The average cost of a college education in the United States is $35,720 a year — three times higher than it was two decades ago. While rising tuition costs are discouraging many Americans from enrolling, a college education is an investment that can broaden access to career opportunities, improve job security, and increase 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 every state, there is at least one city where the share of adults with a bachelor’s degree is higher than the national average.

In Montana, Bozeman, a city of about 46,700 people, ranks as the best educated place. An estimated 58.7% of adults in the area have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to the 32.0% bachelor’s degree attainment rate across the state as a whole.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 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 cities with well-educated populations, incomes also tend to be higher than average. In Bozeman, the typical household earns $55,569 a year, slightly more than the statewide median household income of $54,970.

All data in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. We considered all census “place” geographies — a category that includes incorporated legal entities and census-designated statistical entities. Places with populations of 25,000 or less, or with high margins of error in education data, were excluded from analysis.

 

Most educated place	Adults with a bachelor’s degree (%)	Adults with a bachelor’s degree; statewide (%)	Median household income ($)	Median household income; statewide ($)
Alabama: Vestavia Hills	69.3	25.5	109,485	50,536
Alaska: Juneau	38.4	29.6	88,390	77,640
Arizona: Catalina Foothills	67.8	29.5	92,929	58,945
Arkansas: Bentonville	50.2	23.0	80,392	47,597
California: Los Altos	84.2	33.9	235,278	75,235
Colorado: Boulder	76.0	40.9	69,520	72,331
Connecticut: Westport	78.0	39.3	206,466	78,444
Delaware: Newark	53.2	32.0	58,434	68,287
Florida: Coral Gables	66.7	29.9	100,843	55,660
Georgia: Dunwoody	72.2	31.3	96,057	58,700
Hawaii: East Honolulu	58.3	33.0	133,165	81,275
Idaho: Moscow	55.8	27.6	41,896	55,785
Illinois: Wilmette	83.2	34.7	164,681	65,886
Indiana: West Lafayette	71.5	26.5	34,650	56,303
Iowa: Ames	62.7	28.6	48,105	60,523
Kansas: Leawood	76.9	33.4	157,515	59,597
Kentucky: Lexington-Fayette	43.6	24.2	57,291	50,589
Louisiana: Lafayette	38.2	24.1	51,264	49,469
Maine: Portland	52.6	31.8	60,467	57,918
Maryland: Bethesda	85.9	40.2	164,142	84,805
Massachusetts: Lexington	84.7	43.7	186,201	81,215
Michigan: Ann Arbor	76.0	29.1	65,745	57,144
Minnesota: Edina	69.8	36.1	104,244	71,306
Mississippi: Madison	68.5	22.0	114,521	45,081
Missouri: Chesterfield	69.2	29.2	113,315	55,461
Montana: Bozeman	58.7	32.0	55,569	54,970
Nebraska: Lincoln	39.6	31.9	57,746	61,439
Nevada: Summerlin South	48.8	24.7	93,899	60,365
New Hampshire: Dover	46.5	37.0	71,631	76,768
New Jersey: Princeton	81.0	39.7	137,672	82,545
New Mexico: Santa Fe	41.7	27.3	57,972	49,754
New York: Ithaca	66.9	36.6	34,424	68,486
North Carolina: Chapel Hill	76.9	31.3	73,614	54,602
North Dakota: West Fargo	44.2	30.0	85,120	64,894
Ohio: Upper Arlington	77.1	28.3	123,548	56,602
Oklahoma: Edmond	53.4	25.5	81,473	52,919
Oregon: Lake Oswego	71.4	33.7	108,927	62,818
Pennsylvania: State College	70.6	31.4	34,005	61,744
Rhode Island: Warwick	33.8	34.2	73,757	67,167
South Carolina: Mount Pleasant	63.9	28.1	103,232	53,199
South Dakota: Sioux Falls	35.2	28.8	59,912	58,275
Tennessee: Brentwood	76.1	27.3	168,688	53,320
Texas: University Park	87.8	29.9	224,485	61,874
Utah: Holladay	55.8	34.0	88,728	71,621
Vermont: Burlington	53.3	38.0	51,394	61,973
Virginia: McLean	83.5	38.8	207,184	74,222
Washington: Mercer Island	78.2	36.0	147,566	73,775
West Virginia: Morgantown	55.0	20.6	42,966	46,711
Wisconsin: Brookfield	60.7	30.1	108,198	61,747
Wyoming: Laramie	52.7	27.4	46,117	64,049

 

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