The average cost of a college education in the United States is $35,720 a year — three times higher than it was two decades ago. While rising tuition costs are discouraging many Americans from enrolling, a college education is an investment that can broaden access to career opportunities, improve job security, and increase earning potential.
Nationwide, an estimated 32.1% of American adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Educational attainment rates vary considerably across the country, however, and in every state, there is at least one city where the share of adults with a bachelor’s degree is higher than the national average.
In Georgia, Dunwoody, a city of about 49,400 people, ranks as the best educated place. An estimated 72.2% of adults in the area have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to the 31.3% bachelor’s degree attainment rate across the state as a whole.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average weekly wage for a college-educated worker in the United States is about 67% higher than it is for those with no more than a high school diploma — and in cities with well-educated populations, incomes also tend to be higher than average. In Dunwoody, the typical household earns $96,057 a year, above the statewide median household income of $58,700.
All data in this story are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. We considered all census “place” geographies — a category that includes incorporated legal entities and census-designated statistical entities. Places with populations of 25,000 or less, or with high margins of error in education data, were excluded from analysis.
| Most educated place | Adults with a bachelor’s degree (%) | Adults with a bachelor’s degree; statewide (%) | Median household income ($) | Median household income; statewide ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama: Vestavia Hills | 69.3 | 25.5 | 109,485 | 50,536 |
| Alaska: Juneau | 38.4 | 29.6 | 88,390 | 77,640 |
| Arizona: Catalina Foothills | 67.8 | 29.5 | 92,929 | 58,945 |
| Arkansas: Bentonville | 50.2 | 23.0 | 80,392 | 47,597 |
| California: Los Altos | 84.2 | 33.9 | 235,278 | 75,235 |
| Colorado: Boulder | 76.0 | 40.9 | 69,520 | 72,331 |
| Connecticut: Westport | 78.0 | 39.3 | 206,466 | 78,444 |
| Delaware: Newark | 53.2 | 32.0 | 58,434 | 68,287 |
| Florida: Coral Gables | 66.7 | 29.9 | 100,843 | 55,660 |
| Georgia: Dunwoody | 72.2 | 31.3 | 96,057 | 58,700 |
| Hawaii: East Honolulu | 58.3 | 33.0 | 133,165 | 81,275 |
| Idaho: Moscow | 55.8 | 27.6 | 41,896 | 55,785 |
| Illinois: Wilmette | 83.2 | 34.7 | 164,681 | 65,886 |
| Indiana: West Lafayette | 71.5 | 26.5 | 34,650 | 56,303 |
| Iowa: Ames | 62.7 | 28.6 | 48,105 | 60,523 |
| Kansas: Leawood | 76.9 | 33.4 | 157,515 | 59,597 |
| Kentucky: Lexington-Fayette | 43.6 | 24.2 | 57,291 | 50,589 |
| Louisiana: Lafayette | 38.2 | 24.1 | 51,264 | 49,469 |
| Maine: Portland | 52.6 | 31.8 | 60,467 | 57,918 |
| Maryland: Bethesda | 85.9 | 40.2 | 164,142 | 84,805 |
| Massachusetts: Lexington | 84.7 | 43.7 | 186,201 | 81,215 |
| Michigan: Ann Arbor | 76.0 | 29.1 | 65,745 | 57,144 |
| Minnesota: Edina | 69.8 | 36.1 | 104,244 | 71,306 |
| Mississippi: Madison | 68.5 | 22.0 | 114,521 | 45,081 |
| Missouri: Chesterfield | 69.2 | 29.2 | 113,315 | 55,461 |
| Montana: Bozeman | 58.7 | 32.0 | 55,569 | 54,970 |
| Nebraska: Lincoln | 39.6 | 31.9 | 57,746 | 61,439 |
| Nevada: Summerlin South | 48.8 | 24.7 | 93,899 | 60,365 |
| New Hampshire: Dover | 46.5 | 37.0 | 71,631 | 76,768 |
| New Jersey: Princeton | 81.0 | 39.7 | 137,672 | 82,545 |
| New Mexico: Santa Fe | 41.7 | 27.3 | 57,972 | 49,754 |
| New York: Ithaca | 66.9 | 36.6 | 34,424 | 68,486 |
| North Carolina: Chapel Hill | 76.9 | 31.3 | 73,614 | 54,602 |
| North Dakota: West Fargo | 44.2 | 30.0 | 85,120 | 64,894 |
| Ohio: Upper Arlington | 77.1 | 28.3 | 123,548 | 56,602 |
| Oklahoma: Edmond | 53.4 | 25.5 | 81,473 | 52,919 |
| Oregon: Lake Oswego | 71.4 | 33.7 | 108,927 | 62,818 |
| Pennsylvania: State College | 70.6 | 31.4 | 34,005 | 61,744 |
| Rhode Island: Warwick | 33.8 | 34.2 | 73,757 | 67,167 |
| South Carolina: Mount Pleasant | 63.9 | 28.1 | 103,232 | 53,199 |
| South Dakota: Sioux Falls | 35.2 | 28.8 | 59,912 | 58,275 |
| Tennessee: Brentwood | 76.1 | 27.3 | 168,688 | 53,320 |
| Texas: University Park | 87.8 | 29.9 | 224,485 | 61,874 |
| Utah: Holladay | 55.8 | 34.0 | 88,728 | 71,621 |
| Vermont: Burlington | 53.3 | 38.0 | 51,394 | 61,973 |
| Virginia: McLean | 83.5 | 38.8 | 207,184 | 74,222 |
| Washington: Mercer Island | 78.2 | 36.0 | 147,566 | 73,775 |
| West Virginia: Morgantown | 55.0 | 20.6 | 42,966 | 46,711 |
| Wisconsin: Brookfield | 60.7 | 30.1 | 108,198 | 61,747 |
| Wyoming: Laramie | 52.7 | 27.4 | 46,117 | 64,049 |
