The U.S. Census Bureau released new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates showing notable increases in educational attainment across metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas from 2015-2019 to 2020-2024.
“Over the last five years, we’ve noticed a significant increase in the percentage of adults completing higher education,” said Erik Hernandez, a Census Bureau statistician. “Approximately 89% of metro areas experienced an increase in the percentage of population 25 years and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher when compared to the 2015-2019 period.”
The data indicate that in metropolitan areas, the share of adults aged 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree rose from 34.2% to 37.8%. Among these regions, Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, saw one of the largest gains, increasing from 45.3% to 53.4%. In contrast, Springfield, Massachusetts was the only metro area reporting a decline in this measure.
Micropolitan areas also saw progress; about half experienced an increase in educational attainment among adults aged 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Taos, New Mexico micro area had one of the most substantial increases.
Examining specific fields among college graduates revealed further changes by region. The Gadsden, Alabama metro area reported one of the largest rises for those with degrees in education fields. For science and engineering graduates age 25 and over, Enid, Oklahoma showed significant growth while Carson City, Nevada experienced a decrease. In arts and humanities degrees among college graduates age 25 and over, Carson City had an increase while Enid saw a drop.
Other findings from the ACS include trends related to income and poverty rates nationwide. The median household income for the United States during this period was $80,734 (adjusted for inflation), representing a modest rise since the previous five-year period; however, most counties did not see statistically significant changes in their median incomes.
Poverty rates declined nationally from 13.4% to 12.5%. While some counties saw decreases in poverty rates overall as well as among people under age 18, many counties recorded increased poverty among those aged 65 or older.
Household technology access also improved according to ACS data: all metropolitan areas included in both time periods saw more households subscribing to broadband internet services between these two periods except for two micropolitan areas that reported declines.
Language use at home shifted slightly as well; some regions noted increases or decreases in English-only speakers at home alongside rising shares speaking other languages such as Spanish.
Population growth continued among major cities like New York City and Los Angeles with marked increases in total households since earlier survey periods. The proportion of never-married adults has also risen notably since previous years.
The ACS remains one of few sources providing local-level demographic information on topics including education levels and economic conditions across communities nationwide.
Further details on methodology note that all comparisons were tested for statistical significance at a confidence level of at least ninety percent.
