college_outcomes_county_year
College Scorecard Most-Recent-Cohorts aggregated to county. Enrollment-weighted averages. Only counties with at least one mapped institution are present (~1,400 counties).
overview
~3,000 counties with sufficient student observations. Coverage limited by Opportunity Insights' tax-record-based methodology and college origin sampling.
current vintage — Cohorts 1980-1991 birth years; earnings observed ~ages 32-34
history — Birth cohorts 1980-1991
source & licensing
fields
| name | type | definition |
|---|---|---|
| avg_admission_rate | float64 · percent (0–100) | Average undergraduate admission rate across institutions in the county that reported admissions data. Lower values indicate more selective institutions on average. |
| completion_rate_4yr | float64 · percent (0–100) | Share of first-time, full-time students who completed a degree within 150% of normal time at 4-year institutions, averaged across qualifying institutions in the county. Higher values indicate stronger degree attainment outcomes. |
| completion_rate_lt4yr | float64 · percent (0–100) | Share of first-time, full-time students who completed a credential within 150% of normal time at less-than-4-year institutions, averaged across qualifying institutions in the county. Higher values indicate stronger completion outcomes at 2-year and certificate-granting programs. |
| 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. |
| institution_count | int64 · count | — |
| median_earnings_10yr | float64 · dollars (nominal) | Median annual earnings of students 10 years after initial enrollment, aggregated across institutions in the county. Higher values indicate better long-run labor market outcomes for graduates. |
| pct_pell_grant | float64 · percent (0–100) | Share of undergraduates receiving federal Pell Grants, averaged across institutions in the county. Higher values indicate a greater proportion of low-income students. |
| state_id | string | 2-character FIPS code identifying the state.Joins dim.states on state_id. |
| total_undergrad_enrollment | float64 · count | Total undergraduate student enrollment across all institutions in the county, aggregated for the reference year. Higher values indicate a larger postsecondary student population. |
joins
how to use this table
Opportunity Insights links federal student aid records to IRS earnings to track college-by-college mobility. County aggregation uses students' parental ZIP/county of origin. Median earnings 10 years post entry.
Recent cohort outcomes (latest cohort is birth year 1991); causal inference (these are descriptive correlations); sub-college selectivity comparisons within county.
Cohort vintages are dated (latest birth year 1991); does not reflect recent enrollment patterns.