Something we find worthwhile here is reminding ourselves how out of touch we are with large swaths of the American populace. To that end, let’s talk about education.
We estimate that upwards of 95% of our readers (based on our email subscription list and social media following) have a bachelor’s degree. Of those that don’t, most are either in college or high school, with an eventual bachelor’s degree the expectation.
This is not the norm.
Using 2019 data from the Census Bureau, we can see that among Americans aged 25 or older, 36% have a bachelor’s degree. Just more than one in three. Your reaction to this might be similar to mine at first, which was to question how that number is pulled down by older generations, where college was less of an expectation, even in affluent areas. The answer? It isn’t pulled down by much.
| Age | Bachelor’s Degree or Higher |
| ..25 to 29 years | 39% |
| ..30 to 34 years | 41% |
| ..35 to 39 years | 42% |
| ..40 to 44 years | 40% |
| ..45 to 49 years | 38% |
| ..50 to 54 years | 36% |
| ..55 to 59 years | 33% |
| ..60 to 64 years | 32% |
| ..65 to 69 years | 34% |
| ..70 to 74 years | 35% |
| ..75 years and over | 26% |
Even the peak age bracket for educational attainment—those at the sweet spot of expectation and having had enough years to get the degree done—comfortably fewer than half of Americans have a bachelor’s degree.
Compared to virtually the entirety of our readership.
And this isn’t some isolated geographic thing, where our readership just comes largely from well-off suburban areas in which higher educational expectations are the norm (though to be clear, our readership does come largely from well-off suburban areas—at least, that’s where our readers grew up). Even the most educated county in America—Arlington County in Virginia—checks in at 75% of people 25 and older having a bachelor’s degree (Falls Church city, next to Arlington County, comes in at 78%, but since it isn’t technically a county we went with Arlington to make this point). Yes, that’s a big difference from the national average. But it’s still one in four people having not finished a four-year degree, compared to—again—our circles, in which nearly everyone has completed a four-year degree.
