NEWS RELEASE

INSTITUTE ANALYSIS: CENSUS DATA SHOW NEW YORK WITH COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE IN PERCENTAGE OF NEW YORKERS WITH ADVANCED DEGREES

ALBANY—More than one in 10 New Yorkers age 25 or older holds an advanced degree, the fifth highest percentage among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to a new analysis of new Census Bureau data by The Public Policy Institute of New York State.

The data, released August 13, by the Census Bureau, compared the academic achievements of residents 25 years or older in all states and the District of Columbia. Data for both 1990 and 2000 were reported.

In 2000, 11.8 percent of New Yorkers in this age bracket had advanced degrees. The national average was 8.9 percent. Ten years earlier, 9.9 percent of New Yorkers in this age group had advanced degrees, and the national average was 7.2 percent.

In both years, New York ranked fifth in the nation in percentage of residents with advanced degrees, behind only three states and the District of Columbia. In 2000, New York trailed only the District of Columbia (21 percent), Massachusetts (13.7 percent), Maryland (13.4 percent), and Connecticut (13.3 percent). Farther back in the pack are such competitor states as New Jersey (ranked ninth, at 11 percent), Pennsylvania (ranked 22nd, at 8.4 percent), and Ohio (ranked 32nd, at 7.4 percent).

Having a high percentage of residents with advanced degrees is considered a competitive advantage for states. It typically reflects strength in high-tech universities, corporate research and development, and other research institutions from which new technologies-and new high-tech jobs-are likeliest to emerge.

New York also ranked ahead of the national average, both in 1990 and in 2000, in the number of residents age 25 or older who completed a bachelor's degree or more.

In 2000, 27.4 percent of New Yorkers completed studies for a bachelor's degree or more, 11th among all states and the District of Columbia. The national average was 24.4 percent. Ten years earlier, 23.1 percent of New Yorkers in this age group had this much school, which also put New York 11th in the nation. The national average in 1990 was 20.3 percent.

The lower the level of academic achievement considered, the more New York's record, compared to the nation's, declines, The Institute's analysis shows.

• In 2000, 51.3 percent of New Yorkers in this age bracket had some college or more. That ranked 28th in the country, and slightly below the national average of 51.8 percent. Ten years earlier, 45.3 percent of these New Yorkers (28th in the nation) had some college or more, just ahead of the national average of 45.2 percent.
  
  
• In 2000, 79.1 percent of New Yorkers (36th in the nation) had a high school diploma or more, compared to a national average of 80.4 percent. In 1990, 74.8 percent of New Yorkers (34th in the nation) had a high school diploma or more, below the national average of 75.2 percent.

The Census Bureau Data are at www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-24.pdf.

-30-