Variation in Education

The American Community Survey is a good source of up-to-date information on population characteristics. For example, they have state ranking tables that show facts such as median age, the sex ratio, or percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree. Washington D.C. has an exceptionally high proportion of the population with a bachelor’s degree. It also has the highest rate of child poverty. That is, Washington D.C. has an exceptionally high level of inequality, but this is not really a fair comparison and we would likely find similarly high levels of inequality in New York city or many other large urban areas.

"States" ranked by percentage of Population with a Bachelor's Degree
West Virginia 17
Arkansas 18
Mississippi 19
Kentucky 20
Louisiana 20
Nevada 21
Alabama 21
Indiana 22
Tennessee 22
Oklahoma 22
South Carolina 23
Wyoming 23
Ohio 23
Idaho 23
Iowa 24
Missouri 24
Michigan 25
Texas 25
North Carolina 25
South Dakota 25
Wisconsin 25
Florida 25
New Mexico 25
Pennsylvania 25
Arizona 26
North Dakota 26
Maine 26
Georgia 27
Alaska 27
Nebraska 27
Delaware 27
Montana 27
Oregon 28
Kansas 29
Utah 29
Illinois 29
California 29
Rhode Island 30
Hawaii 30
Minnesota 30
Washington 31
New York 31
New Hampshire 32
Vermont 32
Virginia 33
New Jersey 33
Connecticut 34
Colorado 34
Maryland 35
Massachusetts 37
Wash. D.C. 46