educational attainment united states report

7/29/2019 Educational Attainment United States Report

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U.S. Department o CommerceEconomics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued February 2012

P20-566

Current

Population

Reports

By

Camille L. Ryan

and

Julie Siebens

Educational Attainment in the

United States: 2009Population Characteristics

This report provides a portrait o

educational attainment in the United

States based on data collected in the

2009 American Community Survey (ACS)

and the 20052009 ACS 5-year estimates.

It also uses data rom the Annual Social

and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to

the Current Population Survey (CPS)

collected in 2009 and earlier, as well as

monthly data rom the CPS. Prior to 2007,

U.S. Census Bureau reports on educa-

tional attainment were based on data

primarily rom the CPS.1 The ACS is now

used as the main source o educational

attainment data because it has a larger

sample and provides more reliable statis-

tics or small levels o geography.

The report also provides estimates o

educational attainment in the United

States, including comparisons by demo-

graphic characteristics such as age, sex,

race, and Hispanic origin. Inormation

about educational attainment among thenative-born and oreign-born populations

is included. This report also presents a

geographic picture o educational attain-

ment with estimates by region and state.

Workers median earnings by educational

attainment are also addressed, including

dierences by sex, race, and Hispanic

origin, as well as unemployment rates by

educational attainment. Historical data

are included to present some general

trends over time.

1 For inormation on the dierencesbetween the ACS and CPS estimates, seeComparison o ACS and ASEC Data on EducationalAttainment: 2004, Washington, DC, U.S. CensusBureau, 2007, and accompanying tables andgures, available on the Census Bureaus Website at .

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2009, more than 4 out o 5 (85 per-

cent) adults aged 25 and over reported

having at least a high school diploma

or its equivalent, while over 1 in 4 (28

percent) reported a bachelors degree

or higher. This relects more than a

three-old increase in high school

attainment and more than a ive-old

increase in college attainment since

the Census Bureau irst collected edu-cational attainment data in 1940.2

A larger proportion o women than

men had completed high school or

more education.3 A larger propor-

tion o men had received at least a

bachelors degree. However, because

women 25 years old and over outnum-

ber men aged 25 and over, the number

o women with bachelors degrees is

larger than the number o men with

these degrees. Among people aged

25 to 34, the percentage o womenwith a bachelors degree or higher was

35 percent compared with 27 percent

o men.

Dierences in educational attain-

ment by race and Hispanic origin

existed. Attainment or non-Hispanic

2 The decennial census has collected educationalattainment data since 1940.

3 High school or more education reers tocompleting a high school diploma, GED or alternativecredential, or higher degree.
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdf


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2 U.S. Census Bureau

Whites and Asians was higher

than attainment or Blacks and

Hispanics.4

4 Federal surveys now give respon-dents the option o reporting more thanone race. Thereore, two basic ways odening a race group are possible. A groupsuch as Asian may be dened as thosewho reported Asian and no other race (therace-alone or single-race concept) or asthose who reported Asian regardless owhether they also reported another race (therace-alone-or-in-combination concept). Thisreport shows data using the rst approach(race alone). This report will reer to theWhite-alone population as White, the Black-alone population as Black, the Asian-alonepopulation as Asian, and the White-alone-non-Hispanic population as non-HispanicWhite. Use o the single-race population doesnot imply that it is the preerred method opresenting or analyzing data. The CensusBureau uses a variety o approaches. Inthis report, the term non-Hispanic Whitereers to people who are not Hispanic andwho reported White and no other race. TheCensus Bureau uses non-Hispanic Whites asthe comparison group or other race groupsand Hispanics. Because Hispanics may be anyrace, data in this report or Hispanics overlapwith data or racial groups.

Educational attainment varied

by nativity. About 89 percent

o the native-born population

had completed at least high

school, compared with 68 per-

cent o the oreign-born popu-

lation. More native-born than

oreign-born adults reported

completing at least a bachelors

degree (28 percent and 27 per-

cent, respectively).

Educational attainment o

oreign-born Hispanics was

lower than all other groups.

The percentage o oreign-

born Hispanics who had com-

pleted at least high school was

48 percent.

The Midwest had the highest

percentage o adults report-ing that they completed high

school or more education, and

the Northeast had the highest

percentage with a bachelors

degree or more education.5

Among all workers, those with

a bachelors degree on average

earned about $20,000 more

per year than workers with a

high school diploma or a General

Educational Development (GED)certiicate. Non-Hispanic Whites

earned more than other race

5 The Northeast region includes thestates o Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.The Midwest region includes the states oIllinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. TheSouth region includes the states oAlabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida,Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, SouthCarolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, WestVirginia, and the District o Columbia, a stateequivalent. The West region includes thestates o Alaska, Arizona, Caliornia,Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada,New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington,and Wyoming.

TWO SOURCES OF DATA

The inormation in this report is based on two separate data sources: the estimates o current educational

attainment come rom the 2009 and the 20052009 5-Year Estimates rom the American Community Survey

(ACS), while historical data about educational attainment is rom the Annual Social and Economic Supplement

(ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). Unemployment data are rom the monthly CPS.

The ACS, part o the Census Bureaus re-engineered 2010 Census, looks at a wide range o social, economic,and housing characteristics or the population. The ACS collects inormation rom an annual sample o

approximately 3 million housing unit addresses. The ACS is administered to the entire domestic population,

including those living in group quarters. In this respect, data rom the ACS are generally comparable with

data rom Census 2000 and earlier decennial censuses. In the ACS, educational attainment is classiied by

the highest degree or the highest level o schooling completed, with people currently enrolled in school

requested to report the level o the previous grade attended or the highest degree received.

Another important source o educational attainment inormation is the ASEC to the CPS. The CPS is a monthly

survey with a sample o approximately 72,000 housing units. ASEC data are collected rom CPS respondents

in February, March, and April o each year with an annual sample o approximately 100,000 households. Unlike

the ACS, the universe is the civilian noninstitutionalized population, and thereore does not include people living

in institutions or Armed Forces personnel (except those living with their amilies). While the sample size is not

suicient or describing small geographic areas, CPS data can provide estimates or the 50 states and the Districto Columbia. CPS data also provide a time series o educational attainment inormation since 1947. Since 1992,

data on educational attainment are derived rom a single question that asks, What is the highest grade o school

. . . completed, or the highest degree . . . received? Prior to 1992, respondents reported the highest grade they

had attended, and whether or not they had completed that grade.

