June 2004
Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003
Americans are more educated than ever.
Summary Measures of the Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over: 2003
In 2003, 85 percent of the adult population had completed high school.
The younger population is more educated than the older population.
Summary Measures of the Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over: 2003
Educational attainment differs by demographic characteristics and geographic location.
Educational attainment varies by gender.
Educational Attainment of the Population 25 Years and Over, by Sex: 2003
Among young adults, the percentage of high school graduates varied by race and Hispanic origin.
The percentage of college graduates varied by race and Hispanic origin.
The foreign–born groups had a lower proportion of high school graduates than the native population
Educational attainment is higher for the employed than for the unemployed.
Educational attainment varied across occupational categories for the civilian population 25 to 64 years old.
• 99 percent of the workers in professional and related occupations had completed high school.
• 55 percent of farming, fishing, and forestry workers had completed high school.
Average earnings in 2002 for the population 18 years and over were higher at each progressively higher level of education.
Among the four census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) in 2003, the proportion of people who had completed high school ranged from 88 percent in the Midwest to 82 percent in the South.
SOUTH
MIDWEST
NORTHEAST
WEST
OK
WY
AL
AK
AZ
AK
CA
CO
CT
DE
MI
GA
FL
KY
HI
ID
IL
IN
IA
KS
LA
ME
MD
DC
MA
MN
MO
MS
MT
NE
NV
NH
NJ
NM
NY
NC
SC
ND
OH
OR
PA
RI
SD
TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
WA
WI
WV
