Educational attainment rises nationwide; differences between states widen

The educational landscape of the United States has undergone significant transformation over the past three decades, with the percentage of individuals 25 and older having earned a bachelor's degree steadily increasing since the 1990s. Nationwide, 20% of those aged at least 25 had a bachelor’s degree in 1990, while in 2021 this figure jumped to 38%. However, educational attainment varies greatly across states. Many states, such as Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, alongside 15 other states, fall above the national value of 38% in 2021. However, a total of 30 states fall beneath the national value.

Below, Figure 1 maps out this data for select years between 1990 and 2021; clicking on any year beneath the title will adjust the data visualized. Note that all years operate under the same quintile scale, meaning that data points across all years were used to create five equal groupings, each representing a fifth of the data.

Figure 1: Percentage of population aged 25+ with at least a bachelor’s degree

Washington, D.C. was excluded from Figure 1 due to its consistently higher values relative to the 50 states. In 1990, D.C.’s value was 33%, compared to the national value of 20%, and the state with the highest value, Massachusetts, was at 27%. By 2021, the gap had grown even larger: D.C.’s value hit 67% compared to the national 38% and Massachusetts’ 52%, once again was the highest of any state.

Comparing the 1990 and 2021 maps—the earliest and latest data years visualized—reveals notable shifts in educational attainment across the United States.

In 1990, higher percentages of college-educated adults were primarily concentrated in the northeast and certain parts of the west coast, with states like Massachusetts and Maryland in the east, and Colorado in the west, leading.

Educational attainment had risen across the board by 2021, with many previously lagged states showing significant improvement. States such as Illinois and Oregon, already above the national values in 1990, grew their values by over 20 percentage points each to become some of the highest-ranked states by population aged at least 25 with bachelor’s degrees. Illinois went from 21% to 43% and Oregon went from 21% to 42%.

Other states, such as Nebraska and Pennsylvania, were below the national value in 1990 but experienced rapid growth. In 2021, Nebraska increased from 19% to 39% and Pennsylvania increased from 18% to 39%.

Regionally, in 2021, many states in the south, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, those in and around the rust-belt, such as Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia, and some smaller population states, such as Wyoming, fall at the bottom of the nationwide educational attainment rankings despite increases over the past decades.

This article was prepared by SSTI using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070129 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.