The ACS and the CPS dier in geographic scope, data collection methods, and population universe. For more

inormation on these two sources o data, see the previous report, Educational Attainment in the United States:

2007, Appendix A.


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U.S. Census Bureau 3

groups and more than Hispanics

at the high school level, while

earnings at the bachelors and

advanced degree level were

highest or Asians. Black and

Hispanic workers earned less at

nearly all attainment levels.6

Men earned more than women

at each level o educational

attainment.

6 Among all workers, the median earningsor blacks with a high school diploma werenot statistically dierent than the earningsor Asians with a high school diploma. Also,the median earnings or Hispanics with a GEDwere not statistically dierent than the earn-ings or non-Hispanic Whites with a GED.

PORTRAIT OFEDUCATIONALATTAINMENT IN THEUNITED STATES

Historical Trends in EducationUsing Data From CPS and theDecennial Census

This section uses data rom the CPS

and the decennial census. The CPS

and the census are better sources

o data to provide a historicalpicture o educational attainment

because the census has collected

educational attainment since 1940

and CPS since 1947. The Census

Bureau has documented an increase

in the educational attainment o the

population since the question was

irst asked in the 1940s.7

Figure 1 plots educational attain-

ment or the population aged 25

and over rom 1940 to 2009 using

data rom the CPS or 1947 to 2009

and census or years prior to 1947.

This percentage is shown or two

levels o education: completing

high school (regular high school

diploma or GED) or higher, andcompleting a bachelors degree or

higher. In 1940, one-ourth o the

population aged 25 and over had

7 See Educational Attainment inthe United States: 2007 (P20-560),available on the Census BureausWeb site at .

Figure 1.

Percentage of the Population 25 Years and Over Who Have CompletedHigh School or College: Selected Years 19402009

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey and decennial censuses.

Percent

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

25 to 29 years old,bachelor's degree or more

25 years old and over,bachelor's degree or more

25 to 29 years old,high school or more

25 years old and over,high school or more

200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992199119901989198819871986198519841983198219811980197919781977197619751974197319721971197019691968196719661965196419631962196119601959195819571956195519541953195219511950194919481947194619451944194319421941194020092000199019801970196019501940
http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p20-560.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p20-560.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p20-560.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p20-560.pdf


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completed high school. By 1967,

over 50 percent o this population

had reached this level. This per-

centage continued to increase to

75 percent by 1986 and reached 87

percent in 2009.8

The percentage o the population

aged 25 and over with a bachelorsdegree or higher also increased

steadily rom 1940 to 2009. In

1940, 5 percent o the popula-

tion aged 25 and older held at

least a bachelors degree or higher.

By 2009, this percentage had

increased more than ive-old to

30 percent.9

In 1947, 51 percent o the popula-

tion 25 to 29 years old had com-

pleted high school compared to

33 percent o the total population25 years old and over. However,

over time, the rates o educational

attainment have converged. By

2009, the proportion o those who

had completed high school was

89 percent or the 25 to 29 year

old population and 87 percent or

those aged 25 and over.

During the 20 years rom 1975

to 1994, the proportion o 25- to

29-year-olds who had completed

a bachelors degree or higher

stayed within the range o 21 to

24 percent. Since then, the rate or

this age group has climbed to 31

percent. The rate o college com-

pletion or the population 25 years

and over grew rom 11 percent in

1970 to 30 percent in 2009.

A Current Picture ofEducational Attainment UsingACS Data

The ollowing sections use data

rom the ACS. The ACS is used

8 Estimates rom ACS vary rom CPS inthis report due to actors such as dierencesin the population eligible or interview ineach survey and other dierences in surveymethodology. See also the text box includedin this report.

9 ibid.

instead o the CPS because ACS has

a larger sample size and provides

reliable estimates or population

subgroups and smaller levels o

geography. Estimates rom ACS

vary rom CPS due to actors such

as dierences in the population,

who is eligible or interview in each

survey, and other dierences in

survey methodology.10

In 2009, 85 percent o the popula-

tion aged 25 and over in the United

States reported they had completed

at least high school (receiving a

regular high school diploma or the

equivalent) (Table 1). More than 1

in 4 adults (28 percent) reported

they had a bachelors degree or

more education. In 2000, 80 per-

cent o the 25-and-older populationcompleted high school or more and

24 percent reported a bachelors

degree or more education.11

The most common levels o edu-

cational attainment among the

adult population were high school

completion with a high school

diploma (25 percent), ollowed by

completion o a bachelors degree

(18 percent). Table 1 also shows

that 4 percent o the population 25

years old and over completed highschool by earning a GED or alterna-

tive credential. There was also a

substantial percentage o the popu-

lation who had completed school-

ing beyond high school but less

than a bachelors degree. Twenty-

one percent o the population 25

years old and over had completed

10 For inormation on the dierencesbetween the ACS and CPS estimates,see Comparison o ACS and ASECData on Educational Attainment: 2004,Washington, DC, U.S. Census Bureau,2007, and accompanying tables and gures,available on the Census Bureaus Web site at.

11 For more inormation on educationalattainment in 2000, see EducationalAttainment: 2000 (C2KBR-24), availableon the Census Bureaus Web site at.

some college. In addition, 8 percent

o the population had completed an

associates degree.

Differences by Age, Sex, Race,and Hispanic Origin

Age. Educational attainment varies

by several demographic character-

istics, including age. The overall

increase in educational attain-

ment documented over the past 6

decades occurred as younger (and

more educated) cohorts replaced

older, less educated cohorts in

the adult population. In 2009, the

group aged 65 and older reported

lower levels o high school and

college attainment than all younger

age groups. Among those aged 65

and over, 77 percent had com-

pleted high school or more educa-tion, and 20 percent reported a

bachelors degree or more educa-

tion (Table 1).

Sex. Gender dierences in educa-

tion continue to exist. In 2009, a

larger proportion o women than

men had completed high school

with a high school diploma, some

college, associates, and masters

degrees. On the other hand, a

higher proportion o men had

completed high school with a GED,

as well as bachelors, proessional,

and doctorate degrees.

