States With The Highest Percentage Of College Degree Holders (PHOTOS)

The Lumina Foundation for Education's recent report, "A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education," (PDF) stresses the importance of college degrees for American adults and calls for increased rates of educational attainment. Presently, 37.9 percent of Americans hold college degrees, and the foundation recommends that number increase to 60 percent by 2025.

Lumina's state-by-state analysis offers a glimpse of how educational attainment varies regionally. Below, see the 15 states with the highest percentage of degree holders. For more details, check out the Lumina Foundation for Education. And check out which states are on the other end of the spectrum here.

Is your state on this list? As always, let us know what you think below.

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Percentage of adults with college degrees: 49.6

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Percentage of adults with college degrees: 49.6

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Comments

[EyesofaJackal]

08:45 PM on 10/13/2010

Hmm, people are making correlations with blue states, but I don't think that's quite it. North Dakota, New Hampshire, Colorado, Virginia aren't very Democratic states, but what they share with the other New England states is pretty homogeneous populations...

Sadly, these all seem to be states with very low minority populations, economically comfortable (not Midwestern) WASP populations (not Southern) in the top tier especially. I think this may have to do more with the socioeconomic disparities and injustices against minorities and immigrants than anything else.

[Fight The Right]

10:37 PM on 09/29/2010

All blue states....Ha hahahahaha

[DanSc]

11:23 PM on 10/03/2010

...except for North Dakota

[emncaity]

08:10 PM on 10/11/2010

Well, blue to purple, mostly. New Hampshire leans Republican, but New England Republican, a dying breed--not the wacko Republicans we've seen lately, for the most part.

As for North Dakota, it's such a low-population state (as several of the Western states are), not to mention so predominantly white, that I'm not sure it's representative.

Still, if you look at this list and then at the list of states with the lowest percentage of adults with college degrees, the pattern is undeniable.

What's more, it ought to disturb people more than it does already that in nearly every other totalitarian government (often following a revolution, but not always), one of the first thing you see is a strident anti-intellectualism and a privileging of the "real" people who live out in the country and are uneducated. That's how millions were killed off in places like Cambodia and Stalinist Russia, to name just two. Next time one of your id!ot Fox News-watcher friends starts babbling on about the intellectual elite, congratulate him/her for being right in there with Pol Pot, Stalin, the Taliban, et al.

[MsMassachusetts]

04:56 PM on 09/29/2010

We're number one! We're number one!

Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

[Carolab]

03:42 AM on 09/27/2010

I'm sure people are surprised when they see my state, Minnesota, and our neighbor No. Dak. on this list.  But check out our economies.

My brother, who lives in California now, was just here for a short visit.  He kept remarking on the hustle, drive and intellect of people here.

[MamacitaOfLove]

12:43 PM on 09/30/2010

Minnesota is a great place to live!

[Carolab]

11:50 PM on 09/30/2010

Yes, it has been my home most of my 62 years.

[Wanda717]

01:20 AM on 09/27/2010

Educated and living in a Red State the fight to enlighten my fellow Floridians continues.

[MsMassachusetts]

04:58 PM on 09/29/2010

I wish you luck. Having visited relocated relatives down in the heart of FL, I feel ya.

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

05:31 PM on 10/01/2010

Good luck, Wanda.....I finally gave up living in Texas when it became apparent by voting trends that conservatives formed a permanent majority to progressives by a ratio of 3:1....That the most educated state residents reside where the electorate is largely blue or at least has a decent chance of witnessing progressive legislative action and candidates succeed is not coincidental.

[emncaity]

08:11 PM on 10/11/2010

Will you still sign a petition for Texas to secede? I'm doing all I can. Then I'm moving out like you did (I'm not from here to begin with anyhow)...

[Dan Hutz]

08:38 PM on 09/26/2010

If everyone goes to college then what will be the new way to get more advanced employees? They will have to have Masters and PH D's either way the ones who benefit the most are the colleges. More students mean more money so the salaries of the teachers and administrators will go up. Also the indoctrination of kids to the liberal way will increase.
Thats why to the states with the most college grads vote Democrat and support the Bolsheviks just like another country we know.

[ThomasPaine1776]

02:45 PM on 10/02/2010

I teach US History and World History, and I indoctrinate kids all day long: Its a part of the state standards. Its called "The LIBERAL ENLIGHTENMENT". It is a period of history that produced FREE THINKERS, like J.J. Rousseau, John Locke, Voltaire, Cesare, Mary Wollstonecraft and, yes, my favorite, Thomas Paine. Thomas Jefferson and our "Founding Fathers" were not intellectuals, but rather, PRODUCTS of the Liberal Enlightenment, followers of the great that had gone before. Thomas Jefferson was a good writer, but the ideas were mostly from other people. Thomas Jefferson, who is famous for his often-stated opposition to the official integration of any religious apparatus into government, with his famous "Separation of church and state" statement, has been REMOVED from the "Standards" adopted by the TEXAS SCHOOL BOARD, because they WANT to insert Christianity into the state. They want a LEGAL CHRISTIAN MAJORITY. They are AMERICAN TALIBAN.

