New State-by-State College Attainment Numbers Show Progress Toward 2020 Goal
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In remarks prepared for delivery to the summer meeting of the National Governors Association in Williamsburg, Va., on Friday, July 13, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will praise governors for increasing college completion but will also challenge states to maintain support for higher education while urging colleges and universities to hold down tuition.
"Every capable, hard-working, and responsible student should be able to afford to go to college. That's not a Democratic dream or a Republican one. It's the American Dream," Duncan will say.
Today, the Administration released new numbers showing college attainment state-by-state based on census bureau data from 2009 to 2010. All told, the percentage of 25-34 year olds with some kind of postsecondary degree rose half a percentage point from 38.8 percent to 39.3 percent. America used to be No. 1 in the world for the percentage of adults with college degrees but has recently slid to 16th. President Obama has called for America to increase the number of degree-holders to 60 percent by the end of the decade.
"To meet the president's goal for America to become No. 1 in the world for college graduates all of us—the federal government, states, and institutions—must work together. We've made some progress, but the combination of deep state budget cuts and rising tuition prices is pushing an affordable college education out of reach for middle class families," Duncan will say. "As the President has said, the countries that out-educate today will out-compete us tomorrow. The federal government has done a tremendous amount to increase the amount of aid available to students. But we need states and institutions to meet us halfway by doing more to keep college costs down."
While 40 states have cut funding for higher education in the past year and tuition at four-year public universities has risen 15 percent on average in the last two years, Duncan plans to highlight states that are doing a good job of controlling costs and boosting completion.
He will also discuss the Administration's record in keeping college affordable, including boosting Pell Grant funding, streamlining the student aid system, and maintaining interest rates on federal subsidized Stafford loans at 3.4 percent.
Finally, at the NGA meeting, Duncan and his predecessor Margaret Spellings will discuss the status of reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) and the Administration's ongoing efforts to offer temporary flexibility to states from the law in exchange for a commitment to high standards, teacher effectiveness and accountability.
Below is a list of the state-by-state figures the Administration is releasing today:
| State | Graduates as of 2009 | Graduates as of 2010 | Graduates as of 2020 | |||
| Alabama | 188,258 | 31.1% | 189,259 | 31.5% | 262,000-337,000 | (47%-60%) |
| Alaska | 30,769 | 32.0% | 31,967 | 32.9% | 57,000-75,000 | (45%-60%) |
| Arizona | 302,190 | 32.0% | 283,867 | 33.0% | 506,000-631,000 | (48%-60%) |
| Arkansas | 107,516 | 28.4% | 105,468 | 28.6% | 150,000-216,000 | (42%-60%) |
| California | 1,993,484 | 37.6% | 1,998,766 | 37.9% | 3,650,000-3,880,000 | (56%-60%) |
| Colorado | 297,540 | 41.9% | 307,961 | 43.3% | 445,000-468,000 | (60%-63%) |
| Connecticut | 185,537 | 46.1% | 190,044 | 45.9% | 295,000-339,000 | (60%-69%) |
| Delaware | 43,473 | 38.5% | 41,283 | 37.2% | 65,000-68,000 | (57%-60%) |
| D.C. | 71,311 | 65.6% | 82,098 | 68.8% | 54,000-88,000 | (60%-98%) |
| Florida | 836,034 | 36.3% | 816,946 | 36.2% | 1,480,000-1,630,000 | (54%-60%) |
| Georgia | 484,637 | 35.6% | 468,360 | 35.5% | 785,000-886,000 | (53%-60%) |
| Hawaii | 76,212 | 41.5% | 73,472 | 40.5% | 118,000-123,000 | (60%-63%) |
| Idaho | 67,828 | 33.4% | 66,871 | 32.7% | 107,000-130,000 | (49%-60%) |
| Illinois | 785,035 | 44.6% | 798,362 | 45.3% | 1,100,000-1,220,000 | (60%-66%) |
| Indiana | 291,830 | 35.2% | 297,250 | 36.1% | 452,000-514,000 | (53%-60%) |
| Iowa | 165,534 | 45.5% | 172,115 | 45.5% | 213,000-241,000 | (60%-68%) |
| Kansas | 153,494 | 42.2% | 157,023 | 42.3% | 220,000-226,000 | (60%-62%) |
| Kentucky | 182,009 | 32.3% | 185,574 | 33.3% | 272,000-336,000 | (49%-60%) |
