Some College
About
Percentage of adults ages 25-44 with some post-secondary education. The 2024 Annual Data Release used data from 2018-2022 for this measure.
The relationship between higher education and improved health outcomes is well known, with years of formal education correlating strongly with improved work and economic opportunities, reduced psychosocial stress, and healthier lifestyles.1,2
Data and methods
Data Source
American Community Survey, 5-year estimates
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with a fresh look at how they are changing. It is a critical element in the Census Bureau's reengineered decennial census program. The ACS collects and produces population and housing information every year instead of every ten years, and publishes both one-year and five-year estimates. We use American Community Survey data for measures of social and economic factors.
Website to download data
For more detailed methodological information
Key Measure Methods
Some College is a percentage
Some College is the percentage of the population ages 25-44 with some post-secondary education, such as enrollment in vocational/technical school, junior college, or 4-year college. It includes individuals who pursued education following high school but did not receive a degree as well as those who attained degrees.
Caution should be used when comparing these estimates across years
Caution should be used when comparing data across years as data comes from overlapping 5-year spans. Additionally, margins of error for 5-year estimates containing data collected in 2020 increased compared to prior 5-year estimates. For more information about data comparability please visit Comparing 2022 American Community Survey Data.
Measure limitations
This measure does not describe the quality nor amount of post-secondary education obtained. People move between counties and the percentage of adults with post-secondary education living in a place may not directly reflect opportunities for education in that county. The Education, Employment, Income, and Family & Social Support measures can provide additional information to help interpret the measure of Some College.
Numerator
The numerator is the total number of individuals ages 25-44 with any post-secondary education.
Denominator
The denominator is the total number of individuals ages 25-44.
Can This Measure Be Used to Track Progress
This measure can be used to track progress with some caveats. It is important to note that the estimate provided in the Health Snapshots is a five-year average. However, for counties with a population greater than 20,000, single-year estimates can be obtained from the resource below.
Finding More Data
Disaggregation means breaking data down into smaller, meaningful subgroups. Disaggregated data are often broken down by characteristics of people or where they live. Disaggregated data can reveal inequalities that are otherwise hidden. These data can be disaggregated by:
- Age
- Gender
- Race
- Subcounty Area
You can find data on educational attainment stratified by age and gender, and you can calculate the educational attainment of the population age 25 and over by race (tables A-G). For many communities, you can access these same tables at the census tract or census block level.
References
1 Egerter S, Braveman P, Sadegh-Nobari T, Grossman-Kahn R, Dekker M. Education Matters for Health. Princeton: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Commission to Build a Healthier America. 2009: Issue Brief 6.
2 Ross CE, Mirowsky J. Refining the association between education and health: The effects of quantity, credential and selectivity. Demography. 1999; 36:445-460.