Understanding Houston

Educational Attainment

Educational Attainment

An indicator correlated with many life outcomes, educational attainment profoundly affects individual and regional prosperity

Though the average Houstonian has more education than they did 10 years ago, significant disparities across race/ethnicity persist.

Why educational attainment matters to Houston

The benefits of obtaining an education beyond primary and secondary school extend not only to earning potential, health, and quality of life, but also to the collective well-being and economy of our region — now and in the future. People with a bachelor’s degree have lifetime average earnings that are $1.3 million higher than those with a high school diploma only.1,2 They also enjoy the lowest unemployment rates. Adults with stable, well-paying jobs are less likely to rely on the social safety net (nutritional assistance, subsidized housing, etc.) and less likely to interact with the criminal legal system.3 People with higher education tend to be healthier and live longer.4,5,6 Regions that are home to highly-skilled and educated workers attract and keep employers that provide good jobs, which attract additional skilled workers, fueling the cycle. A region thrives with revenue from additional investment and a growing population of skilled workers. People with higher education are also more likely to vote,7,8 which advances civic engagement in the region. Becoming the first person in a family to earn a college degree can positively affect the trajectory of their and their family’s lives, potentially for future generations.9

However, only a minority successfully walk through this door of opportunity for myriad reasons. This is partly because of discriminatory practices that have existed since our nation’s founding (such as redlining and segregation), exacerbated by present-day disparities (poverty, disinvestment in public schools). Compounded over generations, the result is educational attainment levels that vary significantly by race/ethnicity.

The more we work to improve overall levels of educational attainment — and eliminate disparities — the closer we get to a more vibrant region with opportunity for all.

The data

Low Educational Attainment Hurts Economic Prosperity

What does educational attainment mean? Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education an individual has completed. As the shift continues toward a knowledge-based economy, higher levels of educational attainment have become increasingly important to social mobility.10 This doesn’t mean a bachelor’s degree is always necessary to secure a “good job,” but some kind of education and/or training beyond high school (also called post-secondary education) — such as a certificate, credential, apprenticeship, or associate degree — is critical to meeting the demands of the current workforce and to unlock future individual opportunities.

For at least the last three decades, workers with higher educational attainment have the lowest unemployment rates—even during times of economic downturn such as the aftermaths of the Great Recession in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Additionally, during these economic crises, the unemployment rate tends to fluctuate less for those with more educational attainment. Between 2019 and 2020, the national unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree increased by 2.7 percentage points while the increase for those without a high school diploma was more than double that with a 6.5-point increase. As of 2025, the national unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree was 2.6% compared to 4.2% for those with a high school diploma only and 6.0% for those without a high school diploma. Not only are lower education levels associated with higher unemployment, they are also associated with lower annual earnings and lower lifetime average earnings.11

In 2025, unemployment for workers without a high school diploma was more than double the rate for college graduates.

Educational attainment rates in the region continue upward trend, but with wide racial/ethnic disparities

Educational attainment in Texas lags behind the nation. The state of Texas ranks second-to-last nationwide in the percentage of residents with at least a high school diploma at nearly 87%, compared to the national rate of 90%. Educational attainment levels in Harris County are lower than the state average, with 83% of adult residents having a high school diploma. Fort Bend and Montgomery counties fare better than the state and nation at 91% and 90%, respectively.

Texas also ranks low in the percentage of the population over the age of 25 with bachelor’s degrees in 2024. About 35% of Texans have a bachelor’s degree or above, placing the state 28th among all states and the District of Columbia (D.C.), compared to 37% at the national level. Just over half of all adults in Fort Bend County have at least a bachelor’s degree (51%), the highest attainment rate in the three-county region. If Fort Bend County were a state, it would rank second in the nation, just behind D.C. (65%) and ahead of Massachusetts (48%). The proportion of adults without a high school diploma is highest in Harris County (17%). Adults in Montgomery County are most likely among the three counties to have some college education without a four-year degree (29%).

If Fort Bend County were a state, it would rank second nationally in the share of adults with a bachelor’s degree.

Educational attainment beyond high school continues to grow. Between 1990 and 2024, the percentage of adults without a high school diploma decreased by 15 percentage points across the U.S. and statewide and 10 points in the three-county area.

Across the Houston region, the share of adults 25 years and older without a high school diploma has also steadily declined, but gaps remain between counties. Harris County has consistently had the highest percentage of adults without a high school diploma. As of 2024, 17% of Harris County adults lack a high school diploma, compared to 13% statewide. Still, Harris County has made progress, with an 8-percentage-point improvement since 1990. Montgomery County has seen the largest gains, cutting its rate by 15 points to 10% in 2024. Fort Bend County, which has consistently had the region’s lowest share of adults without a diploma, also saw significant gains of10 points over the same period.

Between 1990 and 2024, the share of adults with bachelor’s degree or higher saw the greatest increase improving by 21 percentage points in Fort Bend County, 10 points in Harris, and 20 points in Montgomery County. 

