Projected Degree Gap: 12.5%

Percent of 25 to 64 Year Olds with Associate Degrees or Higher

Levels of Education

for North Carolina

AGES 25-64
  • 232,218 | 4.7%Less than ninth grade
  • 443,628 | 9.0%Ninth to 12th grade, no diploma
  • 1,315,307 | 26.6%High school graduate (or equivalency)
  • 1,131,559 | 22.8%Some college, no degree
  • 452,050 | 9.1%Associate degree
  • 931,915 | 18.8%Bachelor’s degree
  • 445,529 | 9.0%Graduate or professional degree
Click to See Data by Population Group

Attainment Rates

for North Carolina

By Population Group AGES 25-64
  • 41.4%White
  • 25.0%Black
  • 15.7%Hispanic
  • 58.6%Asian
  • 18.2%Native American
Click to See Data by Level of Education

Percentage of North Carolina adults (25-64) with a two- or four-year degree by county:

Alamance 30.2 Franklin 24.3 Orange 63.4
Alexander 22.2 Gaston 28.7 Pasquotank 28.7
Anson 15.0 Granville 26.0 Pender 26.3
Ashe 22.6 Greene 18.0 Person 25.0
Beaufort 29.3 Guilford 41.2 Pitt 41.2
Bladen 21.8 Halifax 21.8 Randolph 21.1
Brunswick 28.8 Harnett 28.2 Richmond 23.6
Buncombe 41.9 Haywood 32.9 Robeson 19.4
Burke 26.1 Henderson 38.5 Rockingham 21.4
Cabarrus 36.1 Hertford 25.5 Rowan 25.9
Caldwell 22.3 Hoke 25.9 Rutherford 27.1
Carteret 34.6 Iredell 32.7 Sampson 20.0
Caswell 19.0 Jackson 36.3 Scotland 25.3
Catawba 29.4 Johnston 30.0 Stanly 27.4
Chatham 41.4 Lee 27.6 Stokes 18.2
Cherokee 27.6 Lenoir 23.6 Surry 24.5
Cleveland 24.8 Lincoln 26.0 Transylvania 35.2
Columbus 24.4 Macon 31.3 Union 36.6
Craven 32.3 Madison 28.0 Vance 19.4
Cumberland 33.8 Martin 23.9 Wake 57.3
Currituck 25.0 McDowell 26.4 Watauga 45.2
Dare 38.5 Mecklenburg 50.6 Wayne 26.8
Davidson 26.7 Montgomery 22.7 Wilkes 21.8
Davie 32.7 Moore 38.6 Wilson 27.5
Duplin 19.0 Nash 29.9 Yadkin 22.7
Durham 51.4 New Hanover 48.1 Other counties 24.8*
Edgecombe 18.8 Northampton 22.2    
Forsyth 41.4 Onslow 28.8    

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey

*This percentage is an average for the 19 North Carolina counties with fewer than 20,000 residents.