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

Marin County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 58 counties in 2021, at 60.2%. Lassen County had the lowest, at 11.8%. The median was 24.5% and the figure for California was 35.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest60.2Marin County
Lowest11.8Lassen County
Median24.558 counties
California35.3History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Marin CountyMarin County: 60.2 %60.2San Francisco CountySan Francisco County: 59.5 %59.5Santa Clara CountySanta Clara County: 54.4 %54.4San Mateo CountySan Mateo County: 52.5 %52.5Alameda CountyAlameda County: 49.6 %49.6Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County: 44.1 %44.1Yolo CountyYolo County: 43.1 %43.1Orange CountyOrange County: 42.1 %42.1Santa Cruz CountySanta Cruz County: 41.9 %41.9Placer CountyPlacer County: 41.6 %41.6San Diego CountySan Diego County: 40.3 %40.3Alpine CountyAlpine County: 39.3 %39.3Nevada CountyNevada County: 38.7 %38.7Sonoma CountySonoma County: 37.1 %37.1Napa CountyNapa County: 37 %37El Dorado CountyEl Dorado County: 36.8 %36.8San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County: 36.7 %36.7Santa Barbara CountySanta Barbara County: 35.1 %35.1Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County: 34 %34Ventura CountyVentura County: 34 %34Sacramento CountySacramento County: 32 %32Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 31.2 %31.2Butte CountyButte County: 29.8 %29.8Mono CountyMono County: 29.5 %29.5Mariposa CountyMariposa County: 28.9 %28.9Solano CountySolano County: 27.8 %27.8Inyo CountyInyo County: 27.3 %27.3Monterey CountyMonterey County: 26.5 %26.5Tuolumne CountyTuolumne County: 24.6 %24.6Mendocino CountyMendocino County: 24.5 %24.5Riverside CountyRiverside County: 23.5 %23.5Plumas CountyPlumas County: 23 %23Fresno CountyFresno County: 22.6 %22.6Shasta CountyShasta County: 22.6 %22.6Sierra CountySierra County: 22.3 %22.3San Bernardino CountySan Bernardino County: 21.9 %21.9Siskiyou CountySiskiyou County: 21.5 %21.5San Benito CountySan Benito County: 20.5 %20.5Sutter CountySutter County: 20 %20Calaveras CountyCalaveras County: 19.9 %19.9Modoc CountyModoc County: 19.7 %19.7Amador CountyAmador County: 19.5 %19.5San Joaquin CountySan Joaquin County: 19.5 %19.5Trinity CountyTrinity County: 18.6 %18.6Stanislaus CountyStanislaus County: 17.9 %17.9Yuba CountyYuba County: 17.8 %17.8Kern CountyKern County: 17.6 %17.6Lake CountyLake County: 17.5 %17.5Tehama CountyTehama County: 17 %17Madera CountyMadera County: 16.4 %16.4Del Norte CountyDel Norte County: 16.1 %16.1Imperial CountyImperial County: 15.2 %15.2Tulare CountyTulare County: 15.2 %15.2Glenn CountyGlenn County: 14.9 %14.9Colusa CountyColusa County: 14.7 %14.7Kings CountyKings County: 14.3 %14.3Merced CountyMerced County: 14.1 %14.1Lassen CountyLassen County: 11.8 %11.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Marin County60.2
2San Francisco County59.5
3Santa Clara County54.4
4San Mateo County52.5
5Alameda County49.6
6Contra Costa County44.1
7Yolo County43.1
8Orange County42.1
9Santa Cruz County41.9
10Placer County41.6
11San Diego County40.3
12Alpine County39.3
13Nevada County38.7
14Sonoma County37.1
15Napa County37
16El Dorado County36.8
17San Luis Obispo County36.7
18Santa Barbara County35.1
19Los Angeles County34
20Ventura County34
21Sacramento County32
22Humboldt County31.2
23Butte County29.8
24Mono County29.5
25Mariposa County28.9
26Solano County27.8
27Inyo County27.3
28Monterey County26.5
29Tuolumne County24.6
30Mendocino County24.5
31Riverside County23.5
32Plumas County23
33Fresno County22.6
34Shasta County22.6
35Sierra County22.3
36San Bernardino County21.9
37Siskiyou County21.5
38San Benito County20.5
39Sutter County20
40Calaveras County19.9
41Modoc County19.7
42Amador County19.5
43San Joaquin County19.5
44Trinity County18.6
45Stanislaus County17.9
46Yuba County17.8
47Kern County17.6
48Lake County17.5
49Tehama County17
50Madera County16.4
51Del Norte County16.1
52Imperial County15.2
52Tulare County15.2
54Glenn County14.9
55Colusa County14.7
56Kings County14.3
57Merced County14.1
58Lassen County11.8

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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Questions

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

Marin County, with 60.2% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Lassen County, with 11.8% 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 California: more rankings