Although women 25 years and

over were less likely than men

to have bachelors, proessional,

or doctorate degrees, they were

still ahead o men by some mea-

sures. Because there were more

women than men 25 years old

and over, the number o women

with a bachelors degree or higher(28.7 million) was greater than the

number o men with a bachelors

degree or higher (27.7 million).12

12 See Table B15002, Sex by EducationalAttainment or the Population 25 Years andOver: 2009, available on the Census BureausWeb site at .
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-24.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-24.pdfhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmlhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmlhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmlhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmlhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-24.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-24.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/library/2007/2007_Scanniello_01.pdf


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In addition, among people aged 25

to 34, the percentage o women

with a bachelors degree or higher

was 35 percent compared with 27

percent o men.13

Race and Hispanic Origin. Educa-

tional attainment also varied by

race and Hispanic origin. Non-Hispanic Whites reported the

highest percentage o adults with

at least a high school education

(90 percent). Asians reported the

highest percentage o those with

a bachelors, masters, proes-

sional, and doctorate degrees.

Blacks reported higher percentages

at each level o those with high

school diplomas and GEDs o all

race groups and Hispanics. Blacks

were also more likely to have com-pleted some college than any other

group. However, Blacks were less

likely to have completed bachelors,

masters, proessional, or doctor-

ate degrees than those who were

White alone, non-Hispanic Whites,

and Asians. Hispanics reported

the lowest percentages overall o

those with a high school diploma

or equivalent and above61 per-

cent had completed high school or

higher and 13 percent had com-

pleted at least a bachelors degree.

Diverse EducationalExperiences Among theForeign-Born Population

Educational attainment diered by

nativity status. About 20 percent-

age points separated the native

born (89 percent) and oreign born

(68 percent) aged 25 and older

who had completed high school

or more. Foreign-born residents

made up 35 percent o the popu-lation that had not completed

high school. At the bachelors and

advanced degree attainment levels,

13 See Subject Table S1501,Educational Attainment: 2009,available on the Census Bureaus Website at .

there was about a one percentage

point dierence between the native

born and the oreign born. A higher

percentage o native-born than

oreign-born adults reported com-

pleting at least a bachelors degree

(28 percent and 27 percent, respec-

tively), while more oreign-born

than native-born adults reported

having a proessional or doctorate

degree. These dierences suggest

that, while a large proportion o

the oreign-born population had

lower levels o education, a size-

able segment also had high levels

o education.

Since 2000, the percentage o the

population aged 25 and over with

a bachelors degree who are oreign

born has increased. The oreign-born population made up 14 per-

cent o the population aged 25 and

over with a bachelors degree, up

rom 13 percent in 2000. The num-

ber o oreign-born residents with

bachelors or higher degrees has

also increased by 49 percent since

2000.14 For some race groups and

Hispanics, there was little dier-

ence in educational attainment by

nativity, but or others there were

large dierences (Table 1). For all

groups except Blacks, a larger per-

centage o the native born than the

oreign born had completed at least

high school. The pattern diers

or college attainment, with higher

attainment among the oreign born

or the non-Hispanic White and

Black populations.

The lower educational attainment

o oreign-born Hispanics aected

the overall Hispanic education

levels. In 2009, about 57 percent

14 For inormation about nativityand educational attainment in 2000, seeTable 2L-01 available on the Census BureausWeb site at .Also see Table B06009, Place o Birth byEducational Attainment in the United States:2009, available on the Census Bureaus Website at .

o all Hispanics aged 25 and over

in the United States were oreign

born. Educational attainment o

oreign-born Hispanics was lower

than all other race, Hispanic origin,

and nativity groups. The percent-

age o oreign-born Hispanics who

completed at least high school was

48 percent. Although native-born

Hispanics had higher educational

attainment than oreign-born

Hispanics, all other native-born

race groups had higher educa-

tional attainment than native-born

Hispanics.15

GEOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCESIN EDUCATIONALATTAINMENT

Educational Attainment byCounty

Educational attainment varied

among states and counties. The

20052009 ACS 5-year dataset

is used or Figure 2 and Figure 3

because these data can be used

to show small geographies includ-

ing counties. Figure 2 shows the

geographic distribution o the

population aged 25 and over

whose educational attainment is

high school completion (e.g., a highschool diploma or a GED) or higher.

The highest concentration o high

school completion tended to be

located in counties in the West and

the Midwest. O the ten counties

with high school completion rates

over 95 percent, three counties

were located in Colorado (Hinsdale,

Douglas, and Routt) and three were

in Nebraska (Wheeler, Logan, and

Grant). The other our counties

were Los Alamos, New Mexico;

Hamilton, Indiana; Washington,

Minnesota; and Gallatin, Montana.

15 About 16 percent o the native-bornHispanic and the native-born Black popula-tions had completed a bachelors degree, butthe dierence was not statistically dierent.
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Table 1.

Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over by Age, Sex, Race and

Hispanic Origin, and Nativity Status: 2009

Characteristic

Totalpopulation

Total

population

Age

25 to 34

years

35 to 44

years

45 to 64

years

65 years

and over

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Total 201,952,383 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X)

No schooling completed 2,592,831 13 07 09 12 25

Nursery school to 8th grade 10,048,130 50 36 01 41 01 40 94 01

9th grade to 12th grade, no diploma 17,144,287 85 88 01 77 01 72 01 116 01

Regular high school diploma 49,640,860 246 01 202 01 221 01 249 01 310 01

GED or alternative credential 7,910,811 39 44 01 40 01 39 34

Some college, less than 1 year 12,841,366 64 62 01 59 01 68 01 61 01

Some college, 1 or more years, no degree 30,246,118 150 172 01 157 01 151 01 117 01

Associates degree 15,192,326 75 81 01 86 01 84 41

Bachelors degree 35,494,367 176 01 220 01 198 01 172 01 114 01

Masters degree 14,579,118 72 65 01 79 01 80 58 01

Proessional school degree 3,913,851 19 16 21 21 17

Doctorate degree 2,348,318 12 07 11 13 14

High school or more education

2

172,167,135 853 01 870 01 872 01 877 01 765 01Bachelors degree or more 56,335,654 279 01 309 02 309 01 286 01 202 01

Native Born

Total 169,428,254 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X)

No schooling completed 1,254,800 07 04 05 06 15

Nursery school to 8th grade 4,633,482 27 10 12 18 77 01

9th grade to 12th grade, no diploma 13,387,735 79 76 01 66 01 68 01 117 01


GED or alternative credential 7,197,158 42 49 01 44 01 42 36

Some college, less than 1 year 11,810,629 70 69 01 67 01 74 01 65 01

Some college, 1 or more years, no degree 27,021,168 159 01 187 01 171 01 159 01 122 01

