The U.S. Census Bureau has released new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, showing a notable rise in educational attainment among adults age 25 and over in metropolitan statistical areas. The share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree grew from 34.2% during the 2015-2019 period to 37.8% during 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 metropolitan areas, Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, saw one of the largest increases, rising from 45.3% to 53.4%. Springfield, Massachusetts was the only metro area that recorded a decline, dropping from 32.8% to 29.3%.
In micropolitan statistical areas—urban regions with populations between 10,000 and less than 50,000—about half also saw increases in educational attainment for those age 25 and older. Taos, New Mexico had one of the most substantial changes, increasing from 28.7% to 38.5%.
The ACS data also highlight shifts in specific fields of study among college graduates aged 25 and older across different metro areas:
– In education degrees: Gadsden, Alabama increased from 24.5% to 29.1%, while Elizabethtown, Kentucky dropped from 19% to 13%.
– In science and engineering: Enid, Oklahoma rose from 24.8% to 33%, but Carson City, Nevada fell from 37.6% to 31%.
– In arts and humanities: Carson City went up from 19.5% to 27.5%, whereas Enid decreased from 21.7% to15.6%.
The ACS provides local-level statistics on more than forty topics related to people and housing nationwide and allows for trend analysis using nonoverlapping sets of five-year data periods since its inception.
Additional findings include changes in household income and poverty rates:
– The U.S median household income reached $80,734 for the period spanning from 2020–2024.
– Adjusted for inflation (in 2024 dollars), median household income increased by 4.4 percent compared with 2015–2019.
– Most counties (71.7%) did not see statistically significant changes in median household income; however, incomes rose in 707 counties and fell in 179.
– A majority of counties (73.6%) reported median incomes below the national figure.
Poverty rates declined nationally according to ACS data:
– The U.S poverty rate fell from 13.4 percent (2015–2019) to 12.5 percent (2020–2024).
– Poverty rates changed significantly in hundreds of counties: decreases occurred more often than increases.
– For children under eighteen years old, poverty decreased notably in most affected counties; however among those aged sixty-five or older there were more counties where poverty increased than decreased.
Broadband internet access improved across all metropolitan areas included in both periods; Brownsville-Harlingen Texas saw broadband subscriptions jump from 57.5 percent to 84.4 percent.
Only two micro areas—Greenville MS and Ruston LA—had declines in broadband subscriptions; Greenville experienced a larger drop.
Language use trends showed that Las Cruces NM had one of the largest increases in English-only speakers at home while Lakeland-Winter Haven FL saw one of the largest decreases; Spanish is now spoken at home by nearly a quarter of Lakeland-Winter Haven residents.
Major cities have seen growth both in number of households since ACS tracking began as well as shares of never-married adults—for example Houston TX saw never-married women rise by over eight percentage points since the first survey period.
The Census Bureau will release additional Public Use Microdata Sample files on March 5th next year; further information about topics covered can be found on their official site as well as detailed guidance for comparing statistics over time.
Erik Hernandez emphasized that these findings are possible due to survey respondents’ participation throughout the country.
