College enrollment has declined steadily in the United States in recent years. With rising tuition costs and surging student debt, enrollment rates have fallen at an average of nearly 2% a year since 2010. While four years of higher education may not be for everyone, Americans without a bachelor's degree tend to be far more limited in their career opportunities, job security, and earning potential.
Nationwide, an estimated 32.1% of American adults 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher. Educational attainment rates vary considerably across the country, however, and in nearly every state, there is at least one city where the share of adults with a bachelor's degree is well below the national average.
Using education data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. identified the least educated city in every state.
In Oklahoma, no city or town with a population of 25,000 or more has a lower bachelor's degree attainment rate than Shawnee. Only 20.6% of the adult population in Shawnee have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 25.5% of adults across the state as a whole.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate among American adults with a four-year college education was 5.5% 2020. Among those with no more than a high school diploma, the jobless rate was considerably higher, at 9.0%. In Shawnee, an average of 5.3% of the population between the ages of 25 and 64 were unemployed over the last five years, higher than the 4.2% jobless rate across the state over that time.
Americans with a bachelor's degree also tend to have higher incomes. The average weekly wage for a college-educated worker in the United States is about 67% higher than it is for those with no more than a high school diploma. In cities with low educational attainment, incomes also tend to be lower than average -- and Shawnee is no exception. The typical household in the area earns $40,473 a year, below the median household income of $52,919 across Oklahoma as a whole.
All cities, towns, villages, boroughs, and census-designated places with over 25,000 people were considered for this story. All data used are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey. This is the least educated city in every state.
StateLeast educated cityAdults in state with a bachelor's degree (%)Adults in city with a bachelor's degree (%)AlabamaBessemer25.514.4AlaskaFairbanks29.627.2ArizonaSan Luis29.58.4ArkansasParagould23.018.4CaliforniaBell Gardens33.95.4ColoradoPueblo40.918.9ConnecticutWaterbury39.315.7DelawareDover32.026.3FloridaWest Little River29.910.7GeorgiaLaGrange31.318.5HawaiiWaipahu33.017.1IdahoCaldwell27.613.7IllinoisCicero34.79.0IndianaEast Chicago26.59.1IowaClinton28.617.5KansasDodge City33.416.6KentuckyHenderson24.217.6LouisianaMarrero24.112.3MaineLewiston31.820.3MarylandDundalk40.212.9MassachusettsLawrence43.710.8MichiganLincoln Park29.19.4MinnesotaBrooklyn Center36.120.3MississippiHorn Lake22.015.8MissouriGrandview29.219.4MontanaGreat Falls32.025.4NebraskaFremont31.918.3NevadaSunrise Manor24.710.6New HampshireRochester37.021.7New JerseyCamden39.79.8New MexicoSouth Valley27.314.0New YorkBrentwood36.613.9North CarolinaThomasville31.315.2North DakotaWilliston30.025.2OhioMarion28.39.9OklahomaShawnee25.520.6OregonGrants Pass33.715.8PennsylvaniaLebanon31.49.8Rhode IslandWoonsocket34.217.8South CarolinaNorth Charleston28.122.8South DakotaAberdeen28.829.3TennesseeMorristown27.314.9TexasBalch Springs29.97.2UtahMagna34.09.7VermontBurlington38.053.3VirginiaDanville38.817.6WashingtonSpanaway36.013.9West VirginiaParkersburg20.616.3WisconsinRacine30.116.6WyomingGillette27.419.2
via Oklahoma's Center Square News