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Women more likely than men to have earned a bachelor's degree by age 31
December 06, 2018
Nearly 36 percent of women born in the years 1980–84 had earned a bachelor's degree by age 31, compared with 28 percent of men. Among both women and men, 38 percent had attended some college or earned an associate degree by age 31. Twenty-four percent had earned a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) credential.
Percent of people born in 1980–84 by their educational attainment at age 31
Characteristic
Total
High school dropout
High school diploma, no college
General Educational Development (GED) recipient, no college
Some college or associate degree
Bachelor's degree or higher
Total
100%
7.1%
16.1%
7.4%
37.7%
31.6%
Total men
100
7.7
18.4
9.1
36.7
27.9
White non-Hispanic men
100
6.5
19.0
7.2
35.2
32.0
Black non-Hispanic men
100
11.2
18.3
16.7
39.0
14.2
Hispanic or Latino men
100
11.9
20.3
10.6
40.0
16.7
Total women
100
6.4
13.7
5.6
38.7
35.5
White non-Hispanic women
100
5.5
13.4
5.1
35.7
40.2
Black non-Hispanic women
100
8.0
13.4
6.6
48.3
23.0
Hispanic or Latino women
100
9.9
18.6
7.3
42.7
21.1
Within each racial and ethnic group examined, women were more likely than men to have earned a bachelor's degree. Forty percent of White non-Hispanic women had earned a bachelor’s degree by age 31, compared with 32 percent of White non-Hispanic men. Twenty-three percent of Black non-Hispanic women had earned a bachelor’s degree, compared with 14 percent of Black non-Hispanic men. Among Hispanics or Latinos, women also were also more likely than men to have earned a bachelor’s degree (21 percent versus 17 percent).
Among men at age 31, Hispanics and Black non-Hispanics were nearly twice as likely as White non-Hispanic to have dropped out of high school. Women in each of the racial and ethnic groups were less likely than men to have dropped out of high school.
About 35 percent of Black non-Hispanic men at age 31 were high school graduates or GED recipients who had not attended college. That compares with 31 percent of Hispanic or Latino men and 26 percent of White non-Hispanic men. About one in five Black, Hispanic, and White men had earned a regular high school diploma; Black men were more likely than Hispanic or White men to have earned a GED.
Among 31-year-old women, 26 percent of Hispanics or Latinos were high school graduates or GED recipients who had not attended college. That compares with 20 percent of non-Hispanic Black women and 19 percent of non-Hispanic White women. Women in all three groups were about equally likely to have earned a GED.
United States Department of Labor
