Special Report

This Is the Least Educated Metro Area in Arkansas

Samuel Stebbins

Published: September 13, 2021 10:29 am

Last Updated: September 13, 2021 1:08 pm

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 Pine Bluff metro area, located in Arkansas, only 16.4% of the adult population have a bachelor’s degree, the smallest share of any metro area in the state. Meanwhile, across Arkansas, 23.3% 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 Pine Bluff metro area, the typical household earns $41,541 per year, less than the median household income across Arkansas of $48,952.

All data in this story are one-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.