States Where a High Percentage of Black Adults Are College Educated

A new Census Bureau report reveals for the first time the educational level of black adults in each state at the time of the 2000 census. More than 30 percent of all blacks in Vermont and Montana in 2000 held a college degree. New Hampshire, Idaho, Maine, and Hawaii also had highly educated black populations. The reasons are quite clear. These states are predominantly white. Most adult blacks who now live in these states are not native born and have migrated to the locales from other regions and states. People who are able to move to different states are generally more affluent, have higher incomes, and have a higher level of education.

Of the states with a small percentage of black adults with a college degree, South Carolina and Mississippi had the lowest percentage of college-educated blacks. Among northern states, blacks in Wisconsin were the least likely to have a college degree.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.