Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Shelby County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 67 counties in 2021, at 44.8%. Lamar County had the lowest, at 10%. The median was 16.1% and the figure for Alabama was 26.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest44.8Shelby County
Lowest10Lamar County
Median16.167 counties
Alabama26.7History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Shelby CountyShelby County: 44.8 %44.8Madison CountyMadison County: 44.3 %44.3Lee CountyLee County: 38.6 %38.6Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 34.7 %34.7Montgomery CountyMontgomery County: 33.4 %33.4Baldwin CountyBaldwin County: 32.5 %32.5Tuscaloosa CountyTuscaloosa County: 30.6 %30.6Limestone CountyLimestone County: 28.4 %28.4Autauga CountyAutauga County: 28.1 %28.1Pike CountyPike County: 27.8 %27.8Lauderdale CountyLauderdale County: 25.5 %25.5Elmore CountyElmore County: 24.6 %24.6Mobile CountyMobile County: 23.9 %23.9Morgan CountyMorgan County: 22.8 %22.8Coffee CountyCoffee County: 22.7 %22.7Houston CountyHouston County: 22.2 %22.2Henry CountyHenry County: 21.6 %21.6Marshall CountyMarshall County: 21.4 %21.4Macon CountyMacon County: 21.2 %21.2Marengo CountyMarengo County: 19.7 %19.7Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 19.5 %19.5Sumter CountySumter County: 19.5 %19.5Perry CountyPerry County: 18.9 %18.9Dale CountyDale County: 18.7 %18.7St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 18.5 %18.5Tallapoosa CountyTallapoosa County: 18.1 %18.1Etowah CountyEtowah County: 18 %18Colbert CountyColbert County: 17.9 %17.9Russell CountyRussell County: 17.3 %17.3Cullman CountyCullman County: 16.5 %16.5Crenshaw CountyCrenshaw County: 16.4 %16.4Cleburne CountyCleburne County: 16.4 %16.4Randolph CountyRandolph County: 16.2 %16.2Dallas CountyDallas County: 16.1 %16.1Jackson CountyJackson County: 16.1 %16.1Talladega CountyTalladega County: 15.9 %15.9Covington CountyCovington County: 15.8 %15.8Hale CountyHale County: 15.8 %15.8Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 15.3 %15.3Lowndes CountyLowndes County: 15.1 %15.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Shelby County44.8
2Madison County44.3
3Lee County38.6
4Jefferson County34.7
5Montgomery County33.4
6Baldwin County32.5
7Tuscaloosa County30.6
8Limestone County28.4
9Autauga County28.1
10Pike County27.8
11Lauderdale County25.5
12Elmore County24.6
13Mobile County23.9
14Morgan County22.8
15Coffee County22.7
16Houston County22.2
17Henry County21.6
18Marshall County21.4
19Macon County21.2
20Marengo County19.7
21Calhoun County19.5
22Sumter County19.5
23Perry County18.9
24Dale County18.7
25St. Clair County18.5
26Tallapoosa County18.1
27Etowah County18
28Colbert County17.9
29Russell County17.3
30Cullman County16.5
31Crenshaw County16.4
32Cleburne County16.4
33Randolph County16.2
34Dallas County16.1
35Jackson County16.1
36Talladega County15.9
37Covington County15.8
38Hale County15.8
39Lawrence County15.3
40Lowndes County15.1
41Blount County14.9
42DeKalb County14.4
43Franklin County14.3
44Walker County14.1
45Butler County14
46Clarke County13.9
47Chambers County13.7
48Washington County13.6
49Chilton County13.5
50Geneva County13.5
51Winston County13.5
52Clay County13.4
53Pickens County13.3
54Monroe County12.9
55Cherokee County12.8
56Greene County12.7
57Marion County12.6
58Escambia County12.6
59Conecuh County12.5
60Bibb County11.9
61Fayette County11.8
62Choctaw County11.7
63Bullock County11.7
64Coosa County11.2
65Barbour County11.2
66Wilcox County11
67Lamar County10

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in Alabama by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Shelby County, with 44.8% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Lamar County, with 10% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in Alabama: more rankings