The vertical bar chart details the proportion of each U.S. academic degree, which is split into 4 bars for comparison between urban and rural counties, in each respective year 2000 and 2023. Specifically, the measured educational level included are: Less than high school diploma, high school diploma equivalent, some college (no degree), associate degree, bachelor’s degree and professional degree (or graduate).
Overall, both urban and rural areas have shown a significant rise in formal education in 2023, but the educational quality in the countryside remains underwhelmed compared to that in the metropolitan.
Initially, in 2000, high school diplomas accounted for the highest shares in both urban and rural areas, which were respectively 27.2% and 36.2%. Typically, the share of above-college adults was 55% for urban counties and 40% and rural counties. Meanwhile, compared to the urban education attainment, adults with less than highschool diploma take up roughly 5% more in rural areas (which is 23.7% of shares in the countryside).
By 2023, educational quality had received a significant improvement. In both places, the proportions of below high school diplomas had reduced to roughly 10%, and the high school equivalent widnessed a slight fell (about 2-3%). Meanwhile, higher attainments such as college or any degree experience an 5% increment on average (with the only exception being the percentage of college diplomas in the metropolitan, which decreased from 21.3% to 18.6%). Additionally, while receiving a considerable rise in statistics, the educational quality of the countryside in 2023 is still overall equivalent to the recorded figures of urban during 2000.