Alabama crossed a key threshold for higher education at some point in the second half of the last decade.
More than a quarter of Alabamians 25 and older now have earned at least a bachelor’s degree, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The state saw an increase of nearly three percentage points in higher educational attainment between the five-year periods of 2011-2015 and 2016-2020.
While higher education is indeed on the rise in the the Yellowhammer State, Alabama still lags behind much of the nation. Between 2016 and 2020, more than 41% of the U.S. population 25 and older had earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
And while more Alabamians are getting degrees, the rate of increase is slower than the United States as a whole.
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Alabama actually moved up one spot in the national rankings, though.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Alabama went from 23.5% of its 25-plus population with a bachelor’s degree or higher during the first half of the 2010s, to 26.2% in the second half. That 2.7 percentage point jump moved Alabama past Oklahoma in the state-by-state list.
But don’t get too excited; Alabama’s new ranking is still just 44th best in the nation among all state and Washington, D.C.
Alabama’s 2.7-point bump in its highly educated population was the 38th largest percentage point increase in the nation. That rise is part of what helped it pass Oklahoma, which saw only a 2-point increase, the third lowest of any state. But Alabama failed to match the nation’s population as a whole, which saw a 3.9 percentage point increase.
Within Alabama, a handful of counties stand above the rest in terms of educational attainment.
[Can’t see the map? Click here.]
Shelby County, an affluent county south of Birmingham, and Madison County, home of Huntsville, were tied at the top of the list among Alabama’s 67 counties. Both saw 44% of their 25-plus population with at least a bachelor’s degree. They were the only two counties in Alabama to exceed the national rate of 41%.
And only nine counties, including Shelby and Madison, exceed the statewide percentage of 26%. Besides those two, they were Lee (36%), Jefferson (34%), Montgomery (34%), Baldwin (32%), Tuscaloosa (31%), Pike (30%) and Autauga (28%).
Each of those is either part of a major metro area or home to a major university. Lee County is home to Auburn University, and Tuscaloosa is home to the University of Alabama. Pike is home to Troy University. Jefferson County is home to Birmingham and multiple colleges, and is the most populous county in Alabama.
Higher educational attainment is on the rise throughout the nation, but there are some areas in Alabama where rates are declining.
[Can’t see the map? Click here.]
Eight of Alabama’s 67 counties saw the percentage of their adult population with at least a bachelor’s degree go down between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020. The largest decrease came in Bullock County, just east of Montgomery, which saw a decline of four percentage points. Blount - like the rest of the counties that saw declines in educational attainment, is a rural county that’s losing population.
Another six counties saw no change in educational attainment between those periods.
That leaves 53 counties that saw the portion of their population with a higher degree go up. Though some saw faster climbs that others. Pike County, home of Troy University, and Conecuh County led the way, each seeing 6-point increases in their educational attainment, though Conecuh’s increase pushed it up to only 14% of the 25-plus population with a higher degree, compared to Pike’s 30%.
Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Email Ramsey Archibald at rarchibald@al.com, and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more Alabama data stories here.
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April 05, 2022 at 07:00PM
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Alabama seeing more college degrees than ever, led by Shelby and Madison counties - AL.com
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