Educational attainment rates are unequal across race, ethnicity and gender

Because of a lengthy history of discriminatory practices since the nation’s founding, which have been exacerbated by present-day imbalances, levels of educational attainment in the United States vary greatly by race/ethnicity. The three-county region is no exception, and these disparities are the direct and intended result of harmful policies, compounded over decades and are not related to any group’s intrinsic talents or priorities.

Asian Americans — a group of people originating from about 50 different countries with distinct political and immigration histories — report the highest levels of education at the national, state, and regional levels. However, it is important to note that there is significant variation within this multi-faceted population. According to a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, 77% of Indian Americans and 58% of Chinese Americans have a bachelor’s degree, while only 20% of Bhutanese and 18% of Laotians do. Chinese (22%) and Indian (21%) Americans make up the largest Asian American origin group in the United States. Comparatively, Bhutanese and Laotians make up about 1% of the population each. This difference contributes to the overall high levels of educational attainment for Asian Americans in the state.

In Fort Bend County, 45% of Black adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher—22 percentage points higher than the national rate for Black adults (27%). However, that figure falls to 32% in Harris County, a rate on par with that of Texas overall, according to 2024 estimates.

Consistent with national trends, Hispanic/Latino adults in the Houston area report lower levels of educational attainment. In all three counties, Hispanic adults are most likely to not have a high school diploma at a rate of 22% in Fort Bend County, 32% in Harris County, and 23% in Montgomery County, compared to the national rate of 26%.

Because the general terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” are used to describe a group of people who originate from a wide variety of Spanish-speaking or Latin American countries, and who understand their identity in different ways, the diversity within that broad group can often go unnoticed. Similar to Asian Americans, the educational attainment varies within this broader group. The latest data available from the Pew Research Center shows that 57% of Venezuelans and 46% of Argentines have at least bachelor’s degree compared to 13% of Salvadorans and 11% of Guatemalans.

Between 2000 and 2024, high school diploma attainment rose across all racial/ethnic groups, most sharply among Hispanic adults, who gained at least 22 percentage points in every geography. In Montgomery County, the share of Black adults with a diploma rose by 25 points.

In 2005, for the first time in the nation’s history, women were more likely than men to have an education beyond a high school diploma. By 2024, 66% of women had some postsecondary education compared to 62% of men.

In 2005, for the first time in the nation’s history, women were more likely than men to have an education beyond a high school diploma.

Statewide in 2000, women trailed men in the share of the population with a postsecondary education. By 2010, women had caught up, and they have since pulled ahead: 64% of women in Texas now have a postsecondary education, compared to 60% of men. Women’s gains outpaced men’s over this period, rising 14 percentage points between 2000 and 2024 statewide versus an 8-point increase for men. The same trends appear in Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties. Women in Montgomery County saw the largest gains, climbing to 70% in 2024 from 53% in 2000.

Helpful Articles by Understanding Houston:

Resources

References:

  1. There are, of course, differences across age, gender, race/ethnicity, and occupation.
  2. Carnevale, A. P., Cheah, B., & Rose, S. J. (2021). The College Payoff: More Education Doesn’t Always Mean More Earnings. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Retrieved from https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/the-college-payoff/.
  3. Ewert, S., & Wildhagen, T. (2011). Educational characteristics of prisoners: Data from the ACS. Presentation at the Population Association of America. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2011/demo/SEHSD-WP2011-08.html.
  4. Raghupathi, V., Raghupathi, W. The influence of education on health: an empirical assessment of OECD countries for the period 1995–2015. Arch Public Health 78, 20 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-020-00402-5
  5. Zajacova, A., & Lawrence, E. M. (2018). The Relationship Between Education and Health: Reducing Disparities Through a Contextual Approach. Annual review of public health, 39, 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031816-044628
  6. Roy, B., Kiefe, C. I., Jacobs, D. R., Goff, D. C., Lloyd-Jones, D., Shikany, J. M., Reis, J. P., Gordon-Larsen, P., & Lewis, C. E. (2020). Education, Race/Ethnicity, and Causes of Premature Mortality Among Middle-Aged Adults in 4 US Urban Communities: Results From CARDIA, 1985-2017. American Journal of Public Health, 110(4), 530–536. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2019.305506
  7. Milligan, K., Moretti, E., & Oreopoulos, P. (2004). Does education improve citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom. Journal of Public Economics,88(9–10), 1667–1695.
  8. Sondheimer, R. M., & Green, D. P. (2010). Using experiments to estimate the effects of education on voter turnout. American Journal of Political Science,54(1), 174–189.
  9. Kaushal, N. (2014). Intergenerational Payoffs of Education. The Future of Children, 24(1), 61–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23723383
  10. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Three Educational Pathways to Good Jobs: High School, Middle Skills, and Bachelor’s Degree, 2018. Retrieved from https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/3pathways/.
  11. Carnevale, A. P., Cheah, B., & Rose, S. J. (2021).