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 Texas, no city or town with a population of 25,000 or more has a lower bachelor’s degree attainment rate than Balch Springs. Only 7.2% of the adult population in Balch Springs have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 29.9% of adults across the state as a whole.

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 Balch Springs is no exception. The typical household in the area earns $51,446 a year, below the median household income of $61,874 across Texas 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