The U.S. Census Bureau released new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates showing a significant increase in educational attainment among adults in metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas between the periods 2015-2019 and 2020-2024.
According to Erik Hernandez, a Census Bureau statistician, “Over the last five years, we’ve noticed a significant increase in the percentage of adults completing higher education. Approximately 89% of metro areas experienced an increase in the percentage of population 25 years and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher when compared to the 2015-2019 period.”
The data indicate that in metropolitan areas, the share of adults aged 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree rose from 34.2% to 37.8%. The Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area saw one of the largest increases, with rates rising from 45.3% to 53.4%. In contrast, Springfield, MA was the only metro area reporting a decline in this measure, dropping from 32.8% to 29.3%.
In micropolitan areas, about half showed increased educational attainment for adults aged 25 and over with at least a bachelor’s degree. The Taos, NM micro area posted one of the highest gains within this group.
Field-specific trends also emerged across different regions. For those whose field of degree is education, Gadsden, AL had one of the largest increases while Elizabethtown, KY had one of the largest decreases between these two periods. Among graduates with science and engineering degrees, Enid, OK recorded notable growth whereas Carson City, NV saw a decrease.
The ACS continues to provide comprehensive statistics on people and housing nationwide and remains unique as it offers local estimates on more than forty topics for small communities over four distinct nonoverlapping five-year timeframes since its inception.
Other findings include economic measures such as median household income in the United States reaching $80,734 for the most recent period—a real increase of 4.4% from previous data—though most counties did not experience statistically significant changes during this timeframe. About three quarters of counties had median incomes below this national figure.
Poverty rates declined nationally from 13.4% to 12.5%, but changes varied locally: some counties saw reductions while others experienced increases depending on age groups and location.
Broadband access improved widely; every metropolitan area tracked by both surveys reported gains in broadband subscriptions except two micropolitan areas which saw declines.
Language use at home shifted modestly in certain regions; for example, English-only speakers increased significantly in Las Cruces, NM while declining notably in Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL where Spanish is increasingly spoken at home.
Household numbers grew considerably among major cities since ACS tracking began; New York City added nearly 287,000 households since the earliest comparison period cited.
Marital status trends show an increasing proportion of never-married men and women among populous urban centers such as Houston over recent decades.
The next release from ACS—the Public Use Microdata Sample files—is scheduled for March 5, 2026. Full details on release schedules are available through their official channels including the ACS data release schedule. Additional information about survey topics can be found via Subjects Included in the Survey, while all current statistics are accessible at data.census.gov.
Definitions used by federal agencies delineate metropolitan areas as those centered around urban clusters exceeding populations of fifty thousand people; micropolitan areas center around smaller clusters but above ten thousand residents with social-economic ties defined by commuting patterns (more information here).
All highlighted comparisons were determined to be statistically significant unless otherwise specified using established confidence intervals (accuracy guidance). Users are advised to consult detailed tables for margins of error or review comparison methodologies outlined by ACS (comparison guidance page).
The Census Bureau acknowledged survey participants across all states whose responses make these statistics possible.
