Four-Year College Degree

Definition

Percentage of population 25 years old and over who have at least a 4-year degree, 2011.

Description

In today’s economy, knowledge is itself a traded commodity, and those with a college degree earn significantly more and accumulate more wealth over time than those with just a high school diploma. Data from the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances indicate that, in families where the head of household has a college degree, the net worth of the family is more than three times that—at the median—of families whose head of household has only high school diploma 

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Four-Year College Degree

State	Adults with At Least 4-Year Degree (%)	Rank
United States	28.5%
Alabama	22.3%	46
Alaska	26.4%	30
Arizona	26.6%	27
Arkansas	20.3%	49
California	30.3%	15
Colorado	36.7%	4
Connecticut	36.2%	5
Delaware	28.8%	20
District of Columbia	52.5%	1
Florida	25.8%	34
Georgia	27.6%	24
Hawaii	29.1%	19
Idaho	25.2%	38
Illinois	31.0%	14
Indiana	23.0%	44
Iowa	25.8%	35
Kansas	30.1%	16
Kentucky	21.1%	48
Louisiana	21.1%	47
Maine	28.4%	21
Maryland	36.9%	3
Massachusetts	39.1%	2
Michigan	25.6%	36
Minnesota	32.4%	11
Mississippi	19.8%	50
Missouri	26.1%	33
Montana	28.2%	22
Nebraska	27.9%	23
Nevada	22.5%	45
New Hampshire	33.4%	9
New Jersey	35.3%	7
New Mexico	25.6%	37
New York	32.9%	10
North Carolina	26.9%	26
North Dakota	26.3%	32
Ohio	24.7%	40
Oklahoma	23.8%	42
Oregon	29.3%	18
Pennsylvania	27.0%	25
Rhode Island	31.1%	13
South Carolina	24.1%	41
South Dakota	26.3%	31
Tennessee	23.6%	43
Texas	26.4%	29
Utah	29.7%	17
Vermont	35.4%	6
Virginia	35.1%	8
Washington	31.9%	12
West Virginia	18.5%	51
Wisconsin	26.5%	28
Wyoming	24.7%	39

Source

2011 American Community Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2012.