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Educational Attainment by Metro Area

Educational attainment comparison among the nation’s 50 most populous metros.
Published on 1/15/21
High School Educational Attainment by Metro Area

High School Degree or Higher 

Among the nation’s 50 most populous metros, Houston ranks 48th in adult population with a high school diploma or GED.

Percentage of Population
With High School Degree or Higher
by Metro Area
Rank Area High school graduate or higher
1 Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area 94.2%
2 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area 94.1%
3 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 92.8%
4 Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area 92.8%
5 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area 92.8%
6 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area 92.7%
7 St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area 92.5%
8 Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area 92.3%
9 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area 92.2%
10 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area 92.2%
11 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area 92.1%
12 Salt Lake City, UT Metro Area 91.7%
13 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metro Area 91.7%
14 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area 91.6%
15 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area 91.6%
16 Columbus, OH Metro Area 91.6%
17 Jacksonville, FL Metro Area 91.6%
18 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area 91.2%
19 Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metro Area 91.1%
20 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area 91.0%
21 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area 91.0%
22 Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metro Area 90.8%
23 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area 90.8%
24 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area 90.5%
25 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area 90.4%
26 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metro Area 90.4%
27 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area 90.2%
28 Richmond, VA Metro Area 90.1%
29 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area 90.0%
30 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metro Area 89.8%
31 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area 89.8%
32 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area 89.7%
33 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area 89.5%
34 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area 89.4%
35 Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area 89.1%
36 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area 89.1%
37 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area 88.6%
38 Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area 88.2%
39 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area 88.2%
40 New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area 88.1%
41 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area 88.1%
42 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area 88.0%
43 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area 87.3%
44 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area 86.6%
45 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area 86.3%
46 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area 85.6%
47 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area 85.3%
48 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metro Area 84.6%
49 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area 82.0%
50 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area 81.4%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 American Community Survey  

 

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

Among the nation’s 50 most populous metros, Houston ranks 32nd in adult population with a Bachelor's degree or higher.

Percentage of Population
With Bachelor's Degree or Higher
by Metro Area
Rank Area Bachelor's degree or higher
1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area 52.7%
2 San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area 51.4%
3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area 51.4%
4 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area 49.3%
5 Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area 48.0%
6 Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area 46.2%
7 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area 45.8%
8 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area 44.1%
9 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area 43.2%
10 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area 41.9%
11 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area 41.8%
12 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area 40.3%
13 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area 39.9%
14 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area 39.9%
15 Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT Metro Area 39.7%
16 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area 39.2%
17 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area 39.0%
18 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area 38.5%
19 Columbus, OH Metro Area 37.9%
20 Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area 37.7%
21 Richmond, VA Metro Area 37.6%
22 Salt Lake City, UT Metro Area 36.5%
23 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area 36.4%
24 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area 36.3%
25 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area 36.2%
26 Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area 36.0%
27 St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area 35.8%
28 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area 35.5%
29 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area 35.4%
30 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metro Area 35.2%
31 Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area 34.2%
32 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metro Area 33.3%
33 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area 33.3%
34 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area 33.2%
35 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area 33.1%
36 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metro Area 32.9%
37 Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area 32.8%
38 Jacksonville, FL Metro Area 32.5%
39 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area 32.4%
40 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metro Area 32.3%
41 New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area 32.3%
42 Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area 32.2%
43 Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metro Area 31.7%
44 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area 31.6%
45 Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area 31.5%
46 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area 30.7%
47 Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area 28.8%
48 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area 28.8%
49 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area 25.6%
50 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area 23.0%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019 American Community Survey  
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