already in New Hampshire
Educational Attainment
County Comparisons – Educational Attainment
by Joe Swyers • 10/12/03
In the following I did not rank the counties in any order other than alphabetical because it is a quandary as to which column to use for a ranking. A high school diploma, admittedly, does not indicate much "educational attainment" any more BUT it is a lot more than nothing or a "drop out".
Sullivan and Coos counties had the highest high school percentages of those with only a HS Diploma or equivalent, but they also had the lowest college attainment and the greatest rate of less than high school attainment.
The following table is educational attainment of people age 25 or over expressed as percentage of that population (not the total population).
(HS Grad is Diploma or Equivalent. "College" is some college or an Associate Degree)
| County | POP age 25+ | 0-8th | 9th-12th | HS Grad. | College | Bachelors | Masters+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belknap | 39,260 | 4.4% | 9.9% | 32.6% | 29.8% | 15.7% | 7.6% |
| Carroll | 31,534 | 2.9% | 8.9% | 32.2% | 29.5% | 17.1% | 9.4% |
| Cheshire | 48,032 | 4.0% | 9.8% | 34.4% | 25.2% | 17.2% | 9.4% |
| Coos | 23,490 | 8.6% | 14.5% | 41.6% | 23.4% | 8.1% | 3.8% |
| Grafton | 52,795 | 3.7% | 8.6% | 31.0% | 24.0% | 18.4% | 14.2% |
| Hillsborough | 251,908 | 4.3% | 8.7% | 27.5% | 29.4% | 20.0% | 10.1% |
| Merrimack | 91,278 | 4.0% | 7.9% | 29.6% | 29.4% | 18.8% | 10.3% |
| Rockingham | 187,172 | 2.5% | 7.1% | 28.6% | 30.2% | 21.1% | 10.6% |
| Strafford | 70,319 | 4.6% | 9.0% | 30.4% | 29.5% | 16.9% | 9.5% |
| Sullivan | 28,199 | 5.5% | 11.5% | 38.5% | 24.8% | 12.4% | 7.3% |
The following table has more detail than the above.
(HS Grad is Diploma or Equivalent. "College" is some college but no degree.
"Prof." is a professional degree.)
| County | POP age 25+ | None | K to 4th | 5th- 8th | 9th- 12th | HS Grad. | Coll- ege | Asso- ciate | Bach- elors | Mas- ters | Prof. | Doc- torate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belknap | 39,260 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 3.8% | 9.9% | 32.6% | 21.5% | 8.3% | 15.7% | 5.5% | 1.5% | 0.6% |
| Carroll | 31,534 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 2.6% | 8.9% | 32.2% | 20.4% | 9.1% | 17.1% | 7.0% | 1.3% | 1.1% |
| Cheshire | 48,032 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 3.6% | 9.8% | 34.4% | 18.6% | 6.6% | 17.2% | 6.6% | 1.6% | 1.2% |
| Coos | 23,490 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 8.0% | 14.5% | 41.6% | 15.3% | 8.1% | 8.1% | 2.7% | 0.8% | 0.3% |
| Grafton | 52,795 | 0.2% | 0.2% | 3.3% | 8.6% | 31.0% | 16.9% | 7.1% | 18.4% | 8.4% | 2.8% | 3.0% |
| Hillsborough | 251,908 | 0.5% | 0.2% | 3.6% | 8.7% | 27.5% | 20.3% | 9.1% | 20.0% | 7.6% | 1.6% | 0.8% |
| Merrimack | 91,278 | 0.4% | 0.2% | 3.4% | 7.9% | 29.6% | 20.6% | 8.8% | 18.8% | 7.1% | 2.5% | 0.8% |
| Rockingham | 187,172 | 0.3% | 0.0% | 2.1% | 7.1% | 28.6% | 20.7% | 9.5% | 21.1% | 8.2% | 1.5% | 0.8% |
| Strafford | 70,319 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 4.2% | 9.0% | 30.4% | 20.5% | 9.0% | 16.9% | 6.5% | 1.6% | 1.5% |
| Sullivan | 28,199 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 5.1% | 11.5% | 38.5% | 18.2% | 6.6% | 12.4% | 5.0% | 1.6% | 0.8% |
Source: www.state.nh.us/osp/sdc/sdcSF3.html