Completion of four-year college degrees is up sharply in the past five years among the nation’s young adults. In 2012, a record one-third of adults ages 25 to 29 have attained at least a bachelor’s degree. As recently as 2006 fewer than 30% of 25- to 29-year-olds had finished at least a bachelor’s degree.

College attainment reached a record level in 2012 among most of the major racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. Among whites ages 25 to 29, 40% had completed at least a bachelor’s degree in 2012, up from 39% in 2011 and 20% in 1971.

Blacks and Hispanics were much less likely than whites to have finished at least a bachelor’s degree in 2012, but their levels of college attainment also reached unprecedented levels. In 2012, 23% of African Americans ages 25 to 29 had completed at least a bachelor’s degree, an increase from 20% in 2011.

Bachelor’s degree attainment among young Hispanics increased to 15% in 2012, up from 13% in 2011. College completion among Asians ages 25 to 29 remained far above other groups in 2012 (60%), but this level was below the level observed among Asians in 2004 (61%).

Rising college completion rates within racial and ethnic groups of young adults suggest that changing demographics in the U.S. are not inhibiting an overall increase in educational attainment. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.