Liberals, like me, and like Thomas Jefferson, is to whom you owe most thanks, on those occasions that you feel grateful for "America".

[carolina919]

09:41 PM on 10/03/2010

Thanks for the comment and the declaration....TJ, for all his faults, is a favorite founding father for me as well....made even more dear for his disdain and concern about the capacity for corporate evils to replace (and even outstrip) the tyranny of any monarch. My heart aches when I see the Tea Party wave the Gadsden flag. "Don't tread on me", indeed. Seems the lesson hasn't exactly taken.

[emncaity]

08:15 PM on 10/11/2010

Boy, are you a grade-A Glenn-Beck-style formulator of speculative tripe, or _what_...

As I say above: It ought to disturb people more than it does already that in nearly every other totalitarian government (often following a revolution, but not always), one of the first things you see is a strident anti-intellectualism and a privileging of the "real" people who live out in the country and are uneducated. That's how millions of doctors, lawyers, teachers, and other educated people were killed off in places like Cambodia and Stalinist Russia, to name just two.

In other words, what you're saying about the "Bolsheviks" is exactly opposite the truth anywhere but Beck Fantasyland. Congratulations for disparaging intellectualism right along with Pol Pot, Stalin, the Taliban, and others. You're in great company.

[Protocolor]

12:39 PM on 09/24/2010

Let's see if we can see a pattern here:
-High academic achievement correlates positively with Blue State residency.
-Low academic achievement correlates positively with Red State residency.
-The tendency to spend local tax dollars to have quality infrastructure correlates positively with Blue States.
-The tendency to rely upon the federal government to maintain infrastructure correlates positively with Red States.
-Trailer residency correlates positively with Red State residency.
-High obesity rates correlate positively with Red State residency.
-Higher literacy rates correlate positively with Blue State residency.
-Red States receive more in federal dollars than they pay in federal taxes.
-Blue States pay more in taxes than they receive federal dollars.

See a pattern? Despite the fact that they are heavily subsidized by Blue States, Red State conservatives what to limit the role of or even eliminate the federal government. That's hillbilly genius for you.

If you eliminate the federal government, then what remains that's "United" about the States? If we were to give the conservatives what they seem to want and cut Jesusland loose to form their own anarchist Confederacy, then they would need international aid and UN peacekeepers to avoid degenerating into complete barbarism.

Be not surprised at these Red State/Blue State dichotomies.

[Truth In Voting]

01:20 PM on 09/24/2010

"Despite the fact that they are heavily subsidized by Blue States, Red State conservatives what to limit the role of or even eliminate the federal government. That's hillbilly genius for you."

Indeed. What IS the matter with Kansas? Why does Louisiana continue to vote against their own interest? http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Matter-Kansas-Conservatives-America/dp/0805073396


For a five year period, we should give red states what they want instead of all these federal "handouts." Give to the states only in proportion to what they pay in. If these redstates want to wean people off government funds, let states like Alaska, Louisiana, and Alabama stop getting $1.80 back for every dollar they pay in. It would definitely be better spent by states like Minnesota, who only get $.72 back for every dollar. Watch the education, quality of life, and income gaps grow. For the bluestate religious followers, remind yourself that these people believe Christ advocated personal charity and that they reject Christ's command to assist our fellow human beings. After all, they're not asking, they're condemning our assistance, so we didn't actually fail to do what Christ advocated.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/p/a/patmcgrowen/2010/02/red-states-receive-more-in-fed.php

[emncaity]

08:17 PM on 10/11/2010

Amen, amen, and so be it.

Try living in Texas and listening to these id!ots trying to outdo each other in the "I hate Washington" sweepstakes, while raking in federal dollars with both hands. It's an absolute joke. Rick Perry's crowing about how great his economy is, how Texas wants to secede, how he hates the federal government, on and on, while taking every dollar he can get. No conscience whatsoever. Seriously.

[UNLVGOP]

05:27 AM on 09/24/2010

Look at the economies/industries in the Northeast compared to the Southeast.

Anyone who is surprised that those states have a higher percentage of degree holders is not that intelligent. Of course NY, CT, MA, VA, MD will have a higher percentage than lets say AL, GA, MS.

[Truth In Voting]

03:12 PM on 09/24/2010

Similarly,

Anyone who is surprised that those states have traditionally sent Democrats to Congress, voted for Democratic presidential candidates, and have Democratic majorities in their state legislatures, is not that intelligent.

Of course NY, CT, MA, VA, MD will have a higher percentage than lets say AL, GA, MS.


So bluestates have more educated people AND better economies, while redstates round out the bottom of both areas. You're not exactly helping your point here. More education and higher intelligence will foster better economies, yes. So?

More education and higher intelligence will also foster better grammar, syntax, and spelling -- perhaps sentence composition skill is the REAL underlier in all this!

