.9

56.0

22.0

83.0

46.9

21.1

80.6

49.1

20.3

85.1

58.9

25.1

81.9

43.8

22.4

78.0

50.2

25.6

76.3

46.4

20.4

84.6

51.7

21.5

75.9

44.3

19.6

75.7

50.8

23.2

87.7

63.1

26.1

86.4

54.1

29.4

81.5

55.5

29.5

87.1

62.2

27.7

75.2

35.8

14.8

85.1

50.5

22.4

87.9

56.9

21.9

60.0

37.7

18.3

Advanced degree

8.9

11.0 7.9 8.1 9.2

6.9 8.6 8.4 5.7 9.5 11.1 13.3 9.4 21.0 8.1

8.3 8.4 6.8 9.5 7.2 6.5 8.7 6.9 6.5 7.9

13.4 13.7

8.1 8.3 5.8 7.6 7.2 7.3 6.1 10.0

11.0 9.8 11.8 7.2 5.5 7.4 6.8 8.7 8.4 9.7

6.9 6.0 6.8 7.6 8.3 11.1 11.6 9.3 5.9 7.2 7.0

4.7

U.S. Census Bureau

3

college or more), the largest rate of growth was in the period 1960 to 1980. From 1990 to 2000, the increase in the percentage of people completing a bachelor's or higher degree was about the same as the percentage-point increase for the previous decade, and only slightly below the rate from 1970 to 1980.

Age differences in educational attainment were large.

In 2000, the middle-aged population had the highest levels of education--45- to 49-year-olds were highest in high school graduation and some college or more; 50- to 54-year-olds were highest at bachelor's and advanced degree attainment (Table 2). People 75 years and older had lower education levels (among those measured here) than any other age group. The differences between the highest and lowest age groups were often quite substantial. Among the 45- to 49year-old group, 86 percent had a high school or greater education, compared with only 61 percent of people 75 and over. In these two age groups, completion of some college or more was reported by 59 percent and 30 percent, respectively. The 50- to 54-year-old group recorded a 29 percent rate of bachelor's or higher degree attainment, while only 13 percent of the population 75 years or older had that level of education. Advanced degrees were obtained by 13 percent of the 50- to 54-year-old population, but only 5 percent of the population 75 and older.

The youngest age group (25 to 29 years) had rates of educational attainment slightly lower than people aged 45 to 54. For example, 86 percent of people aged 45 to 49 had completed high school, compared with 84 percent of those aged 25 to 29. The largest gap was at the advanced degree level, where

Figure 3.

Population 25 Years and Over Who Have Completed High School or College: 1940 to 2000

(In percent. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, sampling error, and definitions, see prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

High school graduate or more Bachelor's degree or more

66.5

75.2

80.4

24.5

34.3

41.1

52.3

4.6

6.2

7.7

10.7

16.2

20.3

24.4

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Note: Prior to 1990, educational attainment was measured by years of completed schooling. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3; previous censuses.

13 percent of 50- to 54-year-olds had received an advanced degree, compared with only 6 percent of 25- to 29-year-olds. However, if 25to 29-year-olds in 2000 were like those observed in previous censuses, many had not yet completed advanced education.4

The 25- to 29-year-old population was more likely to have completed some college or more, and was more likely to have earned a bachelor's degree than people 10 to 15 years their senior. The rate of completion of some college was 58 percent among those in the 25- to 29year age group, while it was 56 percent among those in the 35- to 39-year age group, and 57 percent among those in the 40- to 44-year age group. Similarly, 27 percent of 25- to 29-year-olds had completed a

bachelor's degree or more, while 26 percent of those in the older groups (35 to 39 and 40 to 44) had reached this educational level.

Women's educational levels were close to those of men.

Sex differences in educational attainment were not as large as the range of disparities by age.5 Men and women had nearly equal rates of high school completion in 2000, with women having the slight edge, 81 percent compared with 80 percent. At higher levels of education, men had higher completion rates. For example, among people 25 years or older in 2000, 26 percent of men had bachelor's degrees or more, compared with 23 percent of women. Men also led women in holding advanced degrees, 10 percent to 8 percent.

