States with some of the highest concentrations of graduate and professional degree holders tend to be located along the East Coast, according to a new analysis of American Community Survey (ACS) data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

   “The education level of the nation's workforce is a critical element for economic development and for maintaining a strong and healthy economy,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. “The higher the level of educational attainment, the more one can expect to earn over the course of their working life. College graduates earn a lifetime average of $2.1 million, and those holding master’s degrees can expect to earn a lifetime average of
$2.5 million.”

   The 2002 ACS survey, which looked at graduate-degree attainment for the 25-and-over population, found some of the highest levels of graduate and professional degrees in Massachusetts (14.5 percent), Maryland (14.1 percent), Connecticut (13.7 percent), Virginia (12.9 percent), New York (12.6 percent) and Vermont (12.3 percent). West of the Mississippi River, Colorado and New Mexico stood out with graduate degree rates of 11.5 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively. Graduate and professional degrees include master's, law, medical and doctorate degrees.

   The nation’s capital, the District of Columbia, counted 23.6 percent of its 25-and-over population with graduate degrees, more than any state. Nationwide, 9.4 percent of the population held graduate or professional degrees. (See Table 1.)

   Among cities with populations of 250,000 or more, high rates of graduate degree attainment were found in Seattle (19.3 percent), San Francisco (18.5 percent), Atlanta (17.2 percent), Albuquerque, N.M. (16.6 percent), Boston (16.4 percent) and Austin, Texas (16.3 percent). (See Table 2.)

   Of the 231 counties with populations of 250,000 or more in the survey, counties neighboring East Coast cities ranked among the highest in graduate degrees. These included counties in the following metropolitan areas: Washington, D.C. — Montgomery and Howard counties in Maryland (29.2 percent and 24.7 percent, respectively) and Fairfax County, Va. (28.1 percent); New York — New York County (25.7 percent), Westchester County, N.Y. (23.5 percent); and Boston — Middlesex County (21.2 percent) and Norfolk County (19.7 percent). Non-East Coast counties in the top tier included Boulder County, Colo. (24.1 percent) and Washtenaw County, Mich. (23.9 percent). (See Table 3.)

   The findings are based on responses from a sample of 742,000 households. As with all surveys, the estimates and rankings may vary from the actual values because of sampling or nonsampling variations. The statistical statements have undergone testing, and comparisons are significant at the 90 percent confidence level.

   The new American Community Survey (ACS) is the cornerstone of the government’s effort to keep pace with the country’s ever-increasing demands for timely and relevant population and housing data. After it is fully implemented in July 2004, it will provide current demographic, housing, social and economic information about America’s communities every year — information previously available only once every 10 years. The ACS will eliminate the need for the long form in the 2010 Census.

Additional information and data profiles for the nation, states, counties and places can be accessed at <http://www.census.gov/acs/www/> or <http://factfinder.census.gov>.

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