With the close of the 2014 legislative session, there were some positive outcomes for higher education in the state. A recent Salt Lake Tribune article called it the “best year at the Utah Legislature since the recession hit” for higher education. With a goal of 66% of Utahns having postsecondary certificates or degrees, it is important for higher education to receive support on all fronts. In preparation for our Utah Foundation annual meeting on March 20th, we gathered some statistics about Utahns holding postsecondary degrees and compared them to national averages. Utah’s ranking nationally of percent of the total population with a bachelor’s degree or higher has improved since 2005, more young women are getting degrees than their predecessors, and 25-34 year old men with bachelor’s degrees or higher continue to be above the national average.
In 2012, the proportion of the Utah population with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 30.7%, placing us in 16th place nationally. We are above the national average by 1.6%, and are only 0.2% behind #15, California.
When broken down by age groups, our younger (25-34 year old) group is below our statewide ranking – #28 at 30.1%. The reason for this can be found in differences between male and female rankings. The proportion of 25-34 year old Utah males with a bachelor’s degree or higher ranked 17th in the nation, where women ranked 36th; however, if you look at the percentages of these two groups these rankings might seem counterintuitive. Women in this age group have a higher percentage of postsecondary degree attainment than men – 31.3% versus 28.8%. This trend of more women getting degrees than men has been evident across the U.S. for over a decade and Utah women are following suit, although a few years behind the national curve. In 2000, Utah 25-34 year old men and women with bachelor’s degrees or higher was almost even at 25.6% and 25.3% respectively. Since then, available Census Bureau data show 25-34 year old Utah women with a higher percentage of postsecondary degrees.
The Pew Research Center has produced some interesting research looking at the impact of college attainment on younger generations, as well as the social impacts being created by women’s new levels of educational attainment across the U.S. Research released in February, 2014 shows that in 2012, couples in which the wife has higher educational attainment surpassed those where men have the higher attainment for the first time in their 50 years of tracking the data. Additionally, their research into the benefits of college for the Millennial generation (1981-1995) show that the economic disparities in areas such as annual earnings, unemployment, and poverty are striking between those with a high school diploma and those with a bachelor’s degree or more.
Categories: