Census: Women Edge Men In High School Diplomas.

The high school graduation rate for women age 25 and over (84.4 percent) exceeded that of men (83.8 percent) in 2002, the first statistical difference between the two sexes since 1989, the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau.

According to new tables released on the Internet, titled Educational Attainment in the United States: March 2001 and March 2002, more than one-quarter (27 percent) of adults age 25 and older had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2002, about 1 percentage point higher than the previous year. The jump in the percentage of college graduates resulted from significant increases for women, non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans.

About 3-in-10 young adults, ages 25 to 29 in 2002, had completed a bachelor’s degree, matching the 2000 record high. (See attached table CLICK above on ‘More Images”.)

Adults age 18 and over with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $50,623 a year in 2001, while those with a high school diploma earned $26,795 and those without a high school diploma averaged $18,793. Advanced degree-holders made an average of $72,869 in 2001.

Other highlights for the population 25 years and over in March 2002:

Asians and Pacific Islanders had the highest proportion of college graduates (47 percent), followed by non-Hispanic whites (29 percent), African-Americans (17 percent) and Hispanics (11 percent).

The proportion of Hispanics born in the United States who had a bachelor’s degree or more (14 percent) was higher than that of those born outside the country (9 percent). For Asians and Pacific islanders, the corresponding rates were much closer: 44 percent and 48 percent, respectively.

Ninety percent of the employed civilian labor force age 25 and over had a high school diploma and 32 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The Northeast region had the highest proportion of college graduates (29 percent), followed by the West (28 percent). The proportions of college graduates in the Midwest (26 percent) and the South (25 percent) were not statistically different.

The data on educational trends and attainment levels are shown by characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, occupation, industry, nativity and, if foreign-born, when they entered the country, as well as metropolitan and nonmetropolitan residence. The tables also look at topics such as the relationship between earnings and educational attainment. Although the statistics are primarily at the national level, some data are shown for regions, states and large metropolitan areas.

The data were collected in the Annual Demographic Supplement to the March 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS). As in all surveys, the CPS data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.

To view charts CLICK above on ‘More Images’.