Education levels are on the rise in the United States. According to newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 79.9 million American adults – 35% of the nation’s 25 and older population – have a bachelor’s degree or higher. As recently as five years ago, fewer than 33% of American adults had a bachelor’s degree.

A college education has long been a key driver of upward economic mobility in the United States. However, enrollment costs at colleges and universities have soared in recent years, making a four-year postsecondary education prohibitively expensive for many working- and middle-class families.

In Louisiana, an estimated 26.4% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, below the 35% share nationwide and the fourth lowest among all states.

Nationwide, median earnings among workers with a bachelor’s degree stood at $61,073 in 2021, compared to $35,019 among working adults with no more than a high school diploma. Due in part to lower-than-average bachelor’s degree attainment rates, the median earnings among all working adults in Louisiana is $40,562 a year, less than the comparable national median of $45,943.

All income and education data in this story is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey. Annual unemployment rates are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

Rank State Adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (%) Median annual earnings, all working adults, 2021 ($) 2021 unemployment rate (%)
1 West Virginia 24.1 39,449 5.0
2 Mississippi 24.8 37,148 5.6
3 Arkansas 25.3 37,936 4.0
4 Louisiana 26.4 40,562 5.5
5 Kentucky 27.0 40,448 4.7
6 Alabama 27.4 40,362 3.4
7 Nevada 27.6 41,237 7.2
8 Oklahoma 27.9 40,163 3.8
9 Indiana 28.9 42,955 3.6
10 Wyoming 29.2 41,898 4.5
11 New Mexico 30.1 39,826 6.8
12 Tennessee 30.5 41,181 4.3
13 Iowa 30.5 44,644 4.2
14 Idaho 30.7 40,800 3.6
15 Ohio 30.7 43,794 5.1