Associates degree 13,376,589 79 87 01 93 01 87 01 41


Masters degree 12,307,660 73 63 01 79 01 81 59 01

Proessional school degree 3,215,887 19 16 20 21 17

Doctorate degree 1,733,399 10 06 09 12 13

High school or more education2 150,152,237 886 910 01 917 01 908 01 792 01

Bachelors degree or more 47,615,865 281 01 317 02 314 02 287 01 203 01

Foreign Born

Total 32,524,129 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X)

No schooling completed 1,338,031 41 01 18 01 27 01 45 01 96 02

Nursery school to 8th grade 5,414,648 166 02 144 03 153 03 169 02 222 04

9th grade to 12th grade, no diploma 3,756,552 116 01 139 03 123 02 97 01 107 03


GED or alternative credential 713,653 22 20 01 22 01 24 01 21 01

Some college, less than 1 year 1,030,737 32 01 31 01 30 01 34 01 30 01

Some college, 1 or more years, no degree 3,224,950 99 01 109 02 102 02 99 01 78 02

Associates degree 1,815,737 56 01 53 02 59 02 63 01 38 01


Masters degree 2,271,458 70 01 76 02 79 02 69 01 45 02

Proessional school degree 697,964 21 17 01 22 01 23 01 24 01

Doctorate degree 614,919 19 13 01 21 01 21 01 20 01

High school or more education2 22,014,898 677 02 699 04 697 03 689 02 575 04

Bachelors degree or more 8,719,789 268 01 276 03 289 03 276 03 200 03


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Table 1.

Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over by Age, Sex, Race and

Hispanic Origin, and Nativity Status: 2009Con.

Sex Race and Hispanic Origin

Characteristic

Male Female White aloneNon-Hispanic

White aloneBlack alone Asian alone

Hispanic

(o any race)

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

Per-cent

Margin

o

error1()

1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) Total

13 13 09 06 14 36 01 38 01 No schooling completed

52 48 42 24 41 01 50 01 197 02 Nursery school to 8th grade

90 01 80 74 66 131 01 60 01 156 02 9th grade to 12th grade, no diploma

241 01 250 01 250 01 253 01 272 02 148 02 224 02 Regular high school diploma

45 33 40 40 44 01 12 01 38 01 GED or alternative credential

60 67 67 70 60 01 29 01 45 01 Some college, less than 1 year

148 01 151 01 148 01 150 01 189 02 102 02 124 01 Some college, 1 or more years, no degree

67 83 78 80 73 01 66 01 53 01 Associates degree

176 01 175 01 185 01 195 01 115 01 294 03 87 01 Bachelors degree

68 76 76 81 47 01 130 02 27 01 Masters degree

24 15 21 22 08 39 01 09 Proessional school degree

15 08 12 13 05 33 01 04 Doctorate degree

845 01 859 01 875 01 904 01 814 02 853 02 609 02 High school or more education

2

284 01 274 01 293 01 311 01 176 02 497 03 126 01 Bachelors degree or more

Native Born

1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) Total

08 07 06 06 12 08 01 18 01 No schooling completed

28 26 25 22 38 01 14 01 70 01 Nursery school to 8th grade

83 01 75 69 66 136 01 29 03 136 02 9th grade to 12th grade, no diploma


50 36 42 41 46 01 15 02 55 01 GED or alternative credential

66 73 71 71 63 01 40 03 68 01 Some college, less than 1 year


71 86 01 80 80 70 01 80 04 75 01 Associates degree


67 78 78 80 45 01 110 04 37 01 Masters degree

25 14 21 21 07 63 03 09 Proessional school degree

13 07 11 12 05 18 02 04 Doctorate degree

880 01 892 01 900 01 906 01 814 02 949 03 775 02 High school or more education2


Foreign Born

1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) 1000 (X) Total

38 01 44 01 36 01 21 01 28 02 41 01 53 01 No schooling completed

172 02 161 02 191 02 63 02 69 03 57 01 293 03 Nursery school to 8th grade

121 02 110 01 123 02 65 02 91 04 66 02 171 02 9th grade to 12th grade, no diploma


22 01 22 01 24 01 22 01 35 02 12 01 25 01 GED or alternative credential

29 01 34 01 34 01 42 01 42 02 26 01 28 01 Some college, less than 1 year


48 01 63 01 54 01 74 02 94 04 64 01 36 01 Associates degree


75 01 65 01 58 01 106 02 65 03 134 02 19 01 Masters degree

24 01 19 01 21 01 34 01 16 01 35 01 09 Proessional school degree

25 01 13 18 01 36 01 10 01 36 01 04 Doctorate degree

668 02 686 02 650 03 852 02 813 04 835 02 483 03 High school or more education2


Represents or rounds to zero

(X) Not applicable 1 A margin o error is a measure o an estimates variability The larger the margin o error in relation to the size o the estimate, the less reliable the estimate

When added to and subtracted rom the estimate, the margin o error orms the 90 percent confdence interval

2 High school or more education reers to completing a high school diploma, GED or alternative credential, or higher degreeSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009


8/17


0

100Miles

0

20Miles

0

100Miles

Perce

ntagebycounty

oreq

uivalent

Source:U.S.

CensusBureau,

20052009A

mericanCommunitySurveyandPuertoRico

CommunitySurvey,

5-yearestimates.

Lessthan65.0

88.0ormore

82.0

to87.9

75.0

to81.9

65.0

to74.9

U.S.

percent

84.6

Note:Thevaluesforcountiessho

wnindifferent

classesmaynotbestatisticallydifferent.Astatistical

testisneededtomakesuchade

termination.

Figure2.

PercentageofPeople

25YearsandOverWhoHaveC

ompletedHighSchoolor

MoreEducation:20052009

(IncludesGED

recipients)

0

100Miles


9/17


0

100Miles

0

20Miles

0

100Miles

Perce

ntagebycounty

oreq

uivalent

Lessthan15.0

40.0ormore

30.0

to39.9

22.0

to29.9

15.0

to21.9

U.S.

percent

27.5

Note:Thevaluesforcountiesshow

nindifferent

classesmaynotbestatisticallydif

ferent.Astatistical

testisneededtomakesuchadetermination.

Figure3.

Percentageo

fPeople

25Yearsan

dOver

Who

HaveC

omp

lete

da

Bac

he

lor

sDegreeor

More:

2005

2009

0

100Miles

Source:U.S.

