Washington – College graduates are flocking to America’s big cities, chasing jobs and culture and driving up home prices.
Though many of the largest cities have lost population in the past three decades, nearly all have added college graduates, an analysis by The Associated Press found.
The findings offer hope for urban areas, many of which have spent decades struggling with financial problems, job losses and high poverty rates.
But they also spell trouble for some cities, especially those in the Northeast and Midwest, that have fallen behind the South and West in attracting highly educated workers.
“The largest predictor of economic well-being in cities is the percent of college graduates,” said Ned Hill, professor of economic development at Cleveland State University. To do well, he said, cities must be attractive to educated people.
Nationally, a little more than one-fourth of people 25 and older had at least bachelor’s degrees in 2004. Eighty-four percent had high school diplomas or the equivalent.
By comparison, in 1970 only a bit more than one in 10 adults had bachelor’s degrees and about half had high school diplomas.
Seattle was the best-educated city in 2004, with just over half the adults having bachelor’s degrees. Following closely were San Francisco; Raleigh, N.C.; Washington; and Austin, Texas.
College graduates made about two-thirds more money than high school graduates in 2004, according to the Census Bureau.
