States with the highest level of education in America revealed
- Massachusetts ranks first with 46.6% of the population aged 25 years or over holding a bachelor’s degree or higher
- Colorado comes second with 45.9%, and Vermont is third with 44.2%
- West Virginia ranked last in the study with 24.8%
Story credit: https://essayservice.com
A new study has found that Massachusetts is the most educated state in America, based on the percentage of the population that holds a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Essay writing experts Essayservice.com, analyzed public data from the U.S. Census Bureau to find the percentage of people aged 25 or older who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in each US state. Using the most recent data from 2022, the percentage of people who have achieved this level of education was ranked from highest to lowest in each state.
Massachusetts ranked first in the study, with 46.6% of the population aged 25 years or over holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Out of 4.94 million residents aged 25 or older, an estimated 2.3 million were found to have finished their education with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
This percentage is highest for people aged 25-34 (57.4%), while those aged 65 or over are less likely to have completed higher education (37.9%). In comparison, 91.3% of the population over 25 have graduated high school.
Colorado came second, with 45.9% of the population aged 25 years or over holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Out of 4.08 million people, around 1.88 million have attained an education equivalent to a bachelor’s degree or higher.
This rate was highest for those aged between 25-34 (49.7%), with those aged between 35-44 close behind at 49.4%. An impressive 93% of the population over 25 graduated high school.
Vermont ranked as the third most educated state, with 44.2% of the population aged 25 years or over holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. An estimated 206,839 residents out of the 467,643 in this age bracket finished their education with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
This percentage was highest for people aged between 35-44 (51.9%) compared to 47.8% for people aged between 25-34. An impressive 95% of the population over 25 have graduated high school.
Maryland ranked fourth with a higher education rate of 43.8%. Approximately 1.88 million out of 4.29 million residents in this age category finished their education with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
This rate was also highest for people aged between 35-44 at 48.6%, compared to 46% for Marylanders aged between 25-34. In comparison, 91.4% of the total population aged over 25 have graduated high school.
New Jersey came close behind in fifth place, with 43.5% of the population aged 25 years or over holding a bachelor’s degree or higher. Out of 6.48 million residents, around 2.82 million completed their education with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
An impressive 50.9% of people aged between 25-34, and 50.2% of graduates aged between 35-44, hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. 90.7% of the total population aged over 25 in New Jersey have graduated high school.
The national average rate of people aged 25 years or over who achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher in the United States is 35.7% in total. This percentage changes to 34.5% for male graduates and 36.8% for female graduates.
A spokesperson for Essayservice.com commented on the findings:
“It is great to see such a large proportion of the population having pursued and completed higher education across the country. The percentages are especially interesting when comparing the different age groups, with close results between 25-34-year-olds and 35-44 year olds for holding bachelor’s degrees or higher in each state. There is also a significant percentage difference between West Virginia at the bottom of the list with 24.8% and Massachusetts with 46.6% at the top.
“It worth noting that Massachusetts, which ranked top, is home to some of the world’s most prestigious universities, namely MIT, Harvard, and Boston, which are each held in high regard for their rigorous academic research. While students come from far and wide to study at these schools, aspiring students from the state may foster a greater focus on academia and higher education, knowing that they are home to these institutions.”