CensusBureau,

20052009A

mericanCommunitySurveyandPuertoRico

CommunitySurvey,

5-yearestimates.


10/17


Figure 3 shows the percentage

o the population aged 25 and

over whose educational attainment

is a bachelors degree or higher.

Metropolitan counties on the East

and West Coast had high percent-

ages o the college-educated

population. Counties with high

education ormed a band in the

Northeast rom Albemarle County,

Virginia, to Middlesex County,

Massachusetts. Other counties

that had high concentrations o the

population with a bachelors degree

or higher included part o the San

Francisco area, and King County,

Washington, containing the city

o Seattle.

There were only 17 counties

where more than hal o the popu-lation 25 years old and over held

a bachelors degree or higher. These

included suburban counties in the

Northeast and elsewhere, counties

with large universities or research

acilities, and resort counties in the

western states.

Educational Attainment byRegion and State

Table 2 ocuses on the proportion

o the population aged 25 and over

who were high school graduates

(including GED) or more or regions

and states. The percentage o the

population with at least a high

school diploma or GED was high-

est in the Midwest and lowest in

the South. At the bachelors degree

level or higher, the largest percent-

age was in the Northeast and the

smallest was in the South.

More than 90 percent o the

population completed high schoolor more in the ollowing states:

Alaska, Iowa, Montana, Minnesota,

New Hampshire, Vermont, and

Wyoming.16 This contrasts to

Mississippi and Texas, where

16 The percentage o the population whowere high school graduates or more in Utahwas 90.4 percent. However, this estimate wasalso statistically dierent than 90 percent.

80 percent o the population had

completed high school.

The highest concentration o col-

lege graduates was in the District

o Columbia, where 49 percent o

adults had a bachelors degree or

more education. In addition to the

District o Columbia, more than 1in 3 adults had at least a bachelors

degree in the ollowing states:

Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland,

Massachusetts, New Jersey, and

Virginia. In Arkansas, Mississippi,

and West Virginia, 1 in 5 adults or

ewer had a bachelors degree or

more education.

Nativity and Attainment byRegion and State

Table 2 also shows educationalattainment data across regions and

states by nativity status. Among

the oreign born, educational

attainment was highest in the

Northeast and lowest in the West.

The native-born population in every

region was more likely than the

oreign-born to have completed

high school or more education.

In the Northeastern and Western

regions, the native-born population

was more likely to have a bach-

elors or higher education than the

oreign-born population, while in

the Midwest, the oreign born were

more likely to have a bachelors or

higher degree. In the South, the

native born were more likely than

the oreign to hold a bachelors or

higher degree, but the dierence

was 0.3 percentage points.

High school attainment was higher

or the native born in nearly all

states.17

Conversely, oreign-bornresidents were more likely to have

less than a high school education.

In Texas and Nevada, the oreign

born made up hal or more o the

population aged 25 and over that

17 High school attainment was signicantlyhigher or the oreign born (87.3 percent)compared to the native born (82.7 percent) inWest Virginia.

had not completed high school. In

Caliornia, 70 percent o those

with less than high school were

oreign born.

College attainment was higher or

the native born in ewer than hal

o the states. States with higher

native-born than oreign-borncollege attainment were concen-

trated in the West, but this pattern

was also evident in states that are

traditional immigrant gateways

(including Illinois, Florida, and New

York).18 In 19 o the 50 states, the

proportion o oreign-born adults

with at least a bachelors degree

was larger than the proportion o

native-born adults who had com-

pleted college.

In some states, the oreign bornmade up a substantial share o

the population with bachelors

or higher degrees. In Caliornia,

the oreign-born population made

up 30 percent o the population

aged 25 and over with a bachelors

or higher degree. In New York,

they made up 24 percent o

this population.19

States with a large percentage o

native-born people with a bach-

elors or higher degree also tended

to have a large percentage o

oreign-born people with a bache-

lors or higher degree, although the

relationship was not very strong

(Figure 4). The simple correlation

between these percentages across

states was 0.2 (where 1.0 repre-

sents perect correlation and 0.0

represents no correlation at all).

18 For inormation on immigrantgateways, see the Census 2000 SpecialReport Migration o Natives and the ForeignBorn: 1995 to 2000 (CENSR-11), available onthe Census Bureaus Web site at.

19 See Table B06009, Place o Birth byEducational Attainment in the United States:2009, available on the Census Bureaus Website at .
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtmhttp://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtm


11/17


Table 2.

Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over by Region and State by

Nativity Status: 2009

Area

High school or more education2 Bachelors degree or more

Total Native born Foreign born Total Native born Foreign born

Percent

Margino error1

() Percent

Margino error1

() Percent

Margino error1

() Percent

Margino error1

() Percent

Margino error1

() Percent

Margino error1

()

United States 853 01 886 677 02 279 01 281 01 268 01

RegionNortheast 870 01 898 01 749 03 321 01 323 02 311 04

Midwest 881 01 896 01 709 05 265 01 261 01 307 04South 834 01 860 01 666 03 258 01 258 01 255 03

West 841 01 913 01 633 03 293 01 310 01 242 02

StateAlabama 821 04 827 04 675 28 220 04 217 04 298 19Alaska 914 06 926 07 799 36 266 13 270 14 222 34

Arizona 842 03 896 03 596 13 256 03 272 04 182 08Arkansas 824 05 840 05 516 33 189 05 190 05 158 23

Caliornia 806 02 908 01 628 03 299 02 328 02 248 03

Colorado 893 04 931 03 613 17 359 05 374 05 243 14

Connecticut 886 04 907 03 774 15 356 05 364 05 314 14Delaware 874 08 888 06 749 39 287 10 276 11 387 32

District o Columbia 871 10 889 09 767 35 485 12 485 13 481 34

Florida 853 02 885 02 749 06 253 02 257 02 237 05Georgia 839 03 858 03 701 13 275 03 273 04 291 11

Hawaii 904 05 933 05 806 14 296 08 308 09 255 16Idaho 884 05 912 05 553 32 239 06 246 07 157 22

Illinois 864 02 901 02 694 08 306 02 311 02 280 05

Indiana 866 03 876 03 684 19 225 03 222 04 287 16Iowa 905 03 917 03 644 26 251 05 250 05 271 24

Kansas 897 04 919 03 625 24 295 05 300 05 230 19

Kentucky 817 04 820 04 729 24 210 04 207 04 306 26Louisiana 822 04 826 04 729 28 214 04 212 04 262 26

