College enrollment has declined steadily in the United States in recent years. With rising tuition costs and surging student debt, enrollment has fallen by 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 33.1% 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 metro area where the share of adults with a bachelor's degree is well below the national average.
In the Lawton metro area, located in Oklahoma, only 20.5% of the adult population have a bachelor's degree, the smallest share of any metro area in the state. Meanwhile, across Oklahoma, 26.2% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher.
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 -- and in places with lower educational attainment, incomes also tend to be lower than average. In the Lawton metro area, the typical household earns $51,332 per year, less than the median household income across Oklahoma of $54,449.
All data in this story are one-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey.
Least educated metro areaAdults with a bachelor's degree (%)Adults with a bachelor's degree, statewide (%)Median household income ($)Median household income, statewide ($)Alabama: Gadsden17.226.341,44751,734Alaska: Anchorage33.130.280,67675,463Arizona: Lake Havasu City-Kingman13.530.250,17962,055Arkansas: Pine Bluff16.423.341,54148,952California: Visalia13.635.057,69280,440Colorado: Pueblo23.442.751,27677,127Connecticut: Norwich-New London33.339.875,63378,833Delaware: Dover24.533.258,00170,176Florida: Sebring-Avon Park16.730.748,69859,227Georgia: Dalton15.032.551,96761,980Hawaii: Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina27.733.680,75483,102Idaho: Twin Falls20.028.756,66760,999Illinois: Danville12.135.843,11169,187Indiana: Michigan City-La Porte18.026.956,01957,603Iowa: Sioux City22.629.360,13261,691Kansas: Topeka29.134.059,56762,087Kentucky: Elizabethtown-Fort Knox21.425.155,24652,295Louisiana: Houma-Thibodaux16.325.049,87451,073Maine: Lewiston-Auburn25.133.263,81358,924Maryland: Cumberland19.140.949,72986,738Massachusetts: Pittsfield33.945.058,89585,843Michigan: Battle Creek20.230.049,05559,584Minnesota: St. Cloud26.637.366,07674,593Mississippi: Gulfport-Biloxi22.722.350,64245,792Missouri: St. Joseph20.030.250,42557,409Montana: Great Falls25.633.651,22757,153Nebraska: Grand Island21.033.255,90763,229Nevada: Carson City21.325.757,27063,276New Hampshire: Manchester-Nashua37.837.683,62677,933New Jersey: Vineland-Bridgeton16.141.254,58785,751New Mexico: Farmington14.427.744,32151,945New York: Watertown-Fort Drum22.437.853,91772,108North Carolina: Rocky Mount17.432.346,46657,341North Dakota: Bismarck33.430.470,97964,577Ohio: Springfield16.229.350,12858,642Oklahoma: Lawton20.526.251,33254,449Oregon: Grants Pass16.834.547,57367,058Pennsylvania: Johnstown20.632.349,07663,463Rhode Island: Providence-Warwick33.234.870,96771,169South Carolina: Sumter20.129.649,26356,227South Dakota: Rapid City30.829.758,36159,533Tennessee: Morristown19.328.747,32656,071Texas: Odessa15.130.867,20564,034Utah: St. George27.334.863,59575,780Vermont: Burlington-South Burlington44.638.774,90963,001Virginia: Staunton24.239.657,84476,456Washington: Longview15.337.055,49778,687West Virginia: Weirton-Steubenville17.521.149,51048,850Wisconsin: Janesville-Beloit23.231.361,24364,168Wyoming: Casper20.729.165,03465,003
via Oklahoma's Center Square News