---
title: "III. Educational Attainment"
description: "Less than High School Diploma Among Hispanics ages 25 and older in the top 10 metro areas, Dallas has the highest share without a high school diploma—46%. Dallas is followed closely by the Los Angeles and Houston areas—both with 44%. Miami has the lowest share (26%) of Hispanics without a high school diploma among the […]"
date: "2012-09-19"
authors:
  - name: "Seth Motel"
    job_title: "Former Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/seth-motel/"
  - name: "Eileen Patten"
    job_title: "Former Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/eileen-patten/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2012/09/19/educational-attainment/"
categories:
  - "Hispanic/Latino Demographics"
  - "Hispanics/Latinos & Education"
---

# III. Educational Attainment

### Less than High School Diploma

-

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/09/09-11-12-Metro-Areas-07.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/09/09-11-12-Metro-Areas-07.png)

Among Hispanics ages 25 and older in the top 10 metro areas, Dallas has the highest share without a high school diploma—46%. Dallas is followed closely by the Los Angeles and Houston areas—both with 44%.

- Miami has the lowest share (26%) of Hispanics without a high school diploma among the top 10 metropolitan areas.
- In each of these metro areas, the share of Hispanics without a high school diploma is larger than that of the area’s total population. Similarly, for U.S. Hispanics overall, the share of those ages 25 and older without a high school diploma is 38%, compared with 14% of the total U.S. population ages 25 and older.
- In the top 60 Hispanic metro areas more broadly, three have a majority of Hispanic adults lacking high school diplomas. Some 52% of Hispanic adults in Salinas-Sea Side-Monterey, Calif. (49th biggest Hispanic population) and 51% of Hispanic adults in Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif. (32nd biggest) and Bakersfield, Calif. (25th biggest) lack a high school diploma.
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood-Pompano Beach, Fla., which has the 23rd largest Hispanic population, has the smallest share of Hispanic adults without a high school diploma (17%).

### Bachelor’s Degree or More

-

[![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/09/09-11-12-Metro-Areas-08.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/09/09-11-12-Metro-Areas-08.png)

Among the top 10 metropolitan areas by Hispanic population, the share of Hispanics ages 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree is highest in the Miami area—23%. Miami leads the next most highly educated metro area, San Francisco (16%), by seven percentage points.

- The metro area in the top 10 with the lowest share of Hispanics who are college-educated is Riverside, where less than one-in-ten Hispanics (8%) ages 25 and older have a four-year college degree.
- In each of these metro areas, the share of Hispanics with a bachelor’s degree or more is lower than the share of the total population in that area that has a bachelor’s degree. Similarly, among all U.S. Hispanics ages 25 and older, the share with a bachelor’s degree or more is 13%, compared with 28% of the total U.S. population ages 25 and older.
- Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (the 23rd largest Hispanic population), leads the 60 metropolitan areas in the share of Hispanic adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher—more than one-in-four (28%) Hispanic adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree.
- Among the top 60 metropolitan areas, the share of Hispanic adults 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree is lowest in Visalia, Calif. (the 32nd largest Hispanic population), and Bakersfield, Calif. (25th largest). In both metro areas, just 5% of Hispanic adults have a bachelor’s degree.

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**Next:** [IV. English Proficiency and U.S. Citizenship](https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2012/09/19/english-proficiency-and-u-s-citizenship.md)