Age and year |
White1 |
Black1 |
Hispanic |
Less than 5 years of
elementary school |
High
school completion or higher2 |
4 or more years of
college3 |
Less than 5 years of
elementary school |
High
school completion or higher2 |
4 or more years of
college3 |
Less than 5 years of
elementary school |
High
school completion or higher2 |
4 or more years of
college3 |
April 1940 |
10.9% |
26.1% |
4.9% |
41.8% |
7.7% |
1.3% |
— |
— |
— |
April 1950 |
8.9 |
36.4 |
6.6 |
32.6 |
13.7 |
2.2 |
— |
— |
— |
April 1960 |
6.7 |
43.2 |
8.1 |
23.5 |
21.7 |
3.5 |
— |
— |
— |
March 1970 |
4.2 |
57.4 |
11.6 |
14.7 |
36.1 |
6.1 |
— |
— |
— |
March 1980 |
1.9 |
71.9 |
18.4 |
9.1 |
51.4 |
7.9 |
15.8% |
44.5% |
7.6% |
March 1985 |
1.4 |
77.5 |
20.8 |
6.1 |
59.9 |
11.1 |
13.5 |
47.9 |
8.5 |
March 1990 |
1.1 |
81.4 |
23.1 |
5.1 |
66.2 |
11.3 |
12.3 |
50.8 |
9.2 |
March 1992 |
0.9 |
83.4 |
23.2 |
3.9 |
67.7 |
11.9 |
11.8 |
52.6 |
9.3 |
March 1993 |
0.8 |
84.1 |
23.8 |
3.7 |
70.5 |
12.2 |
11.8 |
53.1 |
9.0 |
March 1994 |
0.8 |
84.9 |
24.3 |
2.7 |
73.0 |
12.9 |
10.8 |
53.3 |
9.1 |
March 1995 |
0.7 |
85.9 |
23.4 |
2.5 |
73.8 |
13.3 |
10.6 |
53.4 |
9.3 |
March 1996 |
0.6 |
86.0 |
25.9 |
2.2 |
74.6 |
13.8 |
10.4 |
53.1 |
9.3 |
March 1997 |
0.6 |
86.3 |
26.2 |
2.0 |
75.3 |
13.3 |
9.4 |
54.7 |
10.3 |
March 1998 |
0.6 |
87.1 |
26.6 |
1.7 |
76.4 |
14.8 |
9.3 |
55.5 |
11.0 |
March 1999 |
0.6 |
87.7 |
27.7 |
1.8 |
77.4 |
15.5 |
9.0 |
56.1 |
10.9 |
March 2000 |
0.5 |
88.4 |
28.1 |
1.6 |
78.9 |
16.6 |
8.7 |
57.0 |
10.6 |
March 2001 |
0.5 |
88.7 |
28.6 |
1.3 |
79.5 |
16.1 |
9.3 |
56.5 |
11.2 |
March 2002 |
0.5 |
88.7 |
29.4 |
1.6 |
79.2 |
17.2 |
8.7 |
57.0 |
11.1 |
March 2004 |
0.4 |
90.0 |
30.6 |
1.3 |
81.1 |
17.7 |
8.1 |
58.4 |
12.1 |
March 2005 |
0.5 |
90.1 |
30.5 |
1.5 |
81.5 |
17.7 |
7.9 |
58.5 |
12.0 |
March 2006 |
0.4 |
90.5 |
31.0 |
1.5 |
81.2 |
18.6 |
7.6 |
59.3 |
12.4 |
March 2007 |
0.4 |
90.6 |
31.8 |
1.2 |
82.8 |
18.7 |
6.9 |
60.3 |
12.7 |
NOTE: (—) = not available.
1. Includes persons of Hispanic origin
for years prior to 1980.
2. Data for years prior to 1993 include
all persons with at least 4 years of high school.
3. Data for 1993 and later years are for
persons with a bachelor's or higher degree.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau
of the Census, U.S. Census of Population, 1960, Vol. 1, part 1;
Current Population Reports, Series P-20 and unpublished data; and
1960 Census Monograph, “Education of the American Population,” by
John K. Folger and Charles B. Nam. From U.S. Dept. of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education
Statistics 2007, and U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population
Survey, March 2007.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.