Maine 902 05 906 05 797 29 269 08 269 09 279 37

Maryland 882 03 902 03 781 10 357 04 349 05 398 13

Massachusetts 890 03 919 02 755 09 382 04 392 04 340 11

Michigan 879 02 890 02 749 13 246 03 236 03 368 13

Minnesota 915 02 932 02 716 16 315 04 314 04 324 17Mississippi 804 05 808 05 660 44 196 05 194 05 263 37

Missouri 868 03 872 03 766 21 252 04 247 03 368 20

Montana 908 05 912 05 778 49 274 10 272 10 337 60Nebraska 898 04 926 04 515 34 274 06 279 06 198 26

Nevada 839 06 909 05 625 16 218 05 231 06 178 11

New Hampshire 913 05 919 05 822 34 320 08 316 08 373 32New Jersey 874 02 905 02 785 07 345 04 341 04 356 07

New Mexico 828 06 877 05 486 26 253 05 268 06 153 15

New York 847 02 892 02 726 04 324 02 340 03 282 05North Carolina 843 03 862 02 645 13 265 03 265 03 266 11

North Dakota 901 06 905 06 763 71 258 09 256 09 315 72

Ohio 876 02 880 02 804 13 241 02 234 03 386 14

Oklahoma 856 04 873 04 596 27 227 04 229 04 209 17

Oregon 891 04 922 03 646 17 292 05 297 05 252 14

Pennsylvania 879 02 886 02 783 09 264 02 257 02 358 12Rhode Island 847 08 885 07 647 30 305 10 327 11 186 21

South Carolina 836 04 843 04 707 19 243 04 242 04 269 20

South Dakota 899 06 905 06 704 53 251 10 251 10 244 53Tennessee 831 03 838 03 701 22 230 03 227 04 296 18

Texas 799 02 871 02 532 06 255 02 272 02 194 03Utah 904 04 935 03 642 23 285 06 295 07 198 17Vermont 910 07 913 07 828 34 331 10 330 11 336 59

Virginia 866 03 875 03 804 10 340 04 331 04 402 11

Washington 897 03 927 03 726 10 310 04 310 04 313 10West Virginia 828 05 827 05 873 38 173 05 167 05 538 53

Wisconsin 898 02 910 02 679 17 257 03 256 03 271 19Wyoming 918 07 928 06 680 79 238 11 241 11 148 52

Represents or rounds to zero1 A margin o error is a measure o an estimates variability The larger the margin o error in relation to the size o the estimate, the less reliable the estimate

When added to and subtracted rom the estimate, the margin o error orms the 90 percent confdence interval2 High school or more education reers to completing a high school diploma, GED or alternative credential, or higher degree

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009


12/17


THE VALUE OFEDUCATIONALATTAINMENT

One o the potential beneits o

educational attainment is eco-

nomic success, particularly through

access to higher earnings.20 Table

3 displays the median annual

earnings in 2009 by educational

attainment or workers aged 25

20 See the Current Population Report,The Big Payo: Educational Attainmentand Synthetic Estimates o Work-LieEarnings (P23-210), available on the CensusBureaus Web site at .

and over.21 Among all workers,

higher educational attainment was

generally associated with higher

earnings. The median earnings

ranged rom about $18,000 or

workers with less than a high

school degree, to over $60,000 or

those with an advanced degree.

Workers with a regular high schooldiploma earned about $27,000,

and those with a GED earned about

21 A worker is dened as a person who,during the preceding calendar year, did anywork or pay or prot or worked withoutpay on a amily-operated arm or business atany time during the year, on a part-time orull-time basis. A ull-time, year-round workeris a person who worked ull time (35 or morehours per week) and 50 or more weeks dur-ing the previous calendar year.

$23,000. Those with a bachelors

degree earned about $48,000.

Median earnings or a worker with

a bachelors degree were 77 per-

cent higher than median earnings

or a worker with a regular high

school diploma, and median earn-

ings or an advanced degree were

31 percent higher than earnings ora bachelors degree.22

22 These ratios were calculated by dividingthe rst median by the second median. Forinstance, median earnings or all workerswere $47,510 or a bachelors degree and$26,776 or a regular high school diploma.$47,510 divided by $26,776 equals 1.77.Thereore, median earnings or a worker witha bachelors degree were 77 percent higherthan median earnings or a worker with ahigh school degree alone.

WV

OH DE

MI

ME

MOPA

VA MD

DC

MT

NHNJ

VTMN

WA

GA

NCIAWISCLAMS

ALTNIN

ND

SD

KY

OK

AR

NV

AKFL

NE UT

AZ

ORHI

CT

MA

CO

RI

IL NY

NMWYID

TX

CAKS

Figure 4.

Percentage of the Population 25 Years and Over with a Bachelor's Degreeor Higher by State and Nativity Status: 2009

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009.

(In percent)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Percentageofforeignbornwithabachelorsdegreeorhigher

Percentage of native born with a bachelors degree or higher
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf


13/17


Dierences in earnings by race and

Hispanic origin were evident within

each o the educational attainment

categories, but the pattern was

not always the same. Non-Hispanic

White workers had the highestmedian earnings among those with

a regular high school diploma.

Among those with a bachelors or

advanced degree, Asian workers

had the highest median earnings.

Black workers had the lowest

median earnings among those who

did not complete high school, while

Hispanic workers had the lowest

median earnings o those with a

bachelors or advanced degree.

Working ull-time was associated

with about $6,000 higher earn-

ings or those who had completed

less than high school to $12,000

more or those who held advanced

degrees. Median earnings were

about $33,000 or those with a

high school diploma who were

ull-time workers versus $27,000

or all workers with a high school

diploma. The dierence in median

earnings between ull-time workers

and all workers was even greater

or GED recipients. Full-time work-

ers whose educational attainment

was a GED earned $31,000 com-pared to $23,000 or all workers

whose educational attainment

was a GED. This meant that part

o the reason or lower earnings

Table 3.

