Four-Year Degree by Gender

Definition

Ratio of the percent of male population to the percent of female population 25 years old and over with at least a four-year degree, 2011.

The ratio iscalculated by dividing the higher value by the lower value, i.e., the percent of women with 4 year degrees divided by men with 4 year degrees in 26 states and men divided by women in the remaining 25 states in which men have higher rates of college attainment.

A ratio of 1 indicates perfect equality; the higher the ratio, the greater the inequality. For example, the college attainment rate of men in Utah is 1.21 times higher than for women.

States are not ranked on this measure because there is too little variation in the data for the states to provide meaningful rankings. For more information on our ranking methodology, see here.

Description

Those with a college degree earn significantly more and accumulate more wealth over time than those with just a high school diploma. Research shows the educational gender gap has narrowed and reversed in the most recent years. This measure describes the disparity in college attainment between the male and female population. At the state level, the gap in college attainment between women and men is relatively small, and women have college degrees at a higher rate than men in 26 states. The largest gap between men and women is in Alaska, where women have college degrees at a rate 1.21 or 21% higher than men.

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Four-Year Degree by Gender

State	Percent with At Least 4-Year Degree, Male (%)	Percent With At Least 4-Year Degree, Female (%)	Ratio
United States	28.7%	28.3%	1.01
Alabama	22.2%	22.3%	1.00
Alaska	23.9%	28.9%	1.21
Arizona	27.7%	25.5%	1.08
Arkansas	20.4%	20.2%	1.01
California	30.6%	30.0%	1.02
Colorado	37.2%	36.2%	1.03
Connecticut	36.6%	35.8%	1.02
Delaware	29.4%	28.4%	1.04
District of Columbia	53.2%	51.9%	1.02
Florida	26.7%	25.1%	1.06
Georgia	27.6%	27.6%	1.00
Hawaii	28.1%	30.1%	1.07
Idaho	26.7%	23.8%	1.12
Illinois	31.0%	31.0%	1.00
Indiana	23.3%	22.8%	1.02
Iowa	25.3%	26.3%	1.04
Kansas	29.9%	30.4%	1.02
Kentucky	20.7%	21.4%	1.03
Louisiana	20.3%	21.9%	1.08
Maine	27.4%	29.3%	1.07
Maryland	36.8%	36.9%	1.00
Massachusetts	39.8%	38.6%	1.03
Michigan	25.8%	25.4%	1.02
Minnesota	32.0%	32.7%	1.02
Mississippi	18.8%	20.8%	1.10
Missouri	26.4%	25.8%	1.02
Montana	28.2%	28.2%	1.00
Nebraska	27.6%	28.2%	1.02
Nevada	22.1%	22.8%	1.03
New Hampshire	32.9%	33.9%	1.03
New Jersey	36.5%	34.2%	1.07
New Mexico	25.6%	25.5%	1.01
New York	32.6%	33.2%	1.02
North Carolina	26.5%	27.3%	1.03
North Dakota	24.5%	28.1%	1.14
Ohio	25.3%	24.1%	1.05
Oklahoma	23.7%	23.9%	1.01
Oregon	29.7%	29.0%	1.02
Pennsylvania	27.3%	26.7%	1.02
Rhode Island	32.4%	30.0%	1.08
South Carolina	24.1%	24.0%	1.01
South Dakota	25.1%	27.6%	1.10
Tennessee	23.4%	23.8%	1.02
Texas	26.9%	26.0%	1.04
Utah	32.5%	27.0%	1.21
Vermont	32.3%	38.3%	1.19
Virginia	35.8%	34.5%	1.04
Washington	33.0%	30.8%	1.07
West Virginia	18.4%	18.6%	1.01
Wisconsin	25.8%	27.1%	1.05
Wyoming	23.8%	25.7%	1.08

Source

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