NAPERVILLE, IL — The proportion of Americans who hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree is at its highest level ever, but the growth in that share varies widely from one part of the country to another.
Nearly a third of U.S. residents 25 and older — 32.1 percent — hold at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey covering the five-year period ending in 2019. That’s up from 27.5 percent in the five-year period ending in 2009.
In DuPage County, an estimated 49.4 percent of residents 25 and older held a bachelor’s or graduate degree between 2015 and 2019. That’s an increase from 2010-2014, when an estimated 46.7 percent of residents 25 and older held such a degree.
Illinois experienced an increase of 2.8 percentage points for residents who held at least a bachelor’s degree between the two periods — an estimated 34.7 percent of people held one between 2015 and 2019 compared with 31.9 percent between 2010 and 2014.
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