More than half of all working-class Americans hold a college degree or credential beyond high school, according to a new report from the Lumina Foundation, a higher education advocacy group.
Lumina Foundation has monitored local, state and national college attainment rates since 2008. As of 2023, the rate of adults with a postsecondary credential has increased to 54.9%, a 17-percentage point bump. Among 25–34-year-olds, the rate is even higher at 56.8%.
“The challenges ahead may be daunting, but the past 15 years demonstrate what is possible when ambition is met with support,” wrote Courtney White, vice president of impact and planning for Lumina Foundation.
The District of Columbia leads the nation with the highest college attainment rate at 75.1%. The highest rates among states are:
- Colorado (63%)
- Massachusetts (63%)
- Utah (61.8%)
- Minnesota (61.7%)
- Connecticut (60.2%)
Puerto Rico experienced the highest percent increase at 23.5 points, followed by Utah at 22.5 and Arizona and Indiana at 20.8. Among races and ethnicities, Black and Hispanic adults led in growth, boasting 10- and 9-point bumps, respectively. Asian adults hold the highest college attainment rate at 67.1%, followed by white adults at 52%.
How to increase the college attainment rate
The massive national gains still fall short of the Lumina Foundation’s ultimate goal: achieving 60% college attainment. Concerns about affordability, student debt and college’s relevance to the workforce persist.
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Changing the narrative around affordability may be more about perspective than policy, said Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. About a quarter of all aid that goes toward higher education in Kentucky goes toward student financial aid.
“We’re still fighting this misconception that higher education is too expensive and that everybody has a $125,000 loan,” Thompson said. Here is three ways Kentucky is fighting perceptions about affordability:
- Build cost transparency: Before a student can choose a degree across any public institution, they are provided information on how their financial aid will be used and the average borrowing amount.
- Teach financial literacy: The state education department created a website to provide resources to assist schools to implement the financial literacy standards.
- Urge FAFSA completion: More than half of the state’s 2021 graduating high school class filled out the FAFSA., This left $54 million in Pell Grant money unclaimed.
Non-degree certificates contributed eight percentage points to the college attainment rate, thanks to their typically lower costs and workforce alignment.
Above all, higher educators must continue to ensure that their programs are promoting economic mobility and meeting state workforce needs if they wish to spur higher attainment rates, said Teresa Lubbers, president of the Sagamore Institute, a public policy think thank, and former Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education. “It’s about building consensus among the public, private and philanthropic sectors around this vision for having more Hoosiers [earn] education beyond high school.”
