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 Louisiana, Lafayette, a city of about 126,700 people, ranks as the best educated place. An estimated 38.2% of adults in the area have a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to the 24.1% 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 Lafayette, the typical household earns $51,264 a year, above the statewide median household income of $49,469.
All data in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 American Community Survey. We considered all census "place" geographies -- a category that includes incorporated legal entities and census-designated statistical entities. Places with populations of 25,000 or less, or with high margins of error in education data, were excluded from analysis.
| Most educated place |
Adults with a bachelor's degree (%) |
Adults with a bachelor's degree; statewide (%) |
Median household income ($) |
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 |
