The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data from the American Community Survey (ACS) showing a notable rise in educational attainment among adults aged 25 and over in metropolitan statistical areas. The percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree increased from 34.2% during 2015-2019 to 37.8% in the 2020-2024 period.
“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 Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina metro area saw one of the largest increases, with educational attainment rising from 45.3% to 53.4%. In contrast, Springfield, Massachusetts was the only metro area where educational attainment declined, dropping from 32.8% to 29.3%.
Micropolitan statistical areas also saw changes: about half reported gains in educational attainment for those aged 25 and over. The Taos, New Mexico micro area recorded one of the largest increases, up nearly ten percentage points to reach 38.5%.
Field-specific trends were also observed among college graduates aged 25 and older:
– In education degrees, Gadsden, Alabama had one of the highest increases while Elizabethtown, Kentucky had one of the largest decreases.
– For science and engineering degrees, Enid, Oklahoma posted a significant gain; Carson City, Nevada experienced a decline.
– In arts and humanities fields, Carson City showed growth while Enid saw a decrease.
The ACS remains an important source for local statistics on more than forty topics nationwide. The latest release enables comparison across four distinct five-year periods since its inception—helpful for tracking trends in smaller communities.
Additional findings from this ACS release include:
– The U.S. median household income reached $80,734 for the period between 2020 and 2024.
– Adjusted for inflation to current dollars, national median household income rose by about four percent compared to five years earlier.
– Most counties did not see statistically significant changes in median income; however, some counties experienced either increases or decreases.
– Over seventy percent of counties had median incomes below the national figure.
Poverty rates have shifted as well:
– Nationally, poverty fell from 13.4% during 2015–2019 to 12.5% during this most recent period.
– More than six hundred counties saw reductions in poverty rates; nearly two hundred saw increases.
– For children under eighteen and seniors sixty-five and older, many counties experienced significant changes—most often decreases for children but increases for seniors.
Broadband internet access expanded across all metropolitan areas included in both survey periods; Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas led with an increase from just under sixty percent to more than eighty-four percent of households subscribing by broadband.
Other demographic shifts include an increase in English-only speakers at home in Las Cruces, New Mexico and a decrease in Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida where Spanish is now spoken at home by nearly one-quarter of residents.
Major cities such as New York City added hundreds of thousands of households since ACS tracking began; Los Angeles and Chicago also grew substantially during this time frame.
There was also an uptick in never-married adults among large urban populations—Houston’s share climbed notably for both men and women since earlier survey periods.
The Census Bureau will make additional ACS Public Use Microdata Sample files available on March 5th next year; full statistics are accessible through their official data portal as well as other resources provided by the agency.
