The U.S. Census Bureau released new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates showing a significant rise in educational attainment among adults in metropolitan statistical areas. The percentage of adults age 25 and over with at least a bachelor’s degree increased from 34.2% during the 2015-2019 period 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.”
Among metro areas, Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, saw one of the largest increases, rising from 45.3% to 53.4%. In contrast, Springfield, Massachusetts, was the only metro area to experience a decline, dropping from 32.8% to 29.3%.
Micropolitan statistical areas also showed gains: about half saw increases in educational attainment for those age 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Taos, New Mexico, had one of the largest positive changes among micro areas, increasing from 28.7% to 38.5%.
Field-specific data showed that Gadsden, Alabama, had one of the largest increases in education degrees among college graduates age 25 and over (from 24.5% to 29.1%), while Elizabethtown, Kentucky, had one of the largest decreases (from 19.0% to 13.0%). For science and engineering degrees among this group, Enid, Oklahoma, saw an increase from 24.8% to 33%, while Carson City, Nevada, experienced a decrease from 37.6% to 31%. For arts and humanities fields among college graduates age 25 and over, Carson City saw an increase from 19.5% to 27.5%, whereas Enid decreased from 21.7% to 15.6%.
The ACS provides detailed statistics on people and housing across more than forty topics at local levels not available elsewhere. The new release allows comparison across four nonoverlapping five-year periods since its inception: starting with data from as early as the mid-2000s up through current figures.
Other findings show that median household income nationwide for the latest period was $80,734—an inflation-adjusted increase of about four percent compared with five years earlier—though most counties did not see statistically significant changes during this time frame.
Poverty rates declined nationally: The ACS five-year poverty rate dropped from roughly thirteen percent in the previous period down to twelve-and-a-half percent for this latest estimate window.
Broadband internet access expanded across all metropolitan areas included in both recent survey periods; Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas led these gains with an increase from just under sixty percent up to eighty-four percent broadband subscription rates.
Language use at home shifted as well: Las Cruces, New Mexico had one of the biggest increases in English-only speakers at home (up six percentage points), while Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida had one of the biggest decreases (down more than five points), where Spanish is now spoken by nearly a quarter of residents.
Major cities like New York City added hundreds of thousands of households since mid-2000s estimates; Los Angeles and Chicago also saw substantial growth in household numbers.
Never-married rates rose for both men and women among large cities between earlier and current ACS periods—for example Houston saw never-married women rise by more than eight percentage points since mid-2000s data.
The Census Bureau will release additional ACS Public Use Microdata Sample files on March 5th next year; further information on survey topics is available through their official resources.
Definitions for metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are determined by federal standards based on urban population size and commuting patterns.
All comparisons cited have been tested for statistical significance at a ninety percent confidence level unless otherwise noted; details including margins of error can be found via official Census Bureau tables online.
###
