2018-22 | ||
---|---|---|
Arkansas County | 16% | |
Ashley County | 12% | |
Baxter County | 18% | |
Benton County | 36% | |
Boone County | 17% | |
Bowie County, Texas | 22% | |
Bradley County | 13% | |
Calhoun County | 13%* | * |
Carroll County | 21% | |
Chicot County | 18% | |
Clark County | 26% | |
Clay County | 15% | |
Cleburne County | 17% | |
Cleveland County | 16%* | * |
Columbia County | 19% | |
Conway County | 19% | |
Craighead County | 28% | |
Crawford County | 20% | |
Crittenden County | 18% | |
Cross County | 16% | |
Dallas County | 13%* | * |
Desha County | 13% | |
Drew County | 25% | |
Faulkner County | 32% | |
Franklin County | 12% | |
Fulton County | 14%* | * |
Garland County | 25% | |
Grant County | 19% | |
Greene County | 17% | |
Hempstead County | 16% | |
Hot Spring County | 16% | |
Howard County | 15% | |
Independence County | 17% | |
Izard County | 19% | |
Jackson County | 12% | |
Jefferson County | 20% | |
Johnson County | 15% | |
Lafayette County | 11%* | * |
Lawrence County | 13% | |
Lee County | 8%* | * |
Lincoln County | 8% | |
Little River County | 16% | |
Logan County | 14% | |
Lonoke County | 20% | |
Madison County | 12% | |
Marion County | 15% | |
Miller County | 16% | |
Mississippi County | 15% | |
Monroe County | 14%* | * |
Montgomery County | 16% | |
Nevada County | 11%* | * |
Newton County | 15% | |
Ouachita County | 15% | |
Perry County | 15% | |
Phillips County | 15% | |
Pike County | 19% | |
Poinsett County | 12% | |
Polk County | 16% | |
Pope County | 24% | |
Prairie County | 16% | |
Pulaski County | 37% | |
Randolph County | 16% | |
Saline County | 28% | |
Scott County | 12%* | * |
Searcy County | 15% | |
Sebastian County | 24% | |
Sevier County | 12% | |
Sharp County | 12% | |
St. Francis County | 13% | |
Stone County | 14% | |
Union County | 18% | |
Van Buren County | 17% | |
Washington County | 34% | |
White County | 20% | |
Woodruff County | 17%* | * |
Yell County | 14% |
2018-22 | ||
---|---|---|
Arkansas County | 1,876 | |
Ashley County | 1,531 | |
Baxter County | 5,808 | |
Benton County | 66,960 | |
Boone County | 4,367 | |
Bowie County, Texas | 13,951 | |
Bradley County | 891 | |
Calhoun County | 434* | * |
Carroll County | 4,327 | |
Chicot County | 1,245 | |
Clark County | 3,286 | |
Clay County | 1,591 | |
Cleburne County | 3,199 | |
Cleveland County | 859* | * |
Columbia County | 2,694 | |
Conway County | 2,773 | |
Craighead County | 20,052 | |
Crawford County | 8,349 | |
Crittenden County | 5,389 | |
Cross County | 1,858 | |
Dallas County | 609* | * |
Desha County | 1,005 | |
Drew County | 2,729 | |
Faulkner County | 25,063 | |
Franklin County | 1,479 | |
Fulton County | 1,253* | * |
Garland County | 18,407 | |
Grant County | 2,368 | |
Greene County | 5,125 | |
Hempstead County | 2,100 | |
Hot Spring County | 3,724 | |
Howard County | 1,274 | |
Independence County | 4,342 | |
Izard County | 1,979 | |
Jackson County | 1,414 | |
Jefferson County | 9,210 | |
Johnson County | 2,592 | |
Lafayette County | 479* | * |
Lawrence County | 1,418 | |
Lee County | 477* | * |
Lincoln County | 814 | |
Little River County | 1,340 | |
Logan County | 2,179 | |
Lonoke County | 9,916 | |
Madison County | 1,435 | |
Marion County | 1,961 | |
Miller County | 4,517 | |
Mississippi County | 3,882 | |
Monroe County | 677* | * |
Montgomery County | 1,060 | |
Nevada County | 619* | * |
Newton County | 774 | |
Ouachita County | 2,356 | |
Perry County | 1,087 | |
Phillips County | 1,626 | |
Pike County | 1,320 | |
Poinsett County | 1,804 | |
Polk County | 2,199 | |
Pope County | 9,801 | |
Prairie County | 958 | |
Pulaski County | 100,335 | |
Randolph County | 1,989 | |
Saline County | 24,525 | |
Scott County | 832* | * |
Searcy County | 857 | |
Sebastian County | 20,542 | |
Sevier County | 1,145 | |
Sharp County | 1,452 | |
St. Francis County | 2,161 | |
Stone County | 1,311 | |
Union County | 4,894 | |
Van Buren County | 1,972 | |
Washington County | 52,115 | |
White County | 10,351 | |
Woodruff County | 724* | * |
Yell County | 1,913 |
What does this measure?
The percentage of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher.
Why is this important?
An educated population makes a more attractive workforce. Well-educated workers likely have access to more economic opportunities than workers with less education. High educational attainment represents a region's investment in human capital and preparation for long-term growth.
How is Arkansas doing?
In 2018-22, 25% of adults had a bachelor's or higher degree, up 3 percentage points from 2013-17 and up 8 points from 2000. This makes Arkansas 49th in the nation on this indicator (including Washington, D.C.), and only slightly higher than West Virginia and Mississippi. The rate was far higher among Asian adults (50%) than white (26%), African American (18%), or Hispanic (12%) adults. Rates were similar for men (23%) and women (26%).
