Special Report

This is the Least Educated City in Mississippi

skynesher / Getty Images

College enrollment has declined steadily in the United States in recent years. With rising tuition costs and surging student debt, enrollment rates have fallen at an average of nearly 2% a year since 2010. While four years of higher education may not be for everyone, Americans without a bachelor’s degree tend to be far more limited in their career opportunities, job security, and earning potential.

Nationwide, an estimated 32.1% of American adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Educational attainment rates vary considerably across the country, however, and in nearly every state, there is at least one city where the share of adults with a bachelor’s degree is well below the national average.

Using education data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. identified the least educated city in every state.

In Mississippi, no city or town with a population of 25,000 or more has a lower bachelor’s degree attainment rate than Horn Lake. Only 15.8% of the adult population in Horn Lake have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 22.0% of adults across the state as a whole.

All cities, towns, villages, boroughs, and census-designated places with over 25,000 people were considered for this story. All data used are five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey. This is the least educated city in every state.

 

State Least educated city Adults in state with a bachelor’s degree (%) Adults in city with a bachelor’s degree (%)
Alabama Bessemer 25.5 14.4
Alaska Fairbanks 29.6 27.2
Arizona San Luis 29.5 8.4
Arkansas Paragould 23.0 18.4
California Bell Gardens 33.9 5.4
Colorado Pueblo 40.9 18.9
Connecticut Waterbury 39.3 15.7
Delaware Dover 32.0 26.3
Florida West Little River 29.9 10.7
Georgia LaGrange 31.3 18.5
Hawaii Waipahu 33.0 17.1
Idaho Caldwell 27.6 13.7
Illinois Cicero 34.7 9.0
Indiana East Chicago 26.5 9.1
Iowa Clinton 28.6 17.5
Kansas Dodge City 33.4 16.6
Kentucky Henderson 24.2 17.6
Louisiana Marrero 24.1 12.3
Maine Lewiston 31.8 20.3
Maryland Dundalk 40.2 12.9
Massachusetts Lawrence 43.7 10.8
Michigan Lincoln Park 29.1 9.4
Minnesota Brooklyn Center 36.1 20.3
Mississippi Horn Lake 22.0 15.8
Missouri Grandview 29.2 19.4
Montana Great Falls 32.0 25.4
Nebraska Fremont 31.9 18.3
Nevada Sunrise Manor 24.7 10.6
New Hampshire Rochester 37.0 21.7
New Jersey Camden 39.7 9.8
New Mexico South Valley 27.3 14.0
New York Brentwood 36.6 13.9
North Carolina Thomasville 31.3 15.2
North Dakota Williston 30.0 25.2
Ohio Marion 28.3 9.9
Oklahoma Shawnee 25.5 20.6
Oregon Grants Pass 33.7 15.8
Pennsylvania Lebanon 31.4 9.8
Rhode Island Woonsocket 34.2 17.8
South Carolina North Charleston 28.1 22.8
South Dakota Aberdeen 28.8 29.3
Tennessee Morristown 27.3 14.9
Texas Balch Springs 29.9 7.2
Utah Magna 34.0 9.7
Vermont Burlington 38.0 53.3
Virginia Danville 38.8 17.6
Washington Spanaway 36.0 13.9
West Virginia Parkersburg 20.6 16.3
Wisconsin Racine 30.1 16.6
Wyoming Gillette 27.4 19.2

 

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With A Financial Advisor (Sponsored)

Take the quiz below to get matched with a financial advisor today.

Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests.

Here’s how it works:
1. Answer SmartAsset advisor match quiz
2. Review your pre-screened matches at your leisure. Check out the
advisors’ profiles.
3. Speak with advisors at no cost to you. Have an introductory call on the phone or introduction in person and choose whom to work with in the future

Take the retirement quiz right here.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.