The Education of Hoosiers: An Overview
Indiana’s adults (age 25 and older) comprise two-thirds of our population. Most importantly, they comprise the bulk of our workforce as well as a growing proportion of the retired elderly.
Understanding the levels of education Hoosier adults have attained is fundamental to understanding the capacity of our workforce. With the release of the five-year estimates of the American Community Survey (a product of the U.S. Census Bureau) for 2011, we now have two estimates available for comparison.
What can we learn from the 2010 and 2011 estimates? We have fewer Hoosiers with less than a high school or even ninth grade education and more adults with some college courses and degrees (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Educational Attainment Change between 2010 and 2011 Five-Year Estimates
Source: IBRC, using U.S. Census Bureau ACS five-year estimates
Impressive gains have been made in the increase of adults with an associate degree, growing by nearly 10,000 persons between the two periods of time measured by these estimates. Even more impressive are gains in the population with at least some college (although no degree—yet), an increase of more than 20,000 (see Table 1).
Table 1: Indiana's Educational Attainment Statistics, 2010 to 2011
| Educational Attainment | 2011 | Percent of 2011 Adults | 2010 | Percent of 2010 Adults | Change 2010 to 2011 | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population 25 Years and Over | 4,199,481 | 100% | 4,165,617 | 100% | 33,864 | 0.8% |
| Less than 9th Grade | 178,306 | 4.2% | 180,416 | 4.3% | -2,110 | -1.2% |
| 9th to 12th Grade, No Diploma | 382,906 | 9.1% | 394,031 | 9.5% | -11,125 | -2.8% |
| High School Graduate (Including Equivalency) | 1,504,338 | 35.8% | 1,506,526 | 36.2% | -2,188 | -0.1% |
| Some College, No Degree | 866,012 | 20.6% | 845,057 | 20.3% | 20,955 | 2.5% |
| Associate Degree | 315,182 | 7.5% | 305,295 | 7.3% | 9,887 | 3.2% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 611,431 | 14.6% | 597,152 | 14.3% | 14,279 | 2.4% |
| Graduate or Professional Degree | 341,306 | 8.1% | 337,140 | 8.1% | 4,166 | 1.2% |
| Percent High School Graduate or Higher | n/a | 86.6% | n/a | 86.2% | n/a | n/a |
| Percent Bachelor's Degree or Higher | n/a | 22.7% | n/a | 22.4% | n/a | n/a |
Source: IBRC, using U.S. Census Bureau ACS five-year estimates
Access more 2011 data for a variety of topics and geographies at www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/.
Carol. O. Rogers
Deputy Director and Executive Editor, Indiana Business Research Center, Indiana University Kelley School of Business