COLLEGE GRADUATESm 2003

Lobbyists, lawyers and legislators clearly believe in higher education - at least for themselves. The District of Columbia leads the nation in the proportion of college grads, with 46% of Washington adults reporting that they have at least a 4-year degree.

Nationwide, more than a fourth of Americans age 25 or older have a bachelor's degree, according to a recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Other highly educated states include Massachusetts, Maryland and Colorado. At the bottom of the list were West Virginia, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Educational attainment data was collected and analyzed by the Census Bureau as part of the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 2003 Current Population Survey. Findings were published in Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003, released in June 2004.

Percentage college graduates for each state appear below:

State	Population 25+ (thousands)	% bachelors degree
Alabama	2,948	22.7
Alaska	383	24.0
Arizona	3,441	26.0
Arkansas	1,743	17.4
California	21,990	29.8
Colorado	2,894	36.0
Connecticut	2,232	33.5
Delaware	531	28.1
District of Columbia	404	46.4
Florida	11,266	25.8
Georgia	5,468	25.0
Hawaii	796	27.0
Idaho	795	22.5
Illinois	8,031	28.1
Indiana	3,972	22.2
Iowa	1,891	24.6
Kansas	1,693	31.0
Kentucky	2,673	21.3
Louisiana	2,763	22.3
Maine	882	23.7
Maryland	3,545	37.2
Massachusetts	4,415	37.6
Michigan	6,330	23.3
Minnesota	3,323	32.7
Mississippi	1,742	19.3
Missouri	3,637	26.6
Montana	600	24.9
Nebraska	1,077	26.8
Nevada	1,356	21.2
New Hampshire	865	34.0
New Jersey	5,740	33.4
New Mexico	1,154	23.7
New York	12,636	29.6
North Carolina	5,409	23.8
North Dakota	420	25.2
Ohio	7,304	25.0
Oklahoma	2,214	24.3
Oregon	2,315	26.4
Pennsylvania	8,277	24.8
Rhode Island	713	27.6
South Carolina	2,591	22.3
South Dakota	465	23.9
Tennessee	3,700	23.5
Texas	13,231	24.7
Utah	1,272	28.4
Vermont	423	31.3
Virginia	4,623	34.2
Washington	3,884	28.8
West Virginia	1,222	15.3
Wisconsin	3,585	24.1
Wyoming	321	20.7

Source: Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 2003 Current Population Survey Other rankings and top 10 lists