This week’s graphs consider the highest level of education attained by those aged 25 years and older, at the national, state, county and city levels, based on the 2006-2010 five-year estimate data from the American Community Survey.
More than half (56.0%) of the nation’s population, 25 years and older, had at least some college education. Slightly more than a quarter of the 25 and older population (27.9%) had a bachelor’s or graduate degree. The majority of those 25 and older had at least graduated high school or obtained an equivalent certificate (85.0%).
When breaking educational attainment down by gender, the data shows the percentage of males and females with a bachelor’s degree were almost equal (17.7% for males versus 17.5% for females). The percent of males who had a graduate degree was slightly higher than the percent of females (10.9% versus 9.8%).
Of Michigan residents aged 25 and older, 88.1 percent had at least graduated from high school or received an equivalency certificate. As in the nation, more than half (56.6%) of the state’s population had at least some college education. About a quarter of the 25 and older population (25.1%) had a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Similar to national rates, Michigan’s educational attainment percentages for females and males were very close
Of Detroiters aged 25 and older, 76.8 percent had at least graduated from high school or received an equivalency certificate, while nearly a quarter (23.2%) had less than a high school education (25.5% of males and 21.3% of females). Less than half (42.8%) had at least some college education. More than one-tenth of the 25 and older population (11.8%) had a bachelor’s or graduate degree.
Of the geographic four levels, the state had the highest percentage of residents aged 25 and older who had at least graduated from high school or received an equivalency certificate (88.1% in Michigan, compared to 85.0% in the U.S., 83.2% in Wayne, and 76.8% in Detroit). The percentage of people who had at least an associate’s degree was lower when examining the data at the more local levels: Detroit had a lower percentage of residents with undergraduate or graduate degrees (18.1%) than Wayne County (27.1%), Michigan (33.2%), and the United States (35.4%). Additionally at the local levels, there were higher percentages of people who had taken college classes, but not completed a degree.
To learn more about factors that contribute to educational attainment and to see further breakdowns of education data at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels check back with Drawing Detroit for future posts.