• Nationwide, Black and white immigrants are more likely than their US-born counterparts to hold a college degree. The reverse is true for Latinx, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: US-born adults are more likely to hold these degrees compared with those born abroad.

• In 2020, women in the US are more likely than men to have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher. This was also the case across race and ethnicity for all groups except for Asian Americans, in which men have a slight advantage.

• Across ancestries nationwide, Indian and Taiwanese adults are most likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (82 percent and 80 percent, respectively).

• Residents in East Coast states and districts like the District of Columbia and Massachusetts are most likely to have a bachelor’s degree while residents in Southern states like West Virginia and Mississippi are least likely to have a bachelor’s degree.

• Wealthier California cities, such as Irvine and San Francisco, have the highest rates of educational attainment out of the top 100 largest US cities while poorer California cities, such as San Bernardino and Santa Ana, have the lowest rates.

The gap in educational attainment between White students and students of color is largely driven by disparities in school poverty rates. Students of color are more likely to attend high-poverty schools because of ongoing racial segregation forged through historical practices such as racially exclusive housing covenants and zoning laws as well as ongoing ones such as discriminatory hiring and mortgage lending. Students at high-poverty schools often have less access to quality resources and score lower on standardized testing than their wealthier counterparts. At the same time, the rising cost of college combined with decreased financial aid prevents many students of color, who are disproportionately low income, from attending college.

• Create cradle-to-career pipelines for vulnerable youth and invest in universal pre-K.
• Reform harsh, "zero tolerance" school discipline policies to keep youth in school and on track to graduate.
• Implement sector-focused workforce training and placement programs and apprenticeships that connect workers to good jobs.
• Align economic development and workforce policies and strategies to grow high-opportunity sectors that provide pathways for people without four-year degrees.
• Ensure access to higher education for immigrant students by providing in-state tuition rates regardless of their immigrant status and by increasing access to financial aid and scholarships.
• Remove law enforcement officers from K-12 schools and hire more counselors and support staff.
• At the federal level, lower and/or eliminate tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities, tribal colleges, community colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs, provide additional financial assistance to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, increase and expand access to Pell Grants, and eliminate current student loan debt for all.

• Reports: Connecting People to Work; The Roadmap for Racial Equity: An Imperative for Workforce Development Advocates; Help Wanted: Projecting Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018

• Data: State of Working America