The U.S. Census Bureau has released new American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates showing notable changes in educational attainment and other social indicators across metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas between the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 periods.
According to the ACS data, the share of adults aged 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree in metropolitan areas rose from 34.2% to 37.8%. Erik Hernandez, a Census Bureau statistician, said, “Over the last five years, we’ve noticed a significant increase in the percentage of adults completing higher education. Approximately 89% of metro areas experienced an increase in the percentage of population 25 years and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher when compared to the 2015-2019 period.”
The Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area saw one of the largest increases in educational attainment among adults age 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher—up from 45.3% to 53.4%. The Springfield, MA metro area was unique among metro regions for experiencing a decline, dropping from 32.8% to 29.3%.
In micropolitan statistical areas, about half also reported increased rates of residents aged 25 and older holding bachelor’s degrees or higher. Taos, NM recorded one of the most significant improvements: its rate rose from 28.7% to 38.5%.
Field-specific gains were observed as well. In Gadsden, AL, college graduates age 25 and over with education as their field saw an increase from 24.5% to 29.1%, while Elizabethtown, KY experienced a decrease from 19% to 13%. For those with science and engineering degrees, Enid, OK had an increase from 24.8% to 33%, whereas Carson City, NV declined from 37.6% to 31%. Carson City also posted one of the largest increases for arts and humanities graduates—from 19.5% up to 27.5%; Enid saw one of the largest decreases in this category.
The ACS is recognized as providing local estimates on more than forty topics regarding people and housing across small communities—a resource considered important for trend analysis and future planning.
Other highlights include shifts in economic measures:
– The median U.S household income during this period was $80,734.
– After adjusting for inflation (to constant dollars), median household income nationwide increased by approximately four percent since the previous survey period.
– However, most counties did not see statistically significant changes; only about a quarter registered either increases or decreases.
– A majority of counties continued having median incomes below that national figure.
Poverty rates showed some improvement nationally:
– The U.S poverty rate fell slightly—from roughly thirteen percent down to twelve percent.
– More counties recorded reductions rather than increases in overall poverty rates.
– For children under eighteen years old, most counties tracked reported lower poverty rates; however among those sixty-five or older there were more counties where poverty increased than decreased.
– Persistent high-poverty rates remain concentrated: just over three hundred counties have maintained twenty percent or higher poverty through all four nonoverlapping ACS survey periods since inception.
Broadband access also improved widely:
– All metro areas surveyed posted growth in broadband subscriptions; Brownsville-Harlingen, TX led these gains with coverage jumping nearly thirty percentage points.
– Only two micro areas—Greenville MS and Ruston LA—saw declines.
– Farmington NM reported having lowest broadband subscription share among metros at just over seventy-two percent.
Language use at home shifted as well:
– Las Cruces NM experienced an uptick in English-only speakers at home; Lakeland-Winter Haven FL had fewer English-only households but greater prevalence speaking Spanish at home (23%).
Major cities continued expanding household numbers since earlier ACS cycles—for example New York City added nearly three hundred thousand households since mid-decade figures—and both never-married men’s and women’s shares increased notably across populous places such as Houston TX.
The Census Bureau will release further detailed data products including Public Use Microdata Sample files on March 5th next year; users can consult additional resources such as handbooks or webinars for guidance on accessing various datasets via tools like data.census.gov or APIs.
Definitions used for metropolitan (“metro”) and micropolitan (“micro”) statistical areas follow standards set by the United States Office of Management and Budget, which classify these regions based on urban population size thresholds combined with social/economic integration measured through commuting ties.
All highlighted comparisons are statistically significant at ninety-percent confidence unless otherwise specified; users are encouraged to consult published tables for margins of error information (Code Lists).
Survey participation remains critical for producing these community-level statistics.
