Four-Year Degree by Income

Definition

Ratio of the percent of the population in the top household income quintile to the population in the bottom household income quintile 25 years old and over with at least a 4-year degree, 2011.

Calculated by dividing the higher value by the lower value, i.e., the college attainment rate of the top income quintile by the bottom income quintile. Income quintiles are calculated at the state level, and the income thresholds used to define quintiles can be found here.

A ratio of 1 indicates perfect equality; the higher the ratio, the greater the inequality. For example, the college attainment rate of people in the top income quintile in Kentucky is 7.5 times higher than for people in the bottom income quintile.

Description

Individuals with a four-year degree are more likely to experience income and asset growth over the course of their lifetimes than persons who do not have college degrees. This is a self-perpetuating cycle as persons from low-income families are also less-likely to finish college than their wealthier counterparts.

This measure describes the disparity in college attainment between higher and lower-income populations. In every state, populations in the bottom fifth of the income distribution have much lower rates of college attainment than populations in the upper fifth of the income distribution. For example, in Alabama, four-year degrees are 6.6 times more prevalent among the highest income households than among the lowest-income households (43.3% and 6.6%, respectively).

toggle page width

Four-Year Degree by Income

State	Percent with At Least 4-Year Degree, Top Quintile (%)	Percent with At Least 4-Year Degree, Bottom Quintile (%)	Ratio	Rank
United States	50.2%	11.0%	4.57
Alabama	43.3%	6.6%	6.57	50
Alaska	36.6%	9.4%	3.89	19
Arizona	44.6%	12.3%	3.62	13
Arkansas	39.4%	6.6%	5.97	46
California	52.4%	14.4%	3.63	14
Colorado	57.8%	17.4%	3.33	6
Connecticut	59.6%	13.5%	4.43	26
Delaware	48.3%	9.9%	4.87	32
District of Columbia	78.5%	14.4%	5.45	40
Florida	44.3%	11.5%	3.85	18
Georgia	50.1%	10.4%	4.82	31
Hawaii	39.6%	16.8%	2.36	1
Idaho	41.7%	11.7%	3.58	12
Illinois	53.8%	12.7%	4.24	24
Indiana	42.7%	7.5%	5.67	44
Iowa	42.7%	9.3%	4.61	28
Kansas	51.1%	12.3%	4.15	22
Kentucky	40.1%	5.3%	7.53	51
Louisiana	36.3%	7.1%	5.14	35
Maine	50.3%	14.9%	3.38	8
Maryland	58.2%	15.1%	3.85	16
Massachusetts	62.9%	16.5%	3.82	15
Michigan	47.4%	9.7%	4.88	33
Minnesota	54.1%	13.0%	4.17	23
Mississippi	37.0%	5.7%	6.49	49
Missouri	46.8%	9.6%	4.88	34
Montana	44.1%	13.1%	3.37	7
Nebraska	46.4%	12.1%	3.85	17
Nevada	38.6%	12.6%	3.07	4
New Hampshire	53.4%	13.6%	3.92	20
New Jersey	59.3%	13.1%	4.53	27
New Mexico	44.7%	10.2%	4.39	25
New York	55.5%	13.8%	4.03	21
North Carolina	49.7%	8.7%	5.72	45
North Dakota	37.9%	12.1%	3.13	5
Ohio	46.3%	8.3%	5.56	42
Oklahoma	41.9%	8.9%	4.74	30
Oregon	49.3%	14.3%	3.46	10
Pennsylvania	48.8%	9.1%	5.39	39
Rhode Island	51.1%	9.5%	5.37	38
South Carolina	43.7%	7.9%	5.54	41
South Dakota	42.6%	6.6%	6.46	48
Tennessee	44.8%	7.2%	6.25	47
Texas	48.4%	9.1%	5.33	37
Utah	45.1%	14.8%	3.05	3
Vermont	53.8%	15.6%	3.45	9
Virginia	61.2%	11.7%	5.22	36
Washington	51.6%	14.5%	3.55	11
West Virginia	36.4%	6.5%	5.62	43
Wisconsin	47.2%	10.1%	4.65	29
Wyoming	35.7%	14.0%	2.54	2

Source

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