Median Earnings for Workers 25 Years and Over by Educational Attainment, Work Status,

Age, Sex, and Race and Hispanic Origin: 2009

Characteristic

TotalNot a high

school

graduate

Regular highschool

diploma

GED oralternative

credential

Some collegeor associates

degree

Bachelors

degree

Advanced

degree

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

Earn-

ings

(dollars)

Margin

o error1

()

All workers 33,071 70 18,432 72 26,776 78 22,534 162 31,906 72 47,510 115 62,313 179

Age

25 to 34 years 28,645 76 16,284 167 23,127 156 18,836 280 27,171 125 39,886 152 49,393 223

35 to 44 years 36,383 116 19,265 121 28,195 133 23,716 326 34,695 186 52,012 223 69,050 353

45 to 64 years 37,297 87 20,207 155 29,392 93 25,617 251 36,376 115 52,135 163 70,455 258

65 years and over 17,345 181 12,382 181 14,077 185 13,787 482 16,922 305 23,427 521 34,609 992

Sex

Male 39,186 71 21,629 137 32,000 121 26,906 304 39,125 98 57,714 163 78,582 250

Female 27,836 52 13,943 88 21,307 92 18,232 184 26,937 87 39,263 111 52,150 175

Race and Hispanic Origin

White alone 34,949 76 18,974 99 27,941 76 23,171 207 32,966 99 48,185 100 62,454 195

Non-Hispanic White alone 36,813 77 20,040 156 28,644 79 23,205 206 33,458 99 48,585 102 62,897 238

Black alone 28,101 113 16,019 263 23,582 175 18,684 392 28,679 153 41,329 368 55,950 1,027

Asian alone 38,963 257 18,748 279 23,640 287 24,668 1,285 31,442 420 49,110 325 72,159 681

Hispanic (o any race) 23,689 118 18,046 111 22,734 149 22,786 478 29,270 180 39,867 341 53,695 1,024

Full-time, year-roundworkers 42,242 63 24,520 99 33,213 95 30,915 192 39,867 71 56,472 181 74,248 242

Age

25 to 34 years 36,352 115 22,050 214 28,687 140 27,898 337 33,238 158 45,997 253 56,285 465

35 to 44 years 44,441 135 24,785 167 34,013 199 31,513 413 41,239 138 61,748 272 78,622 406

45 to 64 years 46,747 124 26,243 180 35,950 154 32,934 330 44,041 132 63,261 265 82,097 336

65 years and over 38,380 354 24,166 434 30,296 455 27,983 925 37,962 511 52,698 1,232 77,356 1,572

Sex

Male 48,156 73 27,465 161 38,379 110 35,492 326 46,456 155 64,919 234 89,431 323

Female 37,183 82 20,037 123 28,157 81 25,767 239 34,418 109 48,220 118 61,532 199

Race and Hispanic Origin

White alone 44,450 92 25,602 163 34,870 111 31,501 199 41,261 93 58,149 134 75,273 327

Non-Hispanic White alone 46,808 102 29,203 175 36,036 124 31,779 220 41,855 98 58,779 138 75,982 349

Black alone 35,178 190 23,334 282 28,956 192 27,303 644 34,761 235 47,155 556 61,791 730

Asian alone 49,159 245 23,591 411 28,542 359 32,604 1,885 38,653 431 58,210 427 82,653 917

Hispanic (o any race) 30,093 147 22,479 144 27,881 167 29,518 419 35,624 271 46,774 553 62,018 1,079

1 A margin o error is a measure o an estimates variability The larger the margin o error in relation to the size o the estimate, the less reliable the estimateWhen added to and subtracted rom the estimate, the margin o error orms the 90 percent confdence interval

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2009


14/17


among workers with a GED is that

they were less likely to be working

ull-time.23

Sex and Median Earnings byEducation

Among all workers, women earned

less than men (about $28,000 and

$39,000, respectively). This was

also true at each level o educa-

tional attainment (Table 3). Women

with a high school diploma earned

about $21,000 a year. This was less

than men without a high school

diploma or GED, who earned about

23 For more inormation, see DavidBoesel, Nabeel Alslam, and Thomas Smith,Educational and Labor Market Perormanceo GED Recipients, 1998, Washington, DC,National Library o Education.

$22,000. At the high end o edu-

cational attainment, women with

an advanced degree earned about

$52,000 a year, which was less

than the $58,000 that men with a

bachelors degree earned.

Working ull-time, year-round

was associated with higher earn-

ings or both men and women,

but there was still an $11,000

gender dierence in annual median

earnings (about $48,000 or men

and $37,000 or women). Womenwho worked ull-time, year-round

earned less than men in the all-

worker population and earned

less than ull-time, year-round

male workers at each educational

attainment level.

The emale-to-male earnings ratio

in the total worker population was

0.71, while the ratio or ull-time,

year-round workers was 0.77. In

other words, women earned 71 per-

cent o what men earned overall,

and earned 77 percent o what men

earned when working ull-time,

year-round. At the bachelors level

and below, women who worked

ull-time earned 73 to 74 percent

o what men earned at the same

level o education. The earnings o

women who worked ull-time with

advanced degrees were 69 percent

o mens earnings.

Figure 5.

Unemployment Rate by Educational Attainment: 20082010

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2008, 2009, 2010.

Percent

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

AdBachelors DegreeSome CollegeHS Grad/GEDLess than HS/GED

Dec2010

Nov2010

Oct2010

Sep2010

Aug2010

Jul2010

Jun2010

May2010

Apr2010

Mar2010

Feb2010

Jan2010

Dec2009

Nov2009

Oct2009

Sep2009

Aug2009

Jul2009

Jun2009

May2009

Apr2009

Mar2009

Feb2009

Jan2009

Dec2008

Nov2008

Oct2008

Sep2008

Aug2008

Jul2008

Jun2008

May2008

Apr2008

Mar2008

Feb2008

Jan2008

Less than high school/GED

High school grad/GED

Some collegeBachelors degree

Advanced degree


15/17


Unemployment Rates byEducational Attainment

While the Bureau o Labor Statistics

is the oicial source o data about

unemployment, this report pro-

vides a brie discussion o unem-

ployment by educational attain-

ment. Figure 5 shows monthlyunemployment rates

by educational attainment rom

January 2008 to December 2010

using CPS data.24 People with the

highest educational attainment

were the least likely to be unem-

ployed in any given month dur-

ing this 3-year period.25 In August

2010, the unemployment rate or

people with less than a high school

diploma or GED was 13.3 percent,

while the unemployment rate or

people with an advanced degree

was 4.1 percent. The respective

rates or these two groups in March

2008 were 9.5 percent and 1.5 per-

cent. High school graduates were

more likely to be unemployed than

bachelors degree holders within

each month o this period.

