Change in Number of Missourians Having Acquired Some Post-Secondary Education but are Not College Graduates 1990-2000
The 2000 Census reports that nearly a million (981,665) Missouri adults (age 25 and over) had acquired some post-secondary education. That is an increase of 29.8 percent from the 756,510 reported in the 1990 Census as having some post-secondary education although not college graduates. According to the 1990 Census, 23.0 Missouri adults had completed some post-secondary education. The 2000 Census reports 27.0 of Missouri adults in that educational attainment category. Adults with some post-secondary education include those who have attended community colleges, whether they earned an Associate of Arts degree or not; those who earned some four-year college credit but did not graduate; and, those who received training from vocational schools, night school classes and other means of improving their skills and educational credentials. As the increase during the 1990s in number of Missourians who completed some post-secondary education attests, there has been strong public interest in obtaining additional training and marketable skills. Enrollments in Missouri community colleges, night school programs, vocational schools, and other non-traditional programs have been strong and growing throughout most of the 1990s.
Geographic Distribution of Adults Having Completed Some Post-Secondary Education 1990-2000
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Table 1 and Map 1 show that at least 13.8 percent of Missouri adults in 2000 had completed some post-secondary education in all 115 counties. However, as indicated on Map 1, there are 24 counties in which more than 25 percent of the adults have at least some post-secondary education. Most of those counties (17) are in the Kansas City- St. Joseph, St. Louis, Springfield and Joplin metropolitan areas. There are accessible community colleges and vocational schools in each of those metro areas.
In addition there are several non-metro counties in this category that are the location of a community college. Included are Grundy County (North Central), Randolph County (Moberly Area Community College), Pettis County (State Fair), St. Francois County (Mineral Area) and Butler County (Three Rivers). There are also two counties (Johnson and Pulaski) in which the location of a major military base contributes to a high percentage of adults having had some post-secondary education. That is a part of the military training system.
As indicated on Map 1, the counties with the lowest percent of adults having some education beyond high school are concentrated in the Bootheel and Southeast Ozarks. The low percentage in those regions may be partially explained by lack of access to education and training programs, although there is a centrally located community college in Poplar Bluff and there are several post-secondary vocational training programs scattered throughout the region. The percent of adults having completed high school is also low in the Southeast in comparison with the remainder of the state.
A Narrow Range of Percent of Adults With Post-Secondary Education
There are 24 counties in which more than 25 percent of adults have some education beyond a high school diploma but are short of a college degree, and 20 counties in which fewer than 20 percent of adults have some post-secondary education. That, however, leaves 71 counties in which the percent of adults with some post-secondary education ranges between 20 and 25 percent. A major reason is that there are a relatively limited number of adults who have a high school diploma but don't have a college degree. According to the 2000 Census, 18.7 percent of Missouri adults have not graduated from high school and 21.6 percent have a college degree. That leaves 59.7 percent of Missouri adults in between a high school diploma and a college degree. In the 2000 Census 32.7 percent of adults had graduated from high school but had no further education and, as discussed in this section 27.0 percent of adults have achieved some post-secondary education. That means that 45 percent of Missourians who are high school graduates but don't have a college degree have completed some education beyond high school.
Change in Attainment of Post-secondary Education 1990-2000
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The number of Missourians having completed some post-secondary education increased by 29.8 percent during the 1990s. An increase occurred in all but one county. Data showing change in number of adults with post-secondary education by county are included in Table 1 and how those changes are distributed among the counties is portrayed on Map 2.
Increases in the number of adults with education beyond high school were large. There were 50 counties in which the number increased by more than 50 percent; fifteen of those counties increased by more than 75 percent. Map 2 shows that the counties with the greatest percentage increase in number of adults achieving some post-secondary education are concentrated in southern Missouri. The largest percentage increases were uniformly large throughout most of the counties lying to the south of a line extending from St. Louis to Joplin. This is significant because generally this has been the part of the state having the lowest level of educational attainment.
In contrast, while there were increases in the number of adults having some post-secondary education throughout north Missouri the rate of increase was generally less than the state average. A possible explanation is, because of past out-migration of young adults, the size of the population who are high school graduates but have not completed a college degree is relatively small. This issue will be analyzed in greater detail in subsequent sections of the regional profiles. Following are post-secondary educational attainment data presented by University of Missouri Extension regions, Missouri Department of Transportation Districts and Department of Economic Development regions.
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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. |
Post-secondary Educational Attainment Among University Extension Regions
The number of adults having completed some post-secondary education increased significantly in all eight Extension Regions. The increases from 1990 to 2000 were well above the state average (29.8 percent) with increases in the South Central Region of 56.3 percent; in the Southwest Region of 49.0 percent; in the Southeast Region of 43.4 percent; and, in the Central Region of 36.9 percent. Those changes are important because, as a result, the proportion of Region adults having education beyond high school increased substantially. That was especially the case in the South Central Region in which the percent of adults having some post-secondary education increased from 17.5 percent in 1990 to 23.7 percent in 2000; in the Southeast Region in which the percent increased from 14.7 in 1990 to 19.8 in 2000; and, in the Southwest Region in which the percent increased from 22.8 percent to 27.5 percent.