[noladebby]

03:58 AM on 09/24/2010

Look at all the celebrating here for the "blue states." How shallow and unpatriotic. Why are you celebrating the fact that the American public school system is horrific and only a lucky few can get into college? Why are you celebrating the fact that America is no longer producing college graduates at a higher level then any other country in the world? Why are you celebrating the fact that most Americans simply cannot afford a college education? But none of that matters right as long as the blue states are representing huh?

[phantasma]

06:24 AM on 09/24/2010

Correct none of it matters.

[Protocolor]

10:45 AM on 09/24/2010

America's public school system is NOT "horrific". It is one of the best education systems in the world. America's teachers are among the most highly trained in the world. The bars to entry into the profession are determined at the state level, but are generally more rigorous than those imposed anywhere else on the planet.

You are blaming the education system for cultural failings, and in particular for conservative cultural failings. The divide between Red State and Blue State academic achievement starkly illustrates a cultural divide in America. Those upon whom the conservatives rely as their base simply have no respect for carefully developed intellect and are deeply suspicious of the 'elites'. They pass this value on to their children, hamstringing their education.

Who complains most and loudest about "bad teachers"? Conservatives. When Johnny comes home with an 'F', who is more likely to accept the excuse that it is because "the teacher sucks!"? Who gives their children a ready-made excuse for when they fail? You get the picture...

There really is a dramatic difference between the attitudes of liberals and conservatives towards education and intellectual development, and this leads directly to the lower achievement levels displayed by predominantly "Red" communities. Denial and blaming "The System" will not change this. Conservatives taking responsibility for the consequences of their own immature, lazy and irresponsible attitudes might help, however, and beating them over the head with claims they are a bunch of dummies can be motivational.

[Truth In Voting]

12:43 PM on 09/24/2010

"Conservatives taking responsibility for the consequences of their own immature, lazy and irresponsible attitudes might help, however, and beating them over the head with claims they are a bunch of dummies can be motivational."

EXCELLENT point. The party of personal responsibility needs to take responsibility for voting against their own interests. It's not like you learn this sort of thing in some leftist, advanced logic class that only we took; if you constantly protest education funding and bemoan how much you're taxed and think education cuts are in order, your education levels will start fall in accordance. This isn't some complex academic theory: The more money you put in the bank, the more you'll have. The more you eat, the more you'll weigh. The more you practice, the more skilled you'll become. Simple logical sequiturs like these seem to be foreign to conservatives "whaddya mean all our education cuts are decreasing our quality of education?!" They respect non-scientists (or anyone without any scientific training) who cast doubt on evolution and climate change as equivalently valid to archeologists, astrophysicists, paleontologists, geologists, nephologists, physicists, biologists, and anthropologists.

And when they no longer can compete with jobs from citizens raised and educated in blue states, they accuse a "well-known liberal bias" in colleges and universities. Admissions are biased against students more likely to quit after falling behind, yes.


Instead of inspiring motivation, this seems to breed more resentment towards liberals and enmity toward educational institutions and their members.

[ilovemyprez]

10:56 AM on 09/25/2010

I think you would benefit from a grammar lesson. In the United States punctuation goes inside of quotation marks. It is distracting to read your thoughts about the U.S. education system with grammatical errors all over your post.

[MARTYB]

02:58 AM on 09/24/2010

What, California did not even make the list?!

[Benedictus70]

06:48 AM on 09/24/2010

California is a huge state with a very high population and widespread demographics. It's not particularly surprising that they didn't make it on here.

[sacbeme]

01:53 PM on 09/24/2010

Where somewhere around 38% so no we didn't.
If there were a top 15 definitely.
But if they were to just count N. Cali then yea for sure Top Ten haha...

[gevan]

05:48 PM on 09/24/2010

And if Marin County was a state?

[Kmuzu]

02:58 AM on 09/24/2010

Where is Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida?

[Frank Bourne]

08:37 AM on 09/24/2010

Cleaning their rifles.

[emncaity]

08:20 PM on 10/11/2010

...and thinkin' 'bout you....

[gevan]

05:56 PM on 09/24/2010

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/21/least-educated-states_n_733348.html Except NC and FL. But you can find Texas here.

[dclintn648]

02:14 AM on 09/24/2010

I look up
I look down
Not a troll
to be found...
heh heh

[jasongrundy]

01:42 AM on 09/24/2010

Not SURPRISING! NOT one RED STATE in the entire list.

[gevan]

05:58 PM on 09/24/2010

Really? North Dakota? Blue? From the cold no doubt.

[jayemjay]

03:33 AM on 09/25/2010

An interesting thing about North Dakota. They have the only state-owned bank in the country, created in 1919 to promote agriculture, commerce, and industry. It also saves the state a ton of money. While other states are drowning in debt, N. Dakota is doing well. Maybe that's how they can pay for education. Somebody there had a "socialist" idea a long time ago and it's been paying off.

[SgtLucifer]

01:11 AM on 09/24/2010

Mississippi, Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma didn't make the list?!!!... I am shocked!

[emncaity]

08:22 PM on 10/11/2010

Actually, three of those four made the...ahem..."other" list ("lowest percentage").

[lendiggy]

12:26 AM on 09/24/2010

Go, Evergreen State! Take that, Oregon!