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 2022, at 61.1%. Lassen County had the lowest, at 12.1%. The median was 24.3% and the figure for California was 35.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest61.1Marin County
Lowest12.1Lassen County
Median24.358 counties
California35.9History

All counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Marin CountyMarin County: 61.1 %61.1San Francisco CountySan Francisco County: 59.8 %59.8Santa Clara CountySanta Clara County: 55.3 %55.3San Mateo CountySan Mateo County: 52.9 %52.9Alameda CountyAlameda County: 50.9 %50.9Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County: 44.5 %44.5Yolo CountyYolo County: 43.3 %43.3Orange CountyOrange County: 42.8 %42.8Santa Cruz CountySanta Cruz County: 42.5 %42.5Placer CountyPlacer County: 42.4 %42.4San Diego CountySan Diego County: 41.1 %41.1Alpine CountyAlpine County: 39.6 %39.6Nevada CountyNevada County: 38.8 %38.8San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County: 38 %38El Dorado CountyEl Dorado County: 38 %38Sonoma CountySonoma County: 37.9 %37.9Napa CountyNapa County: 37.8 %37.8Santa Barbara CountySanta Barbara County: 35.7 %35.7Ventura CountyVentura County: 34.7 %34.7Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County: 34.6 %34.6Sacramento CountySacramento County: 32.6 %32.6Mono CountyMono County: 31.7 %31.7Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 31.1 %31.1Butte CountyButte County: 30.8 %30.8Inyo CountyInyo County: 29 %29Mariposa CountyMariposa County: 28.9 %28.9Solano CountySolano County: 28.2 %28.2Monterey CountyMonterey County: 27.1 %27.1Tuolumne CountyTuolumne County: 24.4 %24.4Riverside CountyRiverside County: 24.1 %24.1Mendocino CountyMendocino County: 24 %24Sierra CountySierra County: 23.9 %23.9Modoc CountyModoc County: 23.8 %23.8Fresno CountyFresno County: 23.4 %23.4Shasta CountyShasta County: 22.8 %22.8San Bernardino CountySan Bernardino County: 22.4 %22.4San Benito CountySan Benito County: 22 %22Siskiyou CountySiskiyou County: 22 %22Calaveras CountyCalaveras County: 21.4 %21.4Plumas CountyPlumas County: 21.2 %21.2Sutter CountySutter County: 20.6 %20.6Amador CountyAmador County: 20.6 %20.6San Joaquin CountySan Joaquin County: 20.3 %20.3Trinity CountyTrinity County: 19.2 %19.2Kern CountyKern County: 18.3 %18.3Stanislaus CountyStanislaus County: 18.2 %18.2Lake CountyLake County: 18.2 %18.2Tehama CountyTehama County: 18.2 %18.2Del Norte CountyDel Norte County: 17.7 %17.7Yuba CountyYuba County: 17.4 %17.4Madera CountyMadera County: 17.2 %17.2Imperial CountyImperial County: 15.9 %15.9Tulare CountyTulare County: 15.6 %15.6Glenn CountyGlenn County: 14.9 %14.9Kings CountyKings County: 14.7 %14.7Merced CountyMerced County: 14.6 %14.6Colusa CountyColusa County: 14.3 %14.3Lassen CountyLassen County: 12.1 %12.1
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Marin County61.1+1 pts
2San Francisco County59.8+0.3 pts
3Santa Clara County55.3+0.9 pts
4San Mateo County52.9+0.4 pts
5Alameda County50.9+1.3 pts
6Contra Costa County44.5+0.4 pts
7Yolo County43.3+0.2 pts
8Orange County42.8+0.6 pts
9Santa Cruz County42.5+0.6 pts
10Placer County42.4+0.8 pts
11San Diego County41.1+0.8 pts
12Alpine County39.6+0.3 pts
13Nevada County38.8+0.1 pts
14San Luis Obispo County38+1.2 pts
15El Dorado County38+1.1 pts
16Sonoma County37.9+0.7 pts
17Napa County37.8+0.8 pts
18Santa Barbara County35.7+0.5 pts
19Ventura County34.7+0.7 pts
20Los Angeles County34.6+0.5 pts
21Sacramento County32.6+0.6 pts
22Mono County31.7+2.2 pts
23Humboldt County31.1-0.1 pts
24Butte County30.8+1.1 pts
25Inyo County29+1.7 pts
26Mariposa County28.9+0.1 pts
27Solano County28.2+0.4 pts
28Monterey County27.1+0.6 pts
29Tuolumne County24.4-0.1 pts
30Riverside County24.1+0.5 pts
31Mendocino County24-0.5 pts
32Sierra County23.9+1.6 pts
33Modoc County23.8+4.1 pts
34Fresno County23.4+0.8 pts
35Shasta County22.8+0.2 pts
36San Bernardino County22.4+0.5 pts
37San Benito County22+1.5 pts
37Siskiyou County22+0.5 pts
39Calaveras County21.4+1.5 pts
40Plumas County21.2-1.8 pts
41Sutter County20.6+0.6 pts
42Amador County20.6+1 pts
43San Joaquin County20.3+0.8 pts
44Trinity County19.2+0.6 pts
45Kern County18.3+0.7 pts
46Stanislaus County18.2+0.3 pts
47Lake County18.2+0.7 pts
48Tehama County18.2+1.2 pts
49Del Norte County17.7+1.6 pts
50Yuba County17.4-0.4 pts
51Madera County17.2+0.8 pts
52Imperial County15.9+0.7 pts
53Tulare County15.6+0.4 pts
54Glenn County14.9-0 pts
55Kings County14.7+0.4 pts
56Merced County14.6+0.6 pts
57Colusa County14.3-0.4 pts
58Lassen County12.1+0.3 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/2022/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2022-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 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Lassen County, with 12.1% in 2022.

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