What does this measure?

The number of residents with a particular level of education, expressed as a percentage of all residents 25 and older.

Why is this important?

An educated population makes a more attractive workforce and is better prepared to instruct the next generation of residents. High educational attainment represents a region's investment in human capital and preparation for long-term growth, as well as access to educational opportunities.

How is our region doing?

In 2014-18, 24% of adults in Berks had at least a bachelor's degree, up from 18% in 2000. That was substantially lower than the national rate of 32% and also below Pennsylvania's rate of 31%. Only 14% of adults in the region lacked a high school diploma, while 37% were high school graduates and 25% had attended some college. These proportions were fairly similar to the state. The nation had higher percentages of people who attended some college (29%) and had lower percentages of high school graduates (27%) or lacked diplomas (12%).

The south region of Berks had the highest share of residents with a bachelor's degree or higher (36%) while the central region had the lowest (12%).Northeast, south and southeast Berks all had 8-9% of adults in the region that lacked a high school diploma.

Among neighboring counties in 2014-18, Chester (52%) and Montgomery (49%) were highest with adults with at least a bachelor's degree. Lebanon and Schuylkill lead the counties with high school graduates with 44% and 47%, respectively. All counties ranged between 20-26% of adults that attended some college.

Notes about the data

Adults are people 25 and older. The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval).

The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.

There may be additional research available on this topic. Click on Reports and Resources to learn more.