Change in Missouri's College Graduates By County and Region 1990- 2000
As shown in Table 1, the percent of Missouri adults having graduated from college (including those who have also earned advanced graduate and professional degrees) increased from 17.8 percent of Missouri's adult population in 1990 to 21.6 percent in 2000. In 1990 there were 585,761 adults who had attained a college education or beyond, but by 2000 there were 784,476 - an increase of 33.9 percent!
Over the same period, the percent of the U.S. population with at least a Bachelors degree increased from 20.3 percent to 24.4 percent. Nationally in 2000 there were about 12.2 million more college educated Americans than in 1990 - a 27.3 percent increase. So, while Missouri's proportion of the population with a college education remains slightly lower than the nation, over the past decade Missouri grew this segment more rapidly than the U.S.
Distribution of College Graduates By County 2000
The number of college graduates ranged from a low of 6.8 percent of the 2000 adult population in Wayne County to a high of 41.7 percent in Boone County. Between those two extremes there were 14 counties in which more than 20 percent of the 2000 adult population had attained at least a bachelors degree and 30 counties in which fewer than 10 percent of the adult population were college graduates.
| Map 1 click map for larger version 
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Map 1 shows that a majority of the counties having more than 20 percent college graduates were counties having one or more major colleges or universities. Included are Nodaway (Northwest Missouri State), Adair (Truman State and KCOM), Boone (UMC and two other small colleges), Phelps (UMR), Cape Girardeau (SEMO), Greene (SMS and three other small colleges), Johnson (CMSU), St. Louis (Washington University, St. Louis University, UMSL and several other small colleges) and Jackson (UMKC and several other small colleges). Other counties with more than 20 percent college graduates include Cole County (Missouri State Government and Lincoln University).
In addition to the above ten counties there are four suburban counties each having relatively large, affluent populations which have grown dramatically during the 1990s. The four are Christian, adjoining Springfield, Clay and Platte, adjoining Kansas City, and St. Charles, adjoining St. Louis.
All fourteen of the counties having a high percentage of college graduates are, in addition to colleges and universities, the location of major health care providers and other professional services such as law, accounting, management, investment, etc.
Counties With A Low Percentage of College Graduates
Map 1 shows that a majority of the counties having a low percentage (less than 10 percent) of college graduates are predominantly small population rural counties. Most of those counties have relatively small schools (therefore a small population of teachers and administrators), have few health care providers and have had relatively slow economic growth during the 1990s. The greatest concentration of those counties is in the Southeast Ozarks and Bootheel. Sixteen of Missouri's 30 counties having fewer than 10 percent college graduates are in the Southeast corner. The Southwest corner includes an additional nine counties having a small proportion of college graduates. Three of the remaining five are scattered across north Missouri and two are on the periphery of the St. Louis metro area.
Change in the Number of College Graduates 1990-2000
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Table 1 shows that 96 of Missouri's 115 counties had an increase of greater than 10 percent in the number of college graduates in their population during the 1990s. Only two counties (Holt and Linn) had a decrease in number of college graduates. As indicated on Map 2 eleven of the 19 counties that had an increase of less than 20 percent are in rural north Missouri and an additional five are in rural Southeast.
Map 2 and Table 1 show that 54 Missouri counties had an increase of more than 40 percent in the number of college graduates in their adult population during the 1990s. The map shows that a majority of the counties having an increase in excess of 40 percent are located along an axis from the St. Louis metro area to Joplin in the Southwest corner. It is this part of the state that generally had the greatest population growth during the 1990s, with in-migration being a major contributor to that population growth. There is a clear association between where in the state sizable in-migration occurred and where the greatest increases in college graduate population occurred. Further analysis will be conducted when additional census data are available to confirm the extent to which in-migrants were disproportionately college graduates.
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OSEDA Regional Grouping of Counties Many demographic factors vary by region within the state of Missouri. For the convenience of our user community, OSEDA prepares tables using three different regional groupings of counties: Extension, Economic Development and Transportation. For each of these groupings, one table summarizes the indicators by regional total and a second table shows values for each county grouped by region. Users may select the county grouping most helpful for their application and understanding. |
College Graduates By Extension Region
The proportion of college graduates in the adult population increased significantly in all eight Extension Regions during the 1990s. The number of college graduates in the regions that had the highest percent of college graduates in 1990 - East Central, Central and West Central - each increased by more than 29 percent by 2000. As a result those three regions continued as the regions with highest proportion of college graduates in 2000, with 26.4 percent, 23.7 percent and 22.7 percent respectively.
However, despite the large increases in college graduates in those three regions during the 1990s, the proportion of all Missouri college graduates located in one of those three regions declined slightly from 78.3 percent of state total in 1990 to 76.7 percent of state total in 2000. That decline in proportion occurred because a 51.4 percent increase in college graduates in the Southwest Region resulted in that region increasing from 9.3 percent of Missouri's college graduates in 1990 to 10.5 percent in 2000.
Also important, the two regions that had the lowest percent of college graduates in 1990 - Southeast with 9.6 percent and South Central with 9.9 percent - had increases of 35.2 percent and 54.1 percent respectively during the 1990s. As a result, Southeast increased to 12.2 percent college graduates and South Central increased to 13.1 percent. The South Central and Southwest Regions had the greatest percentage increases during the 1990s.
