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 Houma-Thibodaux metro area, located in Louisiana, only 16.3% of the adult population have a bachelor's degree, the smallest share of any metro area in the state. Meanwhile, across Louisiana, 25.0% 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 Houma-Thibodaux metro area, the typical household earns $49,874 per year, less than the median household income across Louisiana of $51,073.
All data in this story are one-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey.
| Least educated metro area |
Adults with a bachelor's degree (%) |
Adults with a bachelor's degree, statewide (%) |
Median household income ($) |
Median household income, statewide ($) |
| Alabama: Gadsden |
17.2 |
26.3 |
41,447 |
51,734 |
| Alaska: Anchorage |
33.1 |
30.2 |
80,676 |
75,463 |
| Arizona: Lake Havasu City-Kingman |
13.5 |
30.2 |
50,179 |
62,055 |
| Arkansas: Pine Bluff |
16.4 |
23.3 |
41,541 |
48,952 |
| California: Visalia |
13.6 |
35.0 |
57,692 |
80,440 |
| Colorado: Pueblo |
23.4 |
42.7 |
51,276 |
77,127 |
| Connecticut: Norwich-New London |
33.3 |
39.8 |
75,633 |
78,833 |
| Delaware: Dover |
24.5 |
33.2 |
58,001 |
70,176 |
| Florida: Sebring-Avon Park |
16.7 |
30.7 |
48,698 |
59,227 |
| Georgia: Dalton |
15.0 |
32.5 |
51,967 |
61,980 |
| Hawaii: Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina |
27.7 |
33.6 |
80,754 |
83,102 |
| Idaho: Twin Falls |
20.0 |
28.7 |
56,667 |
60,999 |
| Illinois: Danville |
12.1 |
35.8 |
43,111 |
69,187 |
| Indiana: Michigan City-La Porte |
18.0 |
26.9 |
56,019 |
57,603 |
| Iowa: Sioux City |
22.6 |
29.3 |
60,132 |
61,691 |
| Kansas: Topeka |
29.1 |
34.0 |
59,567 |
62,087 |
| Kentucky: Elizabethtown-Fort Knox |
21.4 |
25.1 |
55,246 |
52,295 |
| Louisiana: Houma-Thibodaux |
16.3 |
25.0 |
49,874 |
51,073 |
| Maine: Lewiston-Auburn |
25.1 |
33.2 |
63,813 |
58,924 |
| Maryland: Cumberland |
19.1 |
40.9 |
49,729 |
86,738 |
| Massachusetts: Pittsfield |
33.9 |
45.0 |
58,895 |
85,843 |
| Michigan: Battle Creek |
20.2 |
30.0 |
49,055 |
59,584 |
| Minnesota: St. Cloud |
26.6 |
37.3 |
66,076 |
74,593 |
| Mississippi: Gulfport-Biloxi |
22.7 |
22.3 |
50,642 |
45,792 |
| Missouri: St. Joseph |
20.0 |
30.2 |
50,425 |
57,409 |
| Montana: Great Falls |
25.6 |
33.6 |
51,227 |
57,153 |
| Nebraska: Grand Island |
21.0 |
33.2 |
55,907 |
63,229 |
| Nevada: Carson City |
21.3 |
25.7 |
57,270 |
63,276 |
| New Hampshire: Manchester-Nashua |
37.8 |
37.6 |
83,626 |
77,933 |
| New Jersey: Vineland-Bridgeton |
16.1 |
41.2 |
54,587 |
85,751 |
| New Mexico: Farmington |
14.4 |
27.7 |
44,321 |
51,945 |
| New York: Watertown-Fort Drum |
22.4 |
37.8 |
53,917 |
72,108 |
| North Carolina: Rocky Mount |
17.4 |
32.3 |
46,466 |
57,341 |
| North Dakota: Bismarck |
33.4 |
30.4 |
70,979 |
64,577 |
| Ohio: Springfield |
16.2 |
29.3 |
50,128 |
58,642 |
| Oklahoma: Lawton |
20.5 |
26.2 |
51,332 |
54,449 |
| Oregon: Grants Pass |
16.8 |
34.5 |
47,573 |
67,058 |
| Pennsylvania: Johnstown |
20.6 |
32.3 |
49,076 |
63,463 |
| Rhode Island: Providence-Warwick |
33.2 |
34.8 |
70,967 |
71,169 |
| South Carolina: Sumter |
20.1 |
29.6 |
49,263 |
56,227 |
| South Dakota: Rapid City |
30.8 |
29.7 |
58,361 |
59,533 |
| Tennessee: Morristown |
19.3 |
28.7 |
47,326 |
56,071 |
| Texas: Odessa |
15.1 |
30.8 |
67,205 |
64,034 |
| Utah: St. George |
27.3 |
34.8 |
63,595 |
75,780 |
| Vermont: Burlington-South Burlington |
44.6 |
38.7 |
74,909 |
63,001 |
| Virginia: Staunton |
24.2 |
39.6 |
57,844 |
76,456 |
| Washington: Longview |
15.3 |
37.0 |
55,497 |
78,687 |
| West Virginia: Weirton-Steubenville |
17.5 |
21.1 |
49,510 |
48,850 |
| Wisconsin: Janesville-Beloit |
23.2 |
31.3 |
61,243 |
64,168 |
| Wyoming: Casper |
20.7 |
29.1 |
65,034 |
65,003 |