4 In 1990, for example, 4.1 percent of the 25- to 29-year-old population held advanced degrees. Ten years later, 8.4 percent of the 35- to 39-year-old population held advanced degrees.

5 The gap in educational attainment between people aged 50 to 54 and those aged 75 or older was significantly greater than the gap between men and women at each level of education.

4

U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2. Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2000

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age 25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 to 49 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 to 54 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 to 59 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 to 69 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 to 74 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Women. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin White alone... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black or African American alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Indian and Alaska Native alone . . . . . . . . . Asian alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone . . Some other race alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two or more races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hispanic or Latino (of any race).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Population 25 and over

182,211,639

19,212,244 20,365,113 23,083,337 22,822,134 20,181,127 17,397,482 13,383,251 10,787,979 9,569,199 8,931,950 16,477,823

87,077,686 95,133,953

143,085,659 19,858,095 1,350,998 6,640,671 206,675 7,611,121 3,458,420 18,270,377

133,786,263

High school graduate or

more

80.4

Percent

Some college

Bachelor's

or more degree or more

51.8

24.4

83.6

58.3

27.2

84.2

57.9

27.9

84.7

56.5

25.9

85.4

56.7

25.9

86.4

59.5

28.5

85.4

58.5

29.1

81.1

50.6

24.6

76.1

43.5

20.3

72.1

38.9

18.3

67.3

34.9

16.2

60.7

29.6

13.3

80.1

52.5

26.1

80.7

51.1

22.8

83.6

54.1

26.1

72.3

42.5

14.3

70.9

41.7

11.5

80.4

64.6

44.1

78.3

44.6

13.8

46.8

25.0

7.3

73.3

48.1

19.6

52.4

30.3

10.4

85.5

55.4

27.0

Advanced degree

8.9

5.9 8.4 8.4 9.1 11.3 12.7 11.5 9.3 8.0 6.7 5.4

10.0 7.8

9.5 4.8 3.9 17.4 4.1 2.3 7.0 3.8 9.8

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

The "Asian alone" race group led in attaining bachelor's and advanced degrees.

Census 2000 allowed respondents to choose more than one race. With the exception of the Two or more races group, all race groups discussed in this report refer to people who indicated only one racial identity among the six major categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Some other race.6 The use of the single-race

6 For further information on each of the six major race groups and the Two or more races population, see reports from the Census 2000 Brief series (C2KBR/01), available on the Census 2000 Web site at population/www/cen2000 /briefs.html.

population in this report does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches.7

Large differences among races existed at all levels of education. In 2000, the proportion of people aged 25 and over who had completed high school or more education ranged from 84 percent of

7 This report draws heavily on Summary File 3, a Census 2000 product that can be accessed through American FactFinder, available from the Census Bureau's Web site, . Information on people who reported more than one race, such as "White and American Indian and Alaska Native" or "Asian and Black or African American," is available in Summary File 4, also available through American FactFinder. About 2.6 percent of people reported more than one race.

those who reported they were

White (and no other race), to

47 percent of people who reported Some other race only.8 People who

reported they were Asian (and no

other race) were most likely to

report having completed higher

8 Hereafter this report uses the term Black to refer to people who are Black or African American, the term Pacific Islander to refer to people who are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and the term Hispanic to refer to people who are Hispanic or Latino.

Because Hispanics may be of any race, data in this report for Hispanics overlap with data for racial groups. Based on Census 2000 sample data, the proportion Hispanic was 8.0 percent for Whites, 1.9 percent for Blacks, 14.6 percent for American Indians and Alaska Natives, 1.0 percent for Asians, 9.5 percent for Pacific Islanders, 97.1 percent for those reporting Some other race, and 31.1 percent for those reporting Two or more races.

U.S. Census Bureau

5

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