KIDS COUNT Data Center: Higher Education and Future Prosperity

Editor’s Note: This post is the final in a series on the launch of the new KIDS COUNT Data Center in Washington State. The series is written by our colleagues at Washington KIDS COUNT at the University of Washington. The work of KIDS COUNT intersects well with efforts of the Budget & Policy Center to highlight the importance of state investments.

Higher education reaps numerous benefits for individuals and society including higher lifetime earnings, better health, and more civic participation. In Washington, less than 30 percent of adults over 25 have obtained a post-secondary degree.

Within the state, there are regional disparities in educational attainment. As the map below shows, in some urban counties like King and Whitman, close to half of adults (44 and 48 percent, respectively) have earned a bachelor’s degree. In contrast, in 13 of the state’s rural counties, less than one in five adults have completed a BA.

Find hundreds of indicators of child and family well-being for your county at the new KIDS COUNT Data Center.