Pulaski and Benton counties had the highest rates of 37% and 36% respectively, while Lee and Lincoln counties had rates at 8%. Since 2000, Benton had the largest increase in its rate (16 percentage points).
What contributes to racial and ethnic disparities?
There are a variety of factors believed to contribute to disparities in educational attainment. School systems in the United States are highly segregated, and students of color disproportionately attend schools with high proportions of low-income students who may not have benefited from early learning opportunities at the same rate as other students. Schools also have different levels of resources ranging from qualified/experienced teachers to advanced courses to facilities and technology, and schools with large Black and Latino populations often have lower levels. In addition, teachers across all school systems tend to be disproportionately white, and teaching practices and curriculum may not be culturally relevant to students of color Low staff expectations at racially and economically segregated schools also contribute disparities in educational attainment. The accumulation of inequities leads to lower graduation rates and college matriculation, with college affordability acting as another barrier. When Black and Latino students enter higher education institutions, they are less likely to attain a college a degree given weaker academic preparation and financial hardship.
Notes about the data
Adults are people 25 and older. The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator is expected to be released annually in December.
2000 | 2008-12 | 2013-17 | 2018-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas | 17% | 20% | 22% | 25% |
United States | 24% | 28% | 31% | 34% |
American Indian and Native Alaskan | Asian | Black or African American | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | Some Other Race | Two or More Races | White | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas | 16% | 50% | 18% | 12% | 7%** | ** | 11% | 21% | 26% | |||||||
Benton County | 15%* | * | 71% | 48% | 15% | 12%*** | *** | 18%** | ** | 26% | 36% | |||||
Craighead County | 12%*** | *** | 52%* | * | 17%* | * | 19%* | * | 0%*** | *** | 39%** | ** | 26%** | ** | 30% | |
Crittenden County | 32%*** | *** | 44%** | ** | 11%* | * | 7%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 13%** | ** | 24% | |
Faulkner County | 7%*** | *** | 64%* | * | 28% | 20%* | * | 100%*** | *** | 15%*** | *** | 32%* | * | 33% | ||
Jefferson County | 18%*** | *** | 27%** | ** | 23% | 4%*** | *** | 87%*** | *** | 2%*** | *** | 22%** | ** | 16% | ||
Miller County | 18%*** | *** | 100%*** | *** | 9%* | * | 9%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 9%*** | *** | 12%*** | *** | 18% | |
Mississippi County | 0%*** | *** | 49%*** | *** | 10%* | * | 6%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 12%*** | *** | 7%*** | *** | 18% | |
Phillips County | 0%*** | *** | 100%*** | *** | 10%* | * | 0%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 7%*** | *** | 22% | |
Pulaski County | 24%** | ** | 60% | 25% | 15% | 58%*** | *** | 11%* | * | 37% | 44% | |||||
Saline County | 15%*** | *** | 46%* | * | 29% | 14%** | ** | 0%*** | *** | 25%** | ** | 17%** | ** | 29% | ||
Sebastian County | 26%** | ** | 25%* | * | 13%** | ** | 11%* | * | 0%*** | *** | 7%** | ** | 23%* | * | 26% | |
St. Francis County | 0%*** | *** | 64%*** | *** | 14%* | * | 8%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 19%*** | *** | 6%*** | *** | 13% | |
Union County | 0%*** | *** | 45%*** | *** | 10%* | * | 5%*** | *** | 0%*** | *** | 19%*** | *** | 16%*** | *** | 22% |
American Indian and Native Alaskan | Asian | Black or African American | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | Some Other Race | Two or More Races | White | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arkansas | 1,718 | 15,892 | 51,284 | 15,366 | 402** | ** | 5,185 | 22,232 | 405,266 | |||||||
Benton County | 311* | * | 5,789 | 1,547 | 3,918 | 116*** | *** | 1,125** | ** | 6,787 | 51,285 | |||||
Craighead County | 29*** | *** | 406* | * | 1,547* | * | 553* | * | 0*** | *** | 516** | ** | 553** | ** | 17,001 | |
Crittenden County | 7*** | *** | 121** | ** | 1,506* | * | 50*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 244** | ** | 3,511 | |
Faulkner County | 18*** | *** | 490* | * | 2,291 | 517* | * | 13*** | *** | 172*** | *** | 627* | * | 21,452 | ||
Jefferson County | 14*** | *** | 103** | ** | 5,545 | 37*** | *** | 124*** | *** | 13*** | *** | 166** | ** | 3,245 | ||
Miller County | 43*** | *** | 12*** | *** | 621* | * | 86*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 53*** | *** | 77*** | *** | 3,711 | |
Mississippi County | 0*** | *** | 53*** | *** | 797* | * | 56*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 39*** | *** | 78*** | *** | 2,915 | |
Phillips County | 0*** | *** | 93*** | *** | 596* | * | 0*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 11*** | *** | 926 | |
Pulaski County | 200** | ** | 3,804 | 23,330 | 1,953 | 60*** | *** | 588* | * | 3,003 | 69,350 | |||||
Saline County | 33*** | *** | 514* | * | 1,861 | 450** | ** | 0*** | *** | 293** | ** | 393** | ** | 21,431 | ||
Sebastian County | 220** | ** | 1,015* | * | 596** | ** | 1,087* | * | 0*** | *** | 439** | ** | 1,157* | * | 17,115 | |
St. Francis County | 0*** | *** | 16*** | *** | 1,122* | * | 76*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 78*** | *** | 28*** | *** | 917 | |
Union County | 0*** | *** | 91*** | *** | 825* | * | 40*** | *** | 0*** | *** | 27*** | *** | 86*** | *** | 3,865 |
Female | Male | |
---|---|---|
Arkansas | 26% | 23% |
Female | Male | |
---|---|---|
Arkansas | 272,710 | 229,269 |