The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data on the educational attainment of the nation’s adult population.
In 2024, there were 47,397,000 women over the age of 25 in the United States who had earned at least a bachelor’s degree. They represent 40.1 percent of the total adult population of women in the United States.
In comparison, there were 41,487,000 men over the age of 25 in the United States who had earned at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2024, equating to 37.1 percent of the country’s adult male population.
About 14,760,000 adult women held a master’s degree as their highest level of education, compared to 11,250,000 adult men in 2024.
However, there are still more men than women holding professional degrees and doctorates. In 2024, 1,707,000 men and 1,504,000 women held a professional degree, while 2,800,000 men and 2,313,000 women held a doctorate.
Women with at least a bachelor’s degree were overwhelmingly most likely to work in education or health services, with 14,828,00 (31.3 percent) of these women working in these industries in 2024. For their male counterparts, 5,823,000 (14.0 percent) worked in education or health services.
Among women with at least a bachelor’s degree, about 68.3 percent were employed, 1.4 percent were unemployed, and 30.3 percent were out of the civilian labor force in 2024. For men with at least a bachelor’s degree, 73.6 percent were employed, 1.8 percent were unemployed, and 24.5 percent were out of the civilian labor force.