April 28, 2011

Encouraging News About Educational Attainment

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported new, encouraging numbers about educational attainment in the United States for the 2010 Census year. According to the report, the percentage of people 25 and older who held a bachelor’s degree or higher increased to 30 percent in 2010 from 26 percent in 2000. Additionally, the percentage earning a high school diploma or higher was 87 percent, up from 84 percent ten years earlier. Interestingly, women are earning more bachelor’s degrees than men in the 25-29 age group—36 percent of women earned a BA or higher, compared to 28 percent of men.

While the Census Bureau has not yet released disaggregated data that lists educational attainment by state, a few sites have interesting information about Washington degree attainment from the 2000 Census, as well as predictions from surveys since then. According to these numbers, Washington was ahead of the national average in 2000, with 87 percent of the population 25 and over holding at least a high school degree, and 27.7 percent holding at least a bachelor’s degree.

To see more interesting information about the 2010 Census, check out the Seattle Times’ maps and interactive features or visit the Census website directly.