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

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

Boone County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 115 counties in 2021, at 48.5%. Schuyler County had the lowest, at 9.7%. The median was 18.3% and the figure for Missouri was 30.7%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest48.5Boone County
Lowest9.7Schuyler County
Median18.3115 counties
Missouri30.7History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Boone CountyBoone County: 48.5 %48.5St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 45.3 %45.3Platte CountyPlatte County: 44.4 %44.4St. Charles CountySt. Charles County: 41.8 %41.8St. Louis citySt. Louis city: 38 %38Cole CountyCole County: 35.3 %35.3Clay CountyClay County: 34.2 %34.2Adair CountyAdair County: 33 %33Cape Girardeau CountyCape Girardeau County: 32.8 %32.8Jackson CountyJackson County: 32.4 %32.4Greene CountyGreene County: 31.9 %31.9Christian CountyChristian County: 31.5 %31.5Phelps CountyPhelps County: 31.2 %31.2Johnson CountyJohnson County: 29.2 %29.2Pulaski CountyPulaski County: 29.1 %29.1Howard CountyHoward County: 27.7 %27.7Andrew CountyAndrew County: 27.3 %27.3Cass CountyCass County: 27.2 %27.2Nodaway CountyNodaway County: 27 %27Saline CountySaline County: 24.4 %24.4Marion CountyMarion County: 24.3 %24.3Callaway CountyCallaway County: 24 %24Jasper CountyJasper County: 23.9 %23.9Cooper CountyCooper County: 23.3 %23.3Newton CountyNewton County: 22.5 %22.5Camden CountyCamden County: 22.4 %22.4Taney CountyTaney County: 22.3 %22.3Buchanan CountyBuchanan County: 22.1 %22.1Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 22.1 %22.1Osage CountyOsage County: 21.7 %21.7Polk CountyPolk County: 21.6 %21.6Lafayette CountyLafayette County: 21.5 %21.5Clinton CountyClinton County: 21.3 %21.3Franklin CountyFranklin County: 21.1 %21.1Holt CountyHolt County: 20.9 %20.9Stone CountyStone County: 20.7 %20.7Atchison CountyAtchison County: 20.7 %20.7Scott CountyScott County: 20.3 %20.3Daviess CountyDaviess County: 20 %20Livingston CountyLivingston County: 20 %20
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Boone County48.5
2St. Louis County45.3
3Platte County44.4
4St. Charles County41.8
5St. Louis city38
6Cole County35.3
7Clay County34.2
8Adair County33
9Cape Girardeau County32.8
10Jackson County32.4
11Greene County31.9
12Christian County31.5
13Phelps County31.2
14Johnson County29.2
15Pulaski County29.1
16Howard County27.7
17Andrew County27.3
18Cass County27.2
19Nodaway County27
20Saline County24.4
21Marion County24.3
22Callaway County24
23Jasper County23.9
24Cooper County23.3
25Newton County22.5
26Camden County22.4
27Taney County22.3
28Buchanan County22.1
29Jefferson County22.1
30Osage County21.7
31Polk County21.6
32Lafayette County21.5
33Clinton County21.3
34Franklin County21.1
35Holt County20.9
36Stone County20.7
37Atchison County20.7
38Scott County20.3
39Daviess County20
40Livingston County20
41Gentry County19.9
42Miller County19.7
43Carroll County19.7
44Warren County19.6
45Barton County19.5
46Chariton County19.3
46Perry County19.3
48Linn County19.1
49Vernon County19.1
50Ste. Genevieve County19
51Shelby County18.9
52Lincoln County18.8
53Putnam County18.7
54Mercer County18.4
55Worth County18.4
56Webster County18.3
57Moniteau County18.3
58Pettis County18.3
59Randolph County18.2
60Howell County18.2
61Gasconade County18.1
62Macon County17.8
63Maries County17
64Laclede County16.7
65Harrison County16.6
66Montgomery County16.4
67Grundy County16.3
68Monroe County15.8
69Madison County15.7
70Henry County15.7
71Dent County15.6
72Iron County15.6
73Cedar County15.4
73Ray County15.4
75Knox County15.4
76DeKalb County15.3
77Lawrence County15.3
78Shannon County15.3
79Audrain County15.1
80Sullivan County15.1
81Caldwell County15
82Barry County14.9
83Pike County14.9
84Texas County14.8
85Scotland County14.6
86St. Francois County14.6
87Ralls County14.5
88Benton County14.3
89Oregon County14.2
90Bates County14
91Dunklin County13.9
92Dade County13.8
93New Madrid County13.7
94Reynolds County13.7
95Stoddard County13.6
96St. Clair County13.4
97Mississippi County13.4
98Douglas County13.2
99Carter County13.2
100Butler County13.1
100Morgan County13.1
102Dallas County13
103Lewis County12.7
104Washington County12.6
105Clark County12.3
106Crawford County12
107Bollinger County11.9
108Ozark County11.9
109Pemiscot County11.7
110Wright County11.7
111McDonald County10.9
112Wayne County10.7
113Ripley County10.3
114Hickory County9.8
115Schuyler County9.7

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 Missouri 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":"Missouri","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Boone County, with 48.5% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Schuyler County, with 9.7% 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 Missouri: more rankings