| Louisiana | 175,412 | 29.5% | 183,852 | 30.3% | 265,000-363,000 | (44%-60%) |
| Maine | 53,995 | 36.7% | 53,357 | 37.2% | 96,000-101,000 | (57%-60%) |
| Maryland | 337,547 | 45.5% | 339,891 | 45.5% | 582,000-660,000 | (60%-68%) |
| Massachusetts | 456,451 | 54.3% | 454,219 | 54.3% | 562,000-760,000 | (60%-81%) |
| Michigan | 434,002 | 36.0% | 434,937 | 37.2% | 768,000-858,000 | (54%-60%) |
| Minnesota | 342,770 | 49.8% | 350,909 | 49.8% | 488,000-599,000 | (60%-74%) |
| Mississippi | 116,780 | 30.7% | 120,894 | 32.1% | 161,000-212,000 | (46%-60%) |
| Missouri | 297,949 | 39.0% | 300,234 | 39.3% | 465,000-485,000 | (57%-60%) |
| Montana | 43,180 | 37.1% | 48,068 | 40.3% | 64,000-68,000 | (57%-60%) |
| Nebraska | 102,075 | 44.0% | 107,058 | 44.2% | 131,000-143,000 | (60%-66%) |
| Nevada | 107,920 | 28.1% | 109,514 | 28.4% | 179,000-254,000 | (42%-60%) |
| New Hampshire | 66,977 | 45.5% | 65,715 | 46.0% | 122,000-139,000 | (60%-69%) |
| New Jersey | 504,371 | 45.9% | 520,299 | 47.2% | 751,000-864,000 | (60%-69%) |
| New Mexico | 77,513 | 28.9% | 74,586 | 28.7% | 102,000-145,000 | (42%-60%) |
| New York | 1,280,585 | 49.2% | 1,302,196 | 49.6% | 1,670,000-2,050,000 | (60%-74%) |
| North Carolina | 461,833 | 37.9% | 462,802 | 37.6% | 796,000-840,000 | (57%-60%) |
| North Dakota | 40,813 | 50.9% | 43,893 | 50.8% | 46,000-58,000 | (60%-76%) |
| Ohio | 550,920 | 37.6% | 537,219 | 38.0% | 845,000-905,000 | (56%-60%) |
| Oklahoma | 154,440 | 31.4% | 152,441 | 30.8% | 214,000-274,000 | (47%-60%) |
| Oregon | 193,714 | 37.7% | 194,831 | 37.6% | 326,000-346,000 | (57%-60%) |
| Pennsylvania | 655,993 | 43.5% | 654,558 | 43.9% | 986,000-1,080,000 | (60%-66%) |
| Rhode Island | 56,321 | 42.8% | 53,777 | 42.5% | 96,000-104,000 | (60%-65%) |
| South Carolina | 207,298 | 35.5% | 205,399 | 35.2% | 313,000-355,000 | (53%-60%) |
| South Dakota | 40,807 | 41.4% | 42,317 | 42.2% | 55,000-58,000 | (60%-64%) |
| Tennessee | 269,737 | 32.1% | 268,430 | 32.8% | 421,000-521,000 | (49%-60%) |
| Texas | 1,123,980 | 31.7% | 1,143,206 | 32.2% | 1,880,000-2,380,000 | (47%-60%) |
| Utah | 163,336 | 38.1% | 168,410 | 38.5% | 224,000-235,000 | (57%-60%) |
| Vermont | 29,740 | 43.7% | 30,737 | 44.5% | 55,000-63,000 | (60%-68%) |
| Virginia | 462,259 | 44.0% | 477,103 | 44.6% | 749,000-824,000 | (60%-66%) |
| Washington | 379,425 | 41.6% | 373,615 | 40.9% | 655,000-676,000 | (60%-62%) |
| West Virginia | 64,090 | 28.9% | 64,730 | 29.5% | 85,000-117,000 | (43%-60%) |
| Wisconsin | 282,255 | 40.8% | 291,007 | 41.3% | 458,000-462,000 | (60%-60%) |
| Wyoming | 25,020 | 35.4% | 24,821 | 34.2% | 31,000-36,000 | (53%-60%) |
| National | 15,822,199 | 38.8% | 15,921,711 | 39.3% | 26,200,000-27,000,000 | (58%-60%) |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey (ACS), Education Attainment Ages 25-34, Three-Year Averaged Estimates for 2007-2009 and 2008-2010); and U.S. Census Bureau: 2020 Population Projections.
Note: Between 2009 and 2010, the attainment rate may have increased even though the number of degree holders decreased, and vice versa, due to changes in the state's total population ages 25-34.
Methodology: To be first in the world in the proportion of college graduates with an associate's degree or higher, the U.S. must increase the national attainment rate by 50 percent from its current level by 2020. This would lift the nation as a whole to a 60 percent college attainment rate. The current college attainment rate is 39 percent as measured by the ACS (while international comparisons use the Current Population Survey (CPS), CPS does not yield state-by-state data). While some states with low college attainment rates will need to at least double their attainment rates, states with higher attainment rates are nearer to the national attainment goal of 60 percent and thus do not need as much of an increase. The table above shows two scenarios—on the one hand, a state's attainment rate if it increased its current attainment rate by 50 percent; and on the other, the achievement of a statewide attainment rate of 60 percent. The resulting number of degree holders is calculated by applying the 60 percent rate and the 50 percent increase to the Census projections of the adult population aged 25-34 in 2020. The national projection is calculated in the same way rather than as a sum of the numbers.
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