98 years of economic insights for Indiana

The IBR is a publication of the Indiana Business Research Center at IU's Kelley School of Business.

Executive Editor, Carol O. Rogers
Managing Editor, Brittany L. Hotchkiss

Educational Attainment and Our Neighboring States

Indiana Business Research Center, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

Between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, Indiana and its neighboring states showed similar declines among adults with less than a high school education and increases in those with at least a high school diploma or some college (see Table 1).

Table 1
Ten Year Changes in Educational Attainment—Indiana and Its Neighbors

Percent Change
1990 to 2000
U.S. IN IL KY MI OH
Less than 9th grade -16.6 -30.6 -20.4 -30.1 -34.0 -39.3
9th to 12th, no diploma -3.9 -11.5 -10.4 -2.0 -15.4 -18.2
High school graduate (includes equivalency) 9.5 8.6 1.1 19.9 6.5 6.3
Some college, no degree 28.8 32.9 21.6 38.4 25.6 24.8
Associate degree 17.6 22.1 14.5 36.9 14.1 19.1
Bachelor's degree 35.9 47.9 33.1 43.2 37.7 32.4
Graduate or professional degree 40.7 26.5 39.6 41.6 37.7 34.3
Total Population Age 25 and older 14.7 11.6 9.3 13.4 9.8 7.0

Ohio experienced the most significant decline in adults with less than a ninth grade education, followed by Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. Between 1990 and 2000, Kentucky experienced the smallest decline in adults who went to high school but did not receive a diploma. During that same ten-year span, Indiana experienced the largest percentage increase in adults with a bachelor's degree—47.9 percent— among its neighbors and compared to the U.S. (see Figure 1).

Figure 1
Percent Change in Adults with a Bachelor's Degree, 1990-2000

Figure 1

At the same time, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio have the lowest proportion of adults with less than a ninth grade education when compared to the United States (7.5 percent) and Kentucky (12 percent) (see Table 2).

Table 2
Type of Educational Attainment—Indiana and Its Neighbors

Percent Distribution 2000 U.S. IN IL KY MI OH
Less than 9th grade 7.55 5.31 7.50 11.69 4.66 4.48
9th to 12th, no diploma 12.05 12.56 11.07 14.20 11.93 12.55
High school graduate (includes equivalency) 28.63 37.19 27.74 33.57 31.34 36.09
Some college, no degree 21.05 19.75 21.58 18.52 23.33 19.86
Associate degree 6.32 5.79 6.05 4.89 6.98 5.93
Bachelor's degree 15.54 12.21 16.52 10.26 13.70 13.71
Graduate or professional degree 8.86 7.20 9.54 6.88 8.07 7.38
Total Population Age 25 and older 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00