Iowa was tied with Idaho in ranking 31st among the 50 states for the percentage of its 25-and-older population who had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher as of 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
In both Iowa and Idaho, according to the Census Bureau survey, 32.3% of individuals 25 and older had earned at least a bachelor’s degree.
Massachussetts led the nation with 46.6% of its 25-and-older population having earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. Colorado was second with 45.9%; Vermont was third with 44.2%; Maryland was fourth with 43.8%; and New Jersey was fifth with 43.5%. (RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About The Iowa Caucuses)
West Virginia and Mississippi tied for last place with only 24.8% of their 25-and-older populations having earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Arkansas ranked 48th with 25.4%; Nevada ranked 47th with 27.0%; Louisiana ranked 46th with 27.1%; and Kentucky ranked 45th with 27.9%.
The states with the highest percentages of their 25-and-older populations having earned bachelor’s degrees or higher tended to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate. In fact, all 24 senators from the 12 states where the highest percentages of their 25-and-older populations had earned bachelor’s degrees or higher were Democrats (or in the case of Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.)
FINAL PUSH: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Ronny Jackson, Kari Lake and others at brewery in Fort Dodge, IA urging Trump supporters to go vote tonight in the #IowaCaucus. pic.twitter.com/F92gxJAjzL
— Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) January 15, 2024
By contrast, 25 of the 30 senators from the 15 states where the lowest percentages of the population had earned bachelor’s degrees or higher were Republicans.
STATES RANKED BY PERCENTAGE OF 25-AND-OLDER POPULATIONS WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR HIGHER
1-Massachusett 46.6% Edward Markey (D.); Elizabeth Warren (D.)
2-Colorado 45.9% Michael Bennett (D.); John Hickenlooper (D.)
3-Vermont 44.3% Bernie Sanders (I.); Peter Welch, (D.)
4-Maryland 43.8% Benjamin Cardin (D.); Chris Van Hollen (D.)
5-New Jersey 43.5% Cory Booker (D.); Robert Menendez (D.)
6-Virginia 42.2% Tim Kaine (D.); Mark Warner (D.)
7-Connecticut 41.9% Richard Blumenthal (D.); Chris Murphy (D.)
8-New Hampshire 41.3% Margaret Wood Hassan (D.); Jeane Shaheen (D.)
9-New York 40.00% Kirsten Gillibrand (D.); Chuck Schumer (D.)
10-Rhode Island 39.6% Jack Reed (D.); Sheldon Whitehouse (D.)
11-Washington 39.5% Maria Cantwell (D.); Patty Murray (D.)
12-Minnesota 39.1% Amy Klobuchar (D.); Tina Smith (D.)
13-Utah 37.9% Mike Lee (R.); Mitt Romney (R.)
14-Illinois 37.7% Tammy Duckworth (D); Dick Durbin (D.)
15-California 37.0% Laphonza Butler (D.); Alex Padilla (D.)
16-Delaware 36.5% Thomas Carper (D.); Chris Coons (D.)
17-Oregon 36.3% Jeff Merkley (D.); Ron Wyden (D.)
18-Maine 36.1% Susan Collins (R.); Angus Kings (I.)
19-North Carolina 35.9% Ted Budd (R.); Thom Tillis (R.)
20-Kansas 35.6% Roger Marshall (R.); Jerry Moran (R.)
21-Hawaii 35.4% Mazie Hirono (D.); Brian Schatz (D.)
22-Pennsylvania 35.1% Robert Casey (D.); John Fetterman (D.)
23-Georgia 34.7% Jon Ossof (D.); Raphael Warnock (D.)
23-Nebraska 34.7% Deb Fischer (R.); Pete Ricketts (R.)
25-Montana 34.6% Steve Daines (R.); Jon Tester (D.)
26-Florida 34.3% Marco Rubio (R.); Rick Scott (R.)
27-Texas 33.9% John Cornyn (R.); Ted Cruz (R.)
28-Wisconsin 33.2% Tammy Baldwin (D.); Ron Johnson (R.)
29-Arizona 33.0% Mark Kelly (D.); Kyrsten Sinema (I)
30-South Carolina 32.6% Lindsey Graham (R.); Tim Scott (R.)
31-Idaho 32.3% Mike Crapo (R.); James Risch (R.)
31-Iowa 32.3% Joni Ernst (R.); Chuck Grassley (R.)
33-Missouri 32.2% Josh Hawley (R.); Eric Schmitt (R.)
34-Michigan 32.1% Gary Peters (D.); Debbie Stabenow (D.)
35-Ohio 32.0% Sherrod Brown (D.); J.D. Vance (R.)
36-North Dakota 31.8% Kevin Cramer (R.); John Hoeven (R.)
37-South Dakota 31.6% Mike Rounds (R.); John Thune (R.)
38-Tennessee 31.1% Marsha Blackburn (R.); Bill Hagerty (R.)
39-Alaska 30.6% Lisa Murkowski (R.); Dan Sullivan (R.)
40-New Mexico 30.5% Martin Heinrich (D.); Ben Ray Lujan (D.)
41-Indiana 29.6% Mike Braun (R.); Todd Young (R.)
41-Wyoming 29.6% John Barrasso (R.); Cynthia Lummis (R.)
43-Alabama 28.8% Katie Boyd Britt (R.); Tommy Tuberville (R.)
44-Oklahoma 28.5% James Lankford (R.); Markwayne Mullin (R.)
45-Kentucky 27.9% Mitch McConnell (R.); Rand Paul (R.)
46-Louisiana 27.1% Bill Cassidy (R.); John Kennedy (R.)
47-Nevada 27.0% Catherine Cortez Masto (D.); Jacky Rosen (D.)
48-Arkansas 25.4% John Boozman (R.); Tom Cotton (R.)
49-Mississippi 24.8% Cindy Hyde-Smith (R.); Roger Wicker (R.)
49-West Virginia 24.8% Shelley Moore Capito (R.); Joe Manchin (D.)
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