Educational Attainment
An educated population is one of the most important components of a vital, healthy region. Nearly 89 percent of adults in the Hampton Roads region have at least a high school degree and 28 percent have at least a Bachelor's degree.
Why is This Important?
Educational attainment measures the educational level of people living in a particular area. It is a long-term indicator of the investment that a region has made in developing and attracting human capital. This indicator provides a "big picture" assessment of the region's quality of life, workforce preparedness and economic potential.
How is Hampton Roads Doing?
According
to the 2011 American
Community Survey, 88.8
percent of the Hampton
Roads region's population
25 years and older had
at least a high school
diploma in the 2006-2010
period, which was the
second highest rate in
the state; 27.7 percent
had a bachelor's degree
or higher, which was
the third highest in
the state. The Northern
region had the highest
percentage of high school
graduates (91.0%)
and college graduates (51.8%), while
the state's averages
were 86.1 percent and
33.8 percent, respectively.
These numbers represent an increase across the board from 2000 U.S. Census figures: The Eastern, Southside and Southwest regions saw high school attainment averages jump as much as 8 and 10 percentage points, while the Hampton Roads, Central, Valley and West Central regions increased 4 to 6 points during the same period.
When
comparing metropolitan
statistical areas (MSA),
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport
News, VA-NC (Hampton
Roads' MSA) performs well,
ranking first among its
peers in the percentage
of residents earning high school diplomas
(89.6%) in 2010. It ranked third in
the percentage of people age 25 and above
holding at least a Bachelor's
degree at 28.5 percent
(up from 23.7% in 2000), behind
the MSAs in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
DC-MD-VA-WV; Raleigh-Cary,
NC; Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord,
NC-SC; and Jacksonville,
FL. Overall, Hampton Roads and its
peer MSA groups have seen
modest but steady improvement
in high school and bachelor
degree attainment rates
since 2000.
However,
the Hampton Roads MSA lags
behind both the leading
MSA for the state and the
state average in advanced
degrees. With 22.3
percent of its residents
holding either a Master's,
Professional or Doctorate
degree, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
DC-VA-MD-WV MSA has more
than double the 10.8 percent
rate of the Hampton Roads
MSA. Within Virginia, 14.1
percent of the population
age 25 and older has an
advanced degree. Since 2000, these
achievement rates
among MSA groups have varied
only modestly.
What Influences Educational Attainment?
A number of factors influence educational attainment, including availability of educational services, the quality of those services, responsiveness of educational institutions to the particular needs of a community or region, affordability, regional culture, economic opportunity, and migration into and out of the region.


Data Definitions and Sources
States
U.S. Census Bureau
2010 figures are based on American Community
Survey 1-year estimates.
Regions
U.S. Census Bureau
2006-2010 figures are based on American Community Survey 5-year estimates between January 2006 and December 2010.
See the Data Sources and Updates Calendar for a detailed list of the data resources used for indicator measures on Hampton Roads Performs.


