Educational attainment in the United States

The educational attainment of the U.S. population refers to the highest level of schooling a person has finished. In the United States, most people have completed secondary education, and more and more people are graduating from college than those who leave school early. Overall, Americans are spending more years in school than before.

Information about how much schooling people in the United States have had has been collected every ten years since 1940. Reports show these education levels broken down by age, sex, race, and where people come from. The details can also be seen for different parts of the country and individual states.

People with the most education in the United States also tend to have the highest incomes and wealth. This connection shows how important education can be for a person’s future.

General attainment of degrees/diplomas

In 2018, about 90 percent of adults aged 25 or older had finished high school or earned a GED. Over 35 percent of adults had earned at least a bachelor's degree. These numbers are the highest ever recorded. In 2003, the percentage of adults who had finished high school or earned a GED rose to 84 percent for the first time since 2000, showing a steady increase since 1947.

Since 1983, the share of people who either finished high school or earned a GED has grown from 85 percent to 90 percent. The biggest jumps in education levels happened in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Back then, about half of adults had finished high school. Today, about 90 percent of adults aged 25 to 30 have either finished high school or earned a GED.

Gender

Over the past fifty years, the way boys and girls do in school in the United States has changed a lot. In the 1970s and 1980s, girls often did worse than boys, especially in math and science.

In more recent years, girls have tended to get better grades in school and are more likely to finish college. However, boys often do better on standardized tests and are more likely to go into jobs that pay well, like those in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Getting more education helps both boys and girls find jobs, but it seems to help girls a bit more. Many girls choose not to pursue more education because they expect to take on caregiving roles at home instead of focusing on careers.

Girls have also consistently done better than boys in reading and writing. This difference starts small in elementary school but grows as students get older. For example, by the time students reach 12th grade, girls are often far ahead of boys in these subjects.

Overall, more girls than boys finish high school and go on to earn college degrees. In recent years, women have earned most associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. However, more men earn professional and doctoral degrees.

The increase in education levels has been a bit larger for some groups than others. For example, African American and white communities have seen some growth, but marginalized communities still face challenges in accessing higher education.

Ethnicity and race

Further information: Racial achievement gap in the United States

During the 1990s, education levels went up for all racial groups in the United States, but differences still existed, especially for those with a bachelor's degree or higher. Hispanics and Latinos had the lowest high school graduation rates, with less than 80% of them finishing high school. This may be because many Hispanic immigrants came to the U.S. without finishing school in their home countries.

In general, Asian Americans had the highest education levels, with about half having a college degree. Non-Hispanic whites followed, then non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics or Latinos had the lowest rates. At the high school level, most groups had high graduation rates except for Hispanics or Latinos, where only about half finished high school.

Immigrants

Some groups, like Asians, Europeans, and Africans, who were born outside the U.S., often have higher education levels than those born in the U.S. For example, African immigrants have more college degrees than many other groups. However, this is not true for Hispanics. Many Hispanic immigrants did not finish high school, which lowers the overall education level for this group. Even though fewer Hispanic immigrants finish high school, those born in the U.S. often have higher education levels than immigrants.

Income

People who have more education usually earn more money in the United States. For example, someone with just a high school diploma might earn around $30,000 a year, while someone with a bachelor's degree could earn over $50,000. Those with advanced degrees often earn even more.

Income also changes over time based on education level. Since 1991, people with bachelor's degrees or higher have seen their incomes go up, but those with less education have seen their incomes go down. Different racial and ethnic groups also have different income levels, even with the same education. For example, European Americans often earn more than other groups at each education level.

Occupation

Jobs that need skilled workers are growing, which means more people with good education can find work. However, people with less education may find it harder to get good jobs. They often earn less money and may lose their jobs more easily. In the future, many of these jobs might be replaced by machines.

Different jobs need different levels of education. Jobs like professional/managerial usually need a college degree. Most people in these jobs finished high school, many went to college, and many have a bachelor's degree or higher. Other jobs, like agriculture, construction, manufacturing, often need less education. Many workers in these blue collar jobs did not finish high school or go to college.

Overall, jobs that need the least education are in agriculture. Many workers here did not finish high school or go to college. While professional jobs are the largest group, jobs with less education make up a bigger part of the workforce.

Religion

The Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study showed that education levels differ a lot among various religious groups.

Being part of a religious group often links with certain demographics and places, so it’s not the only reason for these education differences. Some studies have found that Jewish people usually have the highest education levels, while Catholics and mainline Protestants are in the middle, and fundamentalist groups tend to have lower education levels. Researchers also noted that education levels for religious groups can change over time. For example, Christian men from older generations had lower education levels, but this improved in later generations for most groups. However, some Christian groups with very strict beliefs still have lower education levels today.

Geography

The education levels of people aged 25 and older change a little depending on where they live in the United States. The Northeastern United States, with the smallest population of about thirty-six million, has the most people who finished high school and college. The western United States has the most people who started college or earned a two-year degree, and it ranks second for college graduates. The South, with the largest population of about sixty-six million, has the lowest education levels at every stage.

The Midwest has the highest percentage of high school graduates. It also has the second-highest percentage of people who started college or earned a two-year degree, and the third-highest percentage of people with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Social class and education

Educational attainment is one of the main ways people measure social class in the United States. Having a high level of education is important not just because it shows status, but because it helps people get good jobs and earn more money. Finishing a graduate degree, which usually takes about seven to eight years after high school, is often needed to join what is called the "professional middle class."

Education is a big key to joining the American middle class and living a more comfortable life. People with higher education usually earn more than those without it. However, even those with advanced education can sometimes face job losses, especially when companies cut back or replace full-time workers with part-time ones. This has been seen in colleges and universities, where many faculty members now work part-time or on short-term contracts.

Educational attainment in social theory

Bourdieu and cultural capital

Many scholars look at education in the United States as a way that society keeps certain groups in higher or lower positions. In 1977, Pierre Bourdieu shared the idea that schools often reward students who come from wealthier families. These students have what is called "cultural capital," meaning they know the ways of thinking and behaving that schools value.

When people from wealthier families finish their education, they often find jobs that pay well and give them power. Others who do not finish school or do not have the same skills often end up in jobs that do not pay as much.

Lareau and concerted cultivation

Annette Lareau studied why some children get more help and support for school than others. She called this help "concerted cultivation." This means that parents who have more money and time often plan many activities to help their children learn and grow. Concerted cultivation is something that middle-class parents usually do, but lower- and working-class parents often cannot.

Because of this, children from lower- and working-class families may feel less comfortable in school. They might not feel as entitled to ask for help or get the same chances as children from wealthier families. This can make it harder for them to get the same level of education.

Collins and credentialism

Randall Collins talked about something called credentialism. He believed that schools often teach values that favor people from wealthier families. In this way, schools help separate students, putting some into special schools where they learn to take on important jobs later in life.