Although the unemployment rate

or people o all education levels

increased over the 3-year period,

the amount o change diered. Inboth January 2008 and September

24 Although ACS does collect inormationon employment status, CPS is the primarysource o inormation on labor orce charac-teristics o the U.S. population. The Bureauo Labor Statistics (BLS) produces the ofcialstatistics about unemployment. For moreinormation, see the monthly release oreports about unemployment by educationalattainment in the link or the EmploymentSituation located on the BLS Web site at. See alsothe release College Enrollment and WorkActivity o 2010 High School Graduates avail-able on the BLS Web site at or Table A-4:

Employment Status o the Civilian Population25 Years and Over by Educational Attainmentat .

25 In the 4 months o May, June, October,and November 2008, the unemployment rateor people with a bachelors degree was notsignicantly dierent rom the unemploymentrate or people with an advanced degree.

2008, the unemployment rate or

those who had completed less than

high school was 9.0 percent. In the

period spanning these months, the

unemployment rate or people with

advanced degrees was much less

and remained under 3.2 percent.

By January 2009, the unemploy-

ment rate or people with less than

high school shited then upward

to 14.4 percent and eventually

reached a peak o 17.9 percent

in February 2010.26 At the end o

2010, this unemployment rate had

allen slightly to 15.7 percent, but

was still higher than the rate or

people with greater educational

attainment.27 From January 2009

to December 2010, the unemploy-

ment remained below 5 percent or

those with advanced degrees.

Relative to their unemployment

levels in the irst month o 2008,

unemployment rates or people

with less than a high school

diploma or GED, and people with

an advanced degree had shited up

by actors o 1.9 and 1.7 at the end

o 2010, respectively. These actors

are not signiicantly dierent rom

each other and suggest that both

groups were aected in similar

ways by economic conditions. How-

ever, i these changes are examined

in terms o the likelihood o being

unemployed in the same period o

January 2008 and December 2010,

the groups with the lower educa-

tional attainment were more heav-

ily impacted. The unemployment

rate grew 6.7 percent or those

who had completed less than high

school (rom 9.0 to 15.7 percent)

26 This February 2010 unemployment ratewas not signicantly dierent rom the rate in

January 2010 or people with less than a highschool degree.

27 This December 2010 unemploymentrate was not signicantly dierent rom therate in January 2009 or people with less thana high school degree.

but only 1.6 percent or those with

advanced degrees (rom 1.8 to 3.4).

SOURCES OF THE DATA

Most estimates in this report

are rom the 2009 American

Community Survey (ACS) and the

20052009 ACS 5-Year estimates.Some estimates are based on data

obtained by the Annual Social and

Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the

Current Population Survey (CPS)

and the decennial census. Unem-

ployment data are rom monthly

Current Population Survey iles.

The population represented (the

population universe) in the 2009

ACS includes both the household

and the group quarters populations

(that is, the resident population).The group quarters population

consists o the institutionalized

population (such as people in cor-

rectional institutions or nursing

homes) and the noninstitutional-

ized population (most o whom are

in college dormitories).


population universe) in the ASEC

to the CPS is the civilian noninsti-

tutionalized population living in

the United States. The institutional-

ized population, which is excluded

rom the population universe, is

composed primarily o the popula-

tion in correctional institutions and

nursing homes (91 percent o the

4.1 million institutionalized people

in Census 2000).


population universe) in the CPS is

the civilian noninstitutionalized

population living in the UnitedStates. The CPS is a monthly survey

o households conducted by the

Census Bureau or the Bureau o

Labor Statistics.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t04.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htmhttp://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm


16/17


ACCURACY OF THEESTIMATES

Statistics rom sample surveys

are subject to sampling error and

nonsampling error. All comparisons

presented in this report have taken

sampling error into account and

are signiicant at the 90 percentconidence level. This means the

90 percent conidence interval or

the dierence between estimates

being compared does not include

zero. Nonsampling error in surveys

may be attributed to a variety o

sources, such as how the survey

was designed, how respondents

interpret questions, how able and

willing respondents are to provide

correct answers, and how accu-

rately answers are coded and clas-

siied. To minimize these errors,

the Census Bureau employs qual-

ity control procedures in sample

selection, the wording o questions,

interviewing, coding, data process-

ing, and data analysis.

The inal ACS population estimates

are adjusted in the weighting

procedure or coverage error by

controlling speciic survey esti-

mates to independent population

controls by sex, age, race, andHispanic origin. This weighting

partially corrects or bias due to

over- or under-coverage, but biases

may still be present, or example,

when people who were missed

dier rom those interviewed in

ways other than sex, age, race, and

Hispanic origin. How this weighting

procedure aects other variables in

the survey is not precisely known.

All o these considerations aect

comparisons across dierent sur-

veys or data sources. For inorma-

tion on sampling and estimation

methods, conidentiality protection,

and sampling and nonsampling

errors, please see the 2009 ACS

Accuracy o the Data document

located at

and the Multiyear Accuracy o

the Data document or the

20052009 multiyear data

located at .

The CPS weighting procedure uses

ratio estimation whereby sample

estimates are adjusted to inde-

pendent estimates o the national

population by age, sex, race, and

Hispanic origin. This weighting

partially corrects or bias due to

undercoverage, but biases may still

be present when people who are

missed by the survey dier rom

those interviewed in ways other

than age, sex, race, and Hispanic

origin. How this weighting proce-

dure aects other variables in the

survey is not precisely known. All

o these considerations aect com-

parisons across dierent surveys

or data sources. Further inorma-

tion on the source o the data and

accuracy o the estimates or the

2008, 2009, and 2010 CPS, includ-

ing standard errors and conidence

intervals, can be ound at

,

, and

, respectively

or by contacting the Demographic

Statistical Methods Division via

e-mail at .

MORE INFORMATION

Detailed tabulations, related

inormation, and historic data

are available on the Internet at

the Educational Attainment page

on the Census Bureaus Web site at

.

For additional questions or

comments, contact CamilleL. Ryan or Julie Siebens at

301-763-2464 or via e-mail at

or

.
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar08.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar08.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar09.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar09.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar10.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar10.pdfmailto:[email protected]://[email protected]/http://[email protected]/mailto:[email protected]://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar10.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar10.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar09.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar09.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar08.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar08.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdfhttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/ACS_Accuracy_of_Data_2009.pdf


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