Special Report
This is the Least Educated City in Rhode Island
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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 Rhode Island, no city or town with a population of 25,000 or more has a lower bachelor’s degree attainment rate than Woonsocket. Only 17.8% of the adult population in Woonsocket have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 34.2% 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 Woonsocket, an average of 6.4% of the population between the ages of 25 and 64 were unemployed over the last five years, higher than the 4.4% 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 Woonsocket is no exception. The typical household in the area earns $42,595 a year, below the median household income of $67,167 across Rhode Island 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.
State | Least educated city | Adults in state with a bachelor’s degree (%) | Adults in city with a bachelor’s degree (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Bessemer | 25.5 | 14.4 |
Alaska | Fairbanks | 29.6 | 27.2 |
Arizona | San Luis | 29.5 | 8.4 |
Arkansas | Paragould | 23.0 | 18.4 |
California | Bell Gardens | 33.9 | 5.4 |
Colorado | Pueblo | 40.9 | 18.9 |
Connecticut | Waterbury | 39.3 | 15.7 |
Delaware | Dover | 32.0 | 26.3 |
Florida | West Little River | 29.9 | 10.7 |
Georgia | LaGrange | 31.3 | 18.5 |
Hawaii | Waipahu | 33.0 | 17.1 |
Idaho | Caldwell | 27.6 | 13.7 |
Illinois | Cicero | 34.7 | 9.0 |
Indiana | East Chicago | 26.5 | 9.1 |
Iowa | Clinton | 28.6 | 17.5 |
Kansas | Dodge City | 33.4 | 16.6 |
Kentucky | Henderson | 24.2 | 17.6 |
Louisiana | Marrero | 24.1 | 12.3 |
Maine | Lewiston | 31.8 | 20.3 |
Maryland | Dundalk | 40.2 | 12.9 |
Massachusetts | Lawrence | 43.7 | 10.8 |
Michigan | Lincoln Park | 29.1 | 9.4 |
Minnesota | Brooklyn Center | 36.1 | 20.3 |
Mississippi | Horn Lake | 22.0 | 15.8 |
Missouri | Grandview | 29.2 | 19.4 |
Montana | Great Falls | 32.0 | 25.4 |
Nebraska | Fremont | 31.9 | 18.3 |
Nevada | Sunrise Manor | 24.7 | 10.6 |
New Hampshire | Rochester | 37.0 | 21.7 |
New Jersey | Camden | 39.7 | 9.8 |
New Mexico | South Valley | 27.3 | 14.0 |
New York | Brentwood | 36.6 | 13.9 |
North Carolina | Thomasville | 31.3 | 15.2 |
North Dakota | Williston | 30.0 | 25.2 |
Ohio | Marion | 28.3 | 9.9 |
Oklahoma | Shawnee | 25.5 | 20.6 |
Oregon | Grants Pass | 33.7 | 15.8 |
Pennsylvania | Lebanon | 31.4 | 9.8 |
Rhode Island | Woonsocket | 34.2 | 17.8 |
South Carolina | North Charleston | 28.1 | 22.8 |
South Dakota | Aberdeen | 28.8 | 29.3 |
Tennessee | Morristown | 27.3 | 14.9 |
Texas | Balch Springs | 29.9 | 7.2 |
Utah | Magna | 34.0 | 9.7 |
Vermont | Burlington | 38.0 | 53.3 |
Virginia | Danville | 38.8 | 17.6 |
Washington | Spanaway | 36.0 | 13.9 |
West Virginia | Parkersburg | 20.6 | 16.3 |
Wisconsin | Racine | 30.1 | 16.6 |
Wyoming | Gillette | 27.4 | 19.2 |
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