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

Counties in Michigan by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Washtenaw County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 83 counties in 2021, at 57.2%. Clare County had the lowest, at 12.1%. The median was 21.2% and the figure for Michigan was 30.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest57.2Washtenaw County
Lowest12.1Clare County
Median21.283 counties
Michigan30.6History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Washtenaw CountyWashtenaw County: 57.2 %57.2Oakland CountyOakland County: 48.9 %48.9Leelanau CountyLeelanau County: 47.3 %47.3Ingham CountyIngham County: 40.6 %40.6Kalamazoo CountyKalamazoo County: 40.4 %40.4Grand Traverse CountyGrand Traverse County: 38.4 %38.4Kent CountyKent County: 38.1 %38.1Livingston CountyLivingston County: 37.8 %37.8Emmet CountyEmmet County: 37 %37Keweenaw CountyKeweenaw County: 36.8 %36.8Ottawa CountyOttawa County: 35.7 %35.7Midland CountyMidland County: 35.6 %35.6Marquette CountyMarquette County: 34.1 %34.1Houghton CountyHoughton County: 33.6 %33.6Benzie CountyBenzie County: 32.8 %32.8Clinton CountyClinton County: 32.6 %32.6Charlevoix CountyCharlevoix County: 32.5 %32.5Eaton CountyEaton County: 30.3 %30.3Isabella CountyIsabella County: 30.2 %30.2Antrim CountyAntrim County: 30 %30Berrien CountyBerrien County: 29 %29Otsego CountyOtsego County: 26.8 %26.8Macomb CountyMacomb County: 26.2 %26.2Wayne CountyWayne County: 25.8 %25.8Mackinac CountyMackinac County: 24.7 %24.7Mecosta CountyMecosta County: 24.4 %24.4Barry CountyBarry County: 24.1 %24.1Allegan CountyAllegan County: 23.7 %23.7Dickinson CountyDickinson County: 23.5 %23.5Chippewa CountyChippewa County: 23.4 %23.4Mason CountyMason County: 23.3 %23.3Cheboygan CountyCheboygan County: 22.7 %22.7Jackson CountyJackson County: 22.6 %22.6Saginaw CountySaginaw County: 22.3 %22.3Genesee CountyGenesee County: 22.2 %22.2Manistee CountyManistee County: 22 %22Lenawee CountyLenawee County: 21.9 %21.9Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 21.8 %21.8Gogebic CountyGogebic County: 21.7 %21.7Monroe CountyMonroe County: 21.6 %21.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Washtenaw County57.2
2Oakland County48.9
3Leelanau County47.3
4Ingham County40.6
5Kalamazoo County40.4
6Grand Traverse County38.4
7Kent County38.1
8Livingston County37.8
9Emmet County37
10Keweenaw County36.8
11Ottawa County35.7
12Midland County35.6
13Marquette County34.1
14Houghton County33.6
15Benzie County32.8
16Clinton County32.6
17Charlevoix County32.5
18Eaton County30.3
19Isabella County30.2
20Antrim County30
21Berrien County29
22Otsego County26.8
23Macomb County26.2
24Wayne County25.8
25Mackinac County24.7
26Mecosta County24.4
27Barry County24.1
28Allegan County23.7
29Dickinson County23.5
30Chippewa County23.4
31Mason County23.3
32Cheboygan County22.7
33Jackson County22.6
34Saginaw County22.3
35Genesee County22.2
36Manistee County22
37Lenawee County21.9
38Calhoun County21.8
39Gogebic County21.7
40Monroe County21.6
41Van Buren County21.4
42Crawford County21.2
43Cass County20.9
44Muskegon County20.5
45Bay County20.3
46Oceana County20.3
47Wexford County20.2
48Alcona County19.4
49St. Clair County19.4
50Iron County19.2
51Presque Isle County19.2
52Delta County18.8
53Schoolcraft County18.7
54Lapeer County18.6
55Hillsdale County18.3
56Shiawassee County18.2
57Alger County17.9
58Luce County17.9
59Menominee County17.5
60Roscommon County17.1
61Newaygo County17.1
62Gratiot County16.8
63Alpena County16.8
64St. Joseph County16.4
65Huron County16.2
66Iosco County16.1
67Ionia County16.1
68Kalkaska County15.9
69Branch County15.4
70Missaukee County15.2
70Osceola County15.2
72Ontonagon County15
73Sanilac County14.9
74Baraga County14.7
75Arenac County14.3
75Montmorency County14.3
77Gladwin County14.2
78Tuscola County14.2
79Montcalm County13.9
80Oscoda County13.6
81Ogemaw County13.3
82Lake County13.1
83Clare County12.1

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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Rank Counties in Michigan 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?

Washtenaw County, with 57.2% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Clare County, with 12.1% 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 Michigan: more rankings