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

DuPage County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 102 counties in 2024, at 51.8%. Alexander County had the lowest, at 12.6%. The median was 20.9% and the figure for Illinois was 37.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest51.8DuPage County
Median20.9102 counties
Illinois37.9History

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

DuPage CountyDuPage County: 51.8 %51.8Lake CountyLake County: 47.7 %47.7McLean CountyMcLean County: 47.2 %47.2Champaign CountyChampaign County: 46.2 %46.2Cook CountyCook County: 42.7 %42.7Monroe CountyMonroe County: 38.7 %38.7Kane CountyKane County: 38.1 %38.1Will CountyWill County: 37.5 %37.5Kendall CountyKendall County: 36.9 %36.9Sangamon CountySangamon County: 36.6 %36.6Jackson CountyJackson County: 36.3 %36.3Woodford CountyWoodford County: 35.9 %35.9McHenry CountyMcHenry County: 35.2 %35.2Peoria CountyPeoria County: 34.9 %34.9DeKalb CountyDeKalb County: 33 %33Piatt CountyPiatt County: 32.9 %32.9St. Clair CountySt. Clair County: 31.8 %31.8McDonough CountyMcDonough County: 31.4 %31.4Madison CountyMadison County: 31 %31Jo Daviess CountyJo Daviess County: 28.9 %28.9Tazewell CountyTazewell County: 28.4 %28.4Menard CountyMenard County: 28.3 %28.3Adams CountyAdams County: 27.5 %27.5Coles CountyColes County: 26.9 %26.9Effingham CountyEffingham County: 26.9 %26.9Williamson CountyWilliamson County: 26.3 %26.3Clinton CountyClinton County: 25.9 %25.9Winnebago CountyWinnebago County: 25.2 %25.2Hancock CountyHancock County: 25.1 %25.1Clark CountyClark County: 24.9 %24.9Henry CountyHenry County: 24.7 %24.7Rock Island CountyRock Island County: 24.7 %24.7Macon CountyMacon County: 24.4 %24.4Ogle CountyOgle County: 24.3 %24.3Boone CountyBoone County: 23.6 %23.6Grundy CountyGrundy County: 23.6 %23.6Washington CountyWashington County: 23.5 %23.5De Witt CountyDe Witt County: 23.2 %23.2Putnam CountyPutnam County: 22.9 %22.9Jersey CountyJersey County: 22.6 %22.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024 (%)Change on 2023
1DuPage County51.8+0.4 pts
2Lake County47.7+0.8 pts
3McLean County47.2+0.4 pts
4Champaign County46.2-0.4 pts
5Cook County42.7+0.8 pts
6Monroe County38.7+0.4 pts
7Kane County38.1+0.6 pts
8Will County37.5+1 pts
9Kendall County36.9+0.5 pts
10Sangamon County36.6+1.5 pts
11Jackson County36.3+1.3 pts
12Woodford County35.9-0.2 pts
13McHenry County35.20 pts
14Peoria County34.9+0.4 pts
15DeKalb County33+0.3 pts
16Piatt County32.9+1 pts
17St. Clair County31.8+1.1 pts
18McDonough County31.4-0.4 pts
19Madison County31+0.2 pts
20Jo Daviess County28.9+0.1 pts
21Tazewell County28.40 pts
22Menard County28.3+1.8 pts
23Adams County27.5+0.5 pts
24Coles County26.9-0.2 pts
25Effingham County26.9+0.9 pts
26Williamson County26.3-1.2 pts
27Clinton County25.9+1.4 pts
28Winnebago County25.2+0.6 pts
29Hancock County25.1+0.9 pts
30Clark County24.9+0.7 pts
31Henry County24.7+0.4 pts
32Rock Island County24.7+0.7 pts
33Macon County24.4+0.3 pts
34Ogle County24.3+0.2 pts
35Boone County23.6+0.4 pts
36Grundy County23.6-0.6 pts
37Washington County23.5-0.9 pts
38De Witt County23.2+1.8 pts
39Putnam County22.9-1.7 pts
40Jersey County22.6+2.1 pts
41Morgan County22.6-0.7 pts
42Warren County22-0.1 pts
43Bureau County21.7+0.2 pts
44Bond County21.6+0.4 pts
45Scott County21.5-0.7 pts
46Stark County21.4+2.2 pts
47Kankakee County21.2+0.8 pts
48Hamilton County21+2.5 pts
49Knox County21+0.7 pts
50Union County20.90 pts
51Jasper County20.9+0.4 pts
52Logan County20.9+1 pts
53Mercer County20.9+1.9 pts
54Douglas County20.9+0.7 pts
55Cass County20.8+0.8 pts
56Stephenson County20.7-1 pts
57Henderson County20.6+1.4 pts
58Crawford County20.6-0 pts
59LaSalle County20.5+1.7 pts
60Whiteside County20.5+0.4 pts
61Edgar County20.4+0.2 pts
62Macoupin County20.3+1.5 pts
63Calhoun County20.1+1.8 pts
64Saline County19.6-0.6 pts
65Cumberland County19.6+1 pts
66Johnson County19.6+0.8 pts
67Lee County19.40 pts
68Vermilion County19.2+3 pts
69Richland County19.1+0.2 pts
70Schuyler County19.1+0.1 pts
71Livingston County19+0.5 pts
72Greene County19+2.6 pts
73Moultrie County19+0.2 pts
74Ford County18.9-0.6 pts
75Wabash County18.6-0.1 pts
76Pike County18.5-0.4 pts
77Fulton County18.5+0.8 pts
78Shelby County18.3+0.7 pts
79Montgomery County18.3+0.1 pts
80White County18.3+3.4 pts
81Iroquois County18.2+1.5 pts
82Jefferson County18.2-0.2 pts
83Marshall County18-0.7 pts
84Carroll County17.8-0.4 pts
85Fayette County17.2+0.6 pts
86Christian County17.1+0.6 pts
87Mason County17.1-0 pts
87Massac County17.1+0.8 pts
89Marion County16.8-0.5 pts
90Wayne County16.30 pts
91Franklin County15.8-1.4 pts
92Pope County15.7-1.2 pts
93Randolph County15.3+1 pts
94Lawrence County15+0.3 pts
95Edwards County140 pts
96Perry County13.7+1.4 pts
97Gallatin County13.6-1.7 pts
98Hardin County13.3+1.1 pts
99Clay County13.1-2.5 pts
100Pulaski County13+1.1 pts
101Brown County12.6-2.5 pts
102Alexander County12.6-0 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.

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Rank Counties in Illinois 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":"Illinois","limit":10}
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Questions

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

DuPage County, with 51.8% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Alexander County, with 12.6% 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 Illinois: more rankings