Aside from the East Central, West Central and Central Regions, which have by far the highest proportion of college graduates, the proportions in the other five regions are all within a fairly small range - from 12.2 percent in Southeast to 17.5 percent in Southwest.
College Graduates By Missouri Department of Transportation Districts
With the exception of the Macon District all remaining MODOT Districts had an increase of at least 28 percent in the number of college graduates during the 1990s. Although there were significant percentage increases in number of college graduates in all but two counties throughout the state during the 1990s, college graduates continue to be concentrated in the more populated Districts. In 2000 there were 352,000 college graduates in the St. Louis District, 168,000 in the Kansas City District, 68,000 in the Jefferson City District, and 63,000 in the Springfield District. Those four districts together accounted for 83 percent of Missouri's 785,000 college graduates in 2000. Those four Districts also accounted for 82.4 percent of the 198,715 increase in college graduates during the 1990s.
After the 63,000 in the Springfield District the next largest number was in the Sikeston District with 31,000. Following Sikeston was the Joplin District with 28,000. The remaining four were bunched together ranging from 15,000 in the Hannibal District to 21,000 in the St. Joseph District.
The St. Louis, Jefferson City and Kansas City Districts also had the highest proportion of the adult population who had graduated from college. The percent of college graduates in the population in 2000 was 27.9 percent in the St. Louis District, 23.4 percent in the Jefferson District and 23.1 percent in the Kansas City District. After those three, the next highest percent of college graduates was in the Springfield District with 18.5 percent. Following those four there is little difference in the percent of college graduates in the population of the remaining six Districts - ranging from a low 11.7 percent in the Hannibal District to 15.9 percent in the St. Joseph District.
It can be concluded that college graduates are more distributed throughout the state in 2000 than has been the case in previous decades. All counties experienced an increase during the 1990s - the number of college graduates increased by more than 20 percent in 96 counties. It is, for example, a departure from past decades to observe the population of college graduates increasing in rural smaller population counties and regions throughout the state. It appears also that the 260,000 in-migrants added to Missouri's population during the 1990s (see components of population change in Regional Profiles) contributed importantly to the 34 percent increase in Missouri's population of college graduates during the 1990s. It is quite apparent that in-migrants contributed to economic growth throughout the state during the 1990s.
College Graduates By Missouri Department of Economic Development Regions
With the exception of the North Central Region all remaining DED regions had an increase of at least 28 percent in the number of college graduates during the 1990s. Although there were significant percentage increases in number of college graduates in all but two counties throughout the state during the 1990s, college graduates continue to be concentrated in the more populated Regions. In 2000 there were 356,000 college graduates in the St. Louis MSA, 162,000 in the Kansas City MSA, 60,000 in the Central Region and 57,000 in the Springfield-Branson Region. Those four districts together accounted for 81 percent of Missouri's 785,000 college graduates in 2000. Those four Districts also accounted for 79.6 percent of the 198,715 increase in college graduates during the 1990s.
After the 57,000 in the Springfield-Branson Region, the next largest number of college graduates was in the Southwest Region with 31,000. Following Southwest was the Lake Ozark Rolla Region with 23,000, The Lower East Central-Cape Region with 20,000 and the Northwest Region with 19,000. The smallest number of graduates was in the South Central Region with 8,000 and the North Central with 6,000.
The St. Louis, Central, Kansas City, and Springfield-Branson Regions also had the highest proportion of the 2000 adult population who had graduated from college. The percent of college graduates in the population was 27.3 percent in the St. Louis MSA, 25.3 percent in the Central Region, 23.2 percent in the Kansas City MSA and 20.2 percent in the Springfield-Branson Region. After those four the next highest percent of college graduates was in the Northwest Region that drops to 16.1 percent. Following those five there is relatively little difference in the percent of college graduates in the population of the remaining eight regions - ranging from a low 9.8 percent in the Bootheel to 14.8 percent in the Northeast.
It can be concluded that college graduates are more distributed throughout the state in 2000 than has been the case in previous decades. All counties experienced an increase during the 1990s - the number of college graduates increased by more than 20 percent in 96 counties. It is, for example, a departure from past decades to observe the population of college graduates increasing in rural smaller population counties and regions throughout the state. It appears also that the 260,000 in-migrants added to Missouri's population during the 1990s (see components of population change in Regional Profiles) contributed importantly to the 34 percent increase in Missouri's population of college graduates during the 1990s. It is quite apparent that in-migrants contributed to economic growth throughout the state during the 1990s.
Additional tables are attached which report Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 for three different sets of regions: eight University of Missouri Extension regions; 10 Missouri Department of Transportation regions; and 13 Missouri Department of Economic Development regions.
| Detailed Tables about Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 | ||
| The following links provide detailed tables of Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000. They are in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat (PDF) formats. | ||
| All Missouri Counties | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 | HTML | |
| Regional Tables | ||
| UO/E Regions | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 - By UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 - By County Within UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| DED Regions | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 - By DED Region | HTML | |
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 - By County Within DED Region | HTML | |
| MoDOT Regions | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 - By DOT District | HTML | |
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having a College Degree and/or Beyond, by County 1990-2000 - By County Within DOT District | HTML | |
This file last modified Thursday May 07, 2009, 11:21:58
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