There is relatively little difference among the regions in the percent of adults who have attained some post-secondary education in 2000 than there was in 1990. In all but one region in 2000, more than 22 percent of the population had completed some post-secondary education.
The extent to which adults with some education beyond high school increased throughout all regions may be indicative of a growing interest and demand for extension educational services.
Post- secondary Education Attainment Among Missouri Department of Transportation Regions
The number of adults having completed some post-secondary education increased significantly in all ten MODOT Districts. The increases from 1990 to 2000 were well above the state average (29.8 percent) in the Springfield District with an increase of 56.2 percent; in the Willow Springs District with an increase of 50.8 percent; in the Hannibal District with an increase of 47.0 percent; in the Sikeston District with an increase of 46.5 percent; and, in the Central and Joplin Districts with increases of 43.9 and 40.9 percent respectively.
Those changes are important because, as a result of the large increases, the proportion of District adults having education beyond high school increased substantially. That was especially the case in: the Willow Springs District in which the percent of adults having some post-secondary education increased from 17.4 percent in 1990 to 23.2 percent in 2000; in the Sikeston District in which the percent increased from 15.5 in 1990 to 21.0 in 2000; and, in the Hannibal District in which the percent increased from 17.4 percent to 22.6 percent.
These changes were especially significant because some of the greatest percentage increases occurred in Districts that had the lowest percentage of adults having some education beyond high school in1990. Consequently, with the exception of the Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield Districts, the percent of the adult population in the remaining Districts having some education beyond high school, were all within a narrow range in 2000 - from 21.0 percent to 25.3 percent. The gap closed significantly.
The significant increases in the proportion of adults having attained some education beyond high school may prove to have some impact on citizen involvement in public affairs.
Post-secondary Education Attainment Among Department of Economic Development (DED) Regions
The number of Missouri adults having completed some post-secondary education increased by 29.8 percent during the 1990s, and increased significantly in all 13 DED Regions. The increases from 1990 to 2000 were exceptionally large in five of the 13 regions. The greatest percentage increase occurred in the South Central Region (63.8 percent) followed by the Springfield-Branson and Lake of Ozark Rolla Regions with increases of 54.2 and 54.0 percent respectively. Somewhat smaller increases occurred in the Lower East Central - Cape and the Bootheel Regions with increases of 48.3 and 47.2 percent respectively.
It is significant that four of the five regions having the greatest increases during the 1990s were regions in which the proportion of the population in 1990 having some post-secondary education ranked among the lowest in the state. Those regions and their 1990 percentage of adults having some post-secondary education were the Bootheel Region with 13.4 percent, South Central with 14.7 percent, Lower East Central - Cape with 17.6 percent and Lake Ozarks Rolla with 19.1 percent. Because of the large percentage increases in those regions their proportion of adults with some post-secondary education increased significantly during the 1990s. The Bootheel Region increased from 13.4 in 1990 to 18.9 percent in 2000. The South Central Region increased from 14.7 percent in 1990 to 21.3 percent in 2000. The Lower East Central-Cape Region increased from 17.6 percent in 1990 to 22.9 percent in 2000. Lake Ozark Rolla Region increased from 19.1 percent to 24.9 percent.
As a result of those changes, the gap among the regions in proportion of adults having some post-secondary education narrowed. There were three regions in 2000, Kansas City MSA, St. Louis MSA and Springfield-Branson, in which more than 28 percent of adults had completed some post-secondary education. Not counting the Bootheel Region (18.9 percent), the percent of the population having some post-secondary education ranged between 21 and 25 percent.
To the extent that adults having some education beyond high school are likely to be more productive workers, it is a positive indication for economic development to see the extent to which post-secondary education increased throughout the state during the 1990s. Especially important were the increases in those regions that had the lowest percentages of adults having education beyond high school in 1990. The relative human capital position of those regions improved during the 1990s.
Additional tables are attached which report Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 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 Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 | ||
| The following links provide detailed tables of Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000. They are in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat (PDF) formats. | ||
| All Missouri Counties | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 | HTML | |
| Regional Tables | ||
| UO/E Regions | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 - By UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 - By County Within UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| DED Regions | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 - By DED Region | HTML | |
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 - By County Within DED Region | HTML | |
| MoDOT Regions | ||
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 - By DOT District | HTML | |
| Missouri Adults Age 25 Years or Older Having Some College or an Associate Degree 1990-2000 - By County Within DOT District | HTML | |
This file last modified Thursday May 07, 2009, 14:36:54
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