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

Counties in California by share of adults with a bachelor's degree, 2024

Marin County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 58 counties in 2024, at 61.1%. Lassen County had the lowest, at 13.1%. The median was 25.7% and the figure for California was 37.1%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest61.1Marin County
Lowest13.1Lassen County
Median25.758 counties
California37.1History

All counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Marin CountyMarin County: 61.1 %61.1San Francisco CountySan Francisco County: 60.3 %60.3Santa Clara CountySanta Clara County: 56.5 %56.5San Mateo CountySan Mateo County: 53.7 %53.7Alameda CountyAlameda County: 52.3 %52.3Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County: 45.2 %45.2Yolo CountyYolo County: 44.8 %44.8Orange CountyOrange County: 44.1 %44.1Santa Cruz CountySanta Cruz County: 43.9 %43.9Placer CountyPlacer County: 43.2 %43.2San Diego CountySan Diego County: 43.2 %43.2Nevada CountyNevada County: 41.6 %41.6Alpine CountyAlpine County: 41.1 %41.1El Dorado CountyEl Dorado County: 40 %40San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County: 39.8 %39.8Napa CountyNapa County: 39.8 %39.8Sonoma CountySonoma County: 38.5 %38.5Santa Barbara CountySanta Barbara County: 36.8 %36.8Ventura CountyVentura County: 36.1 %36.1Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County: 36 %36Sacramento CountySacramento County: 34.1 %34.1Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 33.1 %33.1Mono CountyMono County: 32.2 %32.2Butte CountyButte County: 31.9 %31.9Mariposa CountyMariposa County: 31.8 %31.8Inyo CountyInyo County: 31.5 %31.5Solano CountySolano County: 28.8 %28.8Monterey CountyMonterey County: 28.2 %28.2Sierra CountySierra County: 25.8 %25.8Riverside CountyRiverside County: 25.6 %25.6Mendocino CountyMendocino County: 25.2 %25.2Modoc CountyModoc County: 24.8 %24.8Tuolumne CountyTuolumne County: 24.6 %24.6Fresno CountyFresno County: 24.3 %24.3San Benito CountySan Benito County: 24.1 %24.1Calaveras CountyCalaveras County: 23.9 %23.9Shasta CountyShasta County: 23.8 %23.8Siskiyou CountySiskiyou County: 23.3 %23.3San Bernardino CountySan Bernardino County: 23.3 %23.3San Joaquin CountySan Joaquin County: 22.8 %22.8Plumas CountyPlumas County: 22.6 %22.6Amador CountyAmador County: 22.4 %22.4Trinity CountyTrinity County: 22.4 %22.4Del Norte CountyDel Norte County: 21.4 %21.4Sutter CountySutter County: 20.9 %20.9Stanislaus CountyStanislaus County: 19.7 %19.7Tehama CountyTehama County: 19.3 %19.3Kern CountyKern County: 18.8 %18.8Madera CountyMadera County: 17.9 %17.9Lake CountyLake County: 17.8 %17.8Yuba CountyYuba County: 17.7 %17.7Tulare CountyTulare County: 16.6 %16.6Colusa CountyColusa County: 16.4 %16.4Imperial CountyImperial County: 16.1 %16.1Merced CountyMerced County: 15.3 %15.3Glenn CountyGlenn County: 15.1 %15.1Kings CountyKings County: 13.6 %13.6Lassen CountyLassen County: 13.1 %13.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024 (%)Change on 2023
1Marin County61.1+0.7 pts
2San Francisco County60.3+0.2 pts
3Santa Clara County56.5+0.6 pts
4San Mateo County53.7+0.6 pts
5Alameda County52.3+0.8 pts
6Contra Costa County45.2+0.3 pts
7Yolo County44.8+0.7 pts
8Orange County44.1+0.7 pts
9Santa Cruz County43.9+0.4 pts
10Placer County43.2+0.3 pts
11San Diego County43.2+1.1 pts
12Nevada County41.6+2.1 pts
13Alpine County41.1-1 pts
14El Dorado County40+1.2 pts
15San Luis Obispo County39.8+0.6 pts
16Napa County39.8+1.3 pts
17Sonoma County38.5+0.6 pts
18Santa Barbara County36.8+0.9 pts
19Ventura County36.1+0.5 pts
20Los Angeles County36+0.5 pts
21Sacramento County34.1+0.9 pts
22Humboldt County33.1+1 pts
23Mono County32.2-2.2 pts
24Butte County31.9+0.2 pts
25Mariposa County31.8+0.9 pts
26Inyo County31.5-0.3 pts
27Solano County28.8+0.4 pts
28Monterey County28.2+0.3 pts
29Sierra County25.8+1.4 pts
30Riverside County25.6+0.5 pts
31Mendocino County25.2+0.2 pts
32Modoc County24.8+1.8 pts
33Tuolumne County24.6+0.7 pts
34Fresno County24.3+0.4 pts
35San Benito County24.1+1.7 pts
36Calaveras County23.9+1.7 pts
37Shasta County23.8+0.5 pts
38Siskiyou County23.3+0.3 pts
39San Bernardino County23.3+0.4 pts
40San Joaquin County22.8+1.2 pts
41Plumas County22.6+2.1 pts
42Amador County22.4-0 pts
43Trinity County22.4+4.4 pts
44Del Norte County21.4+0.4 pts
45Sutter County20.9+0.7 pts
46Stanislaus County19.7+0.5 pts
47Tehama County19.3+0.4 pts
48Kern County18.8+0.2 pts
49Madera County17.9+0.8 pts
50Lake County17.8+0.1 pts
51Yuba County17.7-0.2 pts
52Tulare County16.6+0.8 pts
53Colusa County16.4+1.9 pts
54Imperial County16.1-0 pts
55Merced County15.3+0.6 pts
56Glenn County15.1-1.4 pts
57Kings County13.6-0.3 pts
58Lassen County13.1-0.1 pts

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/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2024-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in California by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"bachelors_degree_share","level":"province","within":"California","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=bachelors_degree_share&level=province&within=California&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Marin County, with 61.1% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Lassen County, with 13.1% in 2024.

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 California: more rankings