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 2023, at 60.5%. Lassen County had the lowest, at 13.2%. The median was 25% and the figure for California was 36.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest60.5Marin County
Lowest13.2Lassen County
Median2558 counties
California36.5History

All counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Marin CountyMarin County: 60.5 %60.5San Francisco CountySan Francisco County: 60.1 %60.1Santa Clara CountySanta Clara County: 55.9 %55.9San Mateo CountySan Mateo County: 53.1 %53.1Alameda CountyAlameda County: 51.5 %51.5Contra Costa CountyContra Costa County: 44.9 %44.9Yolo CountyYolo County: 44.1 %44.1Santa Cruz CountySanta Cruz County: 43.6 %43.6Orange CountyOrange County: 43.4 %43.4Placer CountyPlacer County: 42.9 %42.9Alpine CountyAlpine County: 42.1 %42.1San Diego CountySan Diego County: 42.1 %42.1Nevada CountyNevada County: 39.5 %39.5San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County: 39.2 %39.2El Dorado CountyEl Dorado County: 38.8 %38.8Napa CountyNapa County: 38.5 %38.5Sonoma CountySonoma County: 37.9 %37.9Santa Barbara CountySanta Barbara County: 35.9 %35.9Ventura CountyVentura County: 35.7 %35.7Los Angeles CountyLos Angeles County: 35.5 %35.5Mono CountyMono County: 34.3 %34.3Sacramento CountySacramento County: 33.3 %33.3Humboldt CountyHumboldt County: 32.1 %32.1Inyo CountyInyo County: 31.8 %31.8Butte CountyButte County: 31.7 %31.7Mariposa CountyMariposa County: 30.9 %30.9Solano CountySolano County: 28.4 %28.4Monterey CountyMonterey County: 27.9 %27.9Riverside CountyRiverside County: 25.1 %25.1Mendocino CountyMendocino County: 24.9 %24.9Sierra CountySierra County: 24.4 %24.4Tuolumne CountyTuolumne County: 23.9 %23.9Fresno CountyFresno County: 23.9 %23.9Shasta CountyShasta County: 23.3 %23.3Siskiyou CountySiskiyou County: 23.1 %23.1Modoc CountyModoc County: 23 %23San Bernardino CountySan Bernardino County: 22.9 %22.9Amador CountyAmador County: 22.4 %22.4San Benito CountySan Benito County: 22.4 %22.4Calaveras CountyCalaveras County: 22.2 %22.2San Joaquin CountySan Joaquin County: 21.6 %21.6Del Norte CountyDel Norte County: 21 %21Plumas CountyPlumas County: 20.5 %20.5Sutter CountySutter County: 20.2 %20.2Stanislaus CountyStanislaus County: 19.1 %19.1Tehama CountyTehama County: 18.8 %18.8Kern CountyKern County: 18.6 %18.6Trinity CountyTrinity County: 18.1 %18.1Yuba CountyYuba County: 17.9 %17.9Lake CountyLake County: 17.7 %17.7Madera CountyMadera County: 17.1 %17.1Glenn CountyGlenn County: 16.5 %16.5Imperial CountyImperial County: 16.1 %16.1Tulare CountyTulare County: 15.8 %15.8Merced CountyMerced County: 14.8 %14.8Colusa CountyColusa County: 14.5 %14.5Kings CountyKings County: 13.9 %13.9Lassen CountyLassen County: 13.2 %13.2
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Marin County60.5-0.7 pts
2San Francisco County60.1+0.3 pts
3Santa Clara County55.9+0.5 pts
4San Mateo County53.1+0.2 pts
5Alameda County51.5+0.5 pts
6Contra Costa County44.9+0.4 pts
7Yolo County44.1+0.8 pts
8Santa Cruz County43.6+1.1 pts
9Orange County43.4+0.6 pts
10Placer County42.9+0.5 pts
11Alpine County42.1+2.5 pts
12San Diego County42.1+1 pts
13Nevada County39.5+0.6 pts
14San Luis Obispo County39.2+1.2 pts
15El Dorado County38.8+0.9 pts
16Napa County38.5+0.7 pts
17Sonoma County37.90 pts
18Santa Barbara County35.9+0.2 pts
19Ventura County35.7+1 pts
20Los Angeles County35.5+0.9 pts
21Mono County34.3+2.6 pts
22Sacramento County33.3+0.7 pts
23Humboldt County32.1+1 pts
24Inyo County31.8+2.9 pts
25Butte County31.7+0.9 pts
26Mariposa County30.9+1.9 pts
27Solano County28.4+0.2 pts
28Monterey County27.9+0.8 pts
29Riverside County25.1+1 pts
30Mendocino County24.9+0.9 pts
31Sierra County24.4+0.5 pts
32Tuolumne County23.9-0.5 pts
33Fresno County23.9+0.5 pts
34Shasta County23.3+0.5 pts
35Siskiyou County23.1+1.1 pts
36Modoc County23-0.8 pts
37San Bernardino County22.9+0.5 pts
38Amador County22.4+1.9 pts
39San Benito County22.4+0.4 pts
40Calaveras County22.2+0.8 pts
41San Joaquin County21.6+1.3 pts
42Del Norte County21+3.3 pts
43Plumas County20.5-0.7 pts
44Sutter County20.2-0.4 pts
45Stanislaus County19.1+0.9 pts
46Tehama County18.8+0.7 pts
47Kern County18.6+0.3 pts
48Trinity County18.1-1.1 pts
49Yuba County17.9+0.5 pts
50Lake County17.7-0.5 pts
51Madera County17.1-0 pts
52Glenn County16.5+1.6 pts
53Imperial County16.1+0.2 pts
54Tulare County15.8+0.2 pts
55Merced County14.8+0.1 pts
56Colusa County14.5+0.2 pts
57Kings County13.9-0.8 pts
58Lassen County13.2+1.1 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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in California 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?

Marin County, with 60.5% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Lassen County, with 13.2% in 2023.

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