States ranked by percentage of population that hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
|
Rank |
US State |
Population (aged 25 or over) |
Estimated number of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher (aged 25 or over) |
% of population with bachelor’s degrees or higher (aged 25 or over) |
|
1. |
Massachusetts |
4,947,384 |
2,307,709 |
46.6% |
|
2. |
Colorado |
4,084,004 |
1,875,132 |
45.9% |
|
3. |
Vermont |
467,643 |
206,839 |
44.2% |
|
4. |
Maryland |
4,286,216 |
1,878,705 |
43.8% |
|
5. |
New Jersey |
6,482,223 |
2,821,608 |
43.5% |
|
6. |
Virginia |
5,978,782 |
2,522,034 |
42.2% |
|
7. |
Connecticut |
450,510 |
210,590 |
41.9% |
|
8. |
New Hampshire |
1,024,780 |
423,270 |
41.3% |
|
9. |
New York |
13,892,241 |
5,556,561 |
40.0% |
|
10. |
Rhode Island |
778,191 |
308,412 |
39.6% |
|
11. |
Washington |
5,470,209 |
2,159,683 |
39.5% |
|
12. |
Minnesota |
3,918,565 |
1,533,711 |
39.1% |
|
13. |
North Carolina |
7,372,120 |
555,900 |
39.1% |
|
14. |
Utah |
2,042,912 |
775,049 |
37.9% |
|
15. |
Illinois |
8,692,839 |
3,275,418 |
37.7% |
|
16. |
California |
26,866,773 |
9,935,941 |
37.0% |
|
17. |
Delaware |
724,041 |
264,384 |
36.5% |
|
18. |
Oregon |
3,043,930 |
1,106,239 |
36.3% |
|
19. |
Maine |
1,030,141 |
371,558 |
36.1% |
|
20. |
Kansas |
1,944,891 |
692,543 |
35.6% |
|
21. |
Hawaii |
1,023,843 |
362,704 |
35.4% |
|
22. |
Pennsylvania |
9,151,744 |
3,209,693 |
35.1% |
|
23. |
Georgia |
7,332,980 |
2,544,114 |
34.7% |
|
24. |
Nebraska |
1,300,094 |
450,517 |
34.7% |
|
25. |
Montana |
785,438 |
271,742 |
34.6% |
|
26. |
Florida |
16,104,410 |
5,518,418 |
34.3% |
|
27. |
Texas |
19,597,383 |
6,651,408 |
33.9% |
|
28. |
Wisconsin |
4,088,500 |
1,358,421 |
33.2% |
|
29. |
Arizona |
5,053,656 |
1,666,139 |
33.0% |
|
30. |
South Carolina |
3,664,922 |
1,194,503 |
32.6% |
|
31. |
Idaho |
1,280,178 |
413,168 |
32.3% |
|
32. |
Iowa |
2,159,511 |
697,806 |
32.3% |
|
33. |
Missouri |
4,236,010 |
1,364,017 |
32.2% |
|
34. |
Michigan |
6,978,952 |
2,241,852 |
32.1% |
|
35. |
Ohio |
8,130,929 |
2,600,379 |
32.0% |
|
36. |
North Dakota |
514,786 |
163,841 |
31.8% |
|
37. |
South Dakota |
605,735 |
191,317 |
31.6% |
|
38. |
Tennessee |
4,868,110 |
1,513,960 |
31.1% |
|
39. |
Alaska |
489,218 |
149,646 |
30.6% |
|
40. |
New Mexico |
1,453,129 |
442,597 |
30.5% |
|
41. |
Indiana |
4,584,460 |
1,357,012 |
29.6% |
|
42. |
Wyoming |
399,796 |
118,166 |
29.6% |
|
43. |
Alabama |
3,474,924 |
1,000,791 |
28.8% |
|
44. |
Oklahoma |
2,661,141 |
758,917 |
28.5% |
|
45. |
Kentucky |
3,091,499 |
861,336 |
27.9% |
|
46. |
Louisiana |
3,096,121 |
840,106 |
27.1% |
|
47. |
Nevada |
2,223,852 |
601,212 |
27.0% |
|
48. |
Arkansas |
2,057,624 |
522,807 |
25.4% |
|
49. |
Mississippi |
1,963,322 |
486,186 |
24.8% |
|
50. |
West Virginia |
1,262,566 |
313,086 |
24.8% |
Story credit: https://essayservice.com
Methodology:
This study analyzed U.S. Census Bureau Education Attainment data from 2022, to find the estimated number of people aged 25 or older, that hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in each state. States were then ranked by percentage of people who have achieved this level of education to find the most educated states.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
