attainment_county_year
ACS educational attainment (pop 25+) by county and year. 2024: full B15003 ladder from acs_county_education_2024. 2019-2023: bachelors+ only from acs_county_demographics; below-bachelors are NULL stubs.
tier bsample_estimate
overview
overview
All 3,222 counties x 6 ACS vintages.
current vintage — 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year
history — ACS B15003: 2009-2013 vintage to present
provenance
source & licensing
authority
U.S. Census Bureau
dataset
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B15003
source url
license
Public domain (U.S. Federal Government work)
citation
U.S. Census Bureau. ACS 5-Year Estimates, Table B15003 (educational attainment), 2015-2019 through 2020-2024.
schema
fields
| name | type | definition |
|---|---|---|
| college_enrollment_rate_18_24 | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population aged 18–24 currently enrolled in college or graduate school. Higher values indicate greater rates of immediate postsecondary participation among young adults. |
| country_id | string | ISO alpha-2 country code (always 'US' for domestic tables). |
| county_idkey | string | 5-character FIPS code identifying the county.Joins dim.counties on county_id. |
| county_name | string | Human-readable county name corresponding to county_id. |
| edu_associate | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over whose highest educational attainment is an associate's degree (occupational or academic). |
| edu_bachelors | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over whose highest educational attainment is a bachelor's degree. |
| edu_doctorate | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over whose highest educational attainment is a doctoral degree (e.g., PhD, EdD). |
| edu_hs_diploma | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over whose highest educational attainment is a high school diploma or GED equivalent. |
| edu_less_than_hs | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over who have not completed a high school diploma or equivalency credential. |
| edu_masters | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over whose highest educational attainment is a master's degree. |
| edu_professional | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over whose highest educational attainment is a professional degree beyond a bachelor's (e.g., JD, MD, MBA). |
| edu_some_college | int64 · count | Number of adults aged 25 and over who attended college but did not complete a degree, including those with less than one year of college credit. |
| pct_associate | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over whose highest attainment is an associate's degree. Calculated as edu_associate / total_pop × 100. |
| pct_bachelors_plus | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over who hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Calculated as (edu_bachelors + edu_masters + edu_professional + edu_doctorate) / total_pop × 100. Higher values indicate greater concentration of college-educated adults. |
| pct_graduate_plus | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over who hold a graduate or professional degree (master's, professional, or doctorate). Calculated as (edu_masters + edu_professional + edu_doctorate) / total_pop × 100. |
| pct_hs_diploma | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over whose highest attainment is exactly a high school diploma or GED. Calculated as edu_hs_diploma / total_pop × 100. |
| pct_hs_or_higher | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over who have completed at least a high school diploma or equivalent. Complement of pct_less_than_hs. Higher values indicate broader baseline credential attainment. |
| pct_less_than_hs | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over with less than a high school diploma or equivalent. Calculated as edu_less_than_hs / total_pop × 100. Higher values indicate lower baseline educational attainment. |
| pct_some_college | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over who attended some college but hold no degree. Calculated as edu_some_college / total_pop × 100. |
| pct_some_college_or_higher | float64 · percent (0–100) | Percentage of adults aged 25 and over who have completed at least some college coursework or hold any postsecondary credential. Higher values indicate greater access to or participation in postsecondary education. |
| state_id | string | 2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Joins dim.states on state_id. |
| total_pop | int64 · count | Total population aged 25 and over in the county used as the denominator for educational attainment percentages. Higher values indicate larger adult populations. |
| yearkey | int64 | Reference year of the observation. |
relationships
joins
primary key
county_id, year
common joins
dim.geographies on county_id
demographics_education_county_year on (county_id, year)
college_outcomes_county_year on (county_id, year)
usage
how to use this table
method
ACS B15003 detailed attainment categories aggregated to high school+, some college+, bachelor's+, graduate+. Population denominator: 25 years and over.
do not use for
Sub-county tract analysis; small-county year-over-year change.
known issues
Overlapping 5-year windows mean year-over-year changes are not independent.
last updated · May 5, 2026