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

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

King County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 39 counties in 2021, at 54%. Adams County had the lowest, at 13.7%. The median was 26.8% and the figure for Washington was 37.3%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest54King County
Lowest13.7Adams County
Median26.839 counties
Washington37.3History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

King CountyKing County: 54 %54San Juan CountySan Juan County: 51.3 %51.3Whitman CountyWhitman County: 47.7 %47.7Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 42.7 %42.7Whatcom CountyWhatcom County: 36.4 %36.4Thurston CountyThurston County: 36.2 %36.2Kittitas CountyKittitas County: 35.3 %35.3Kitsap CountyKitsap County: 35 %35Island CountyIsland County: 35 %35Snohomish CountySnohomish County: 34.1 %34.1Benton CountyBenton County: 32.1 %32.1Clark CountyClark County: 32 %32Spokane CountySpokane County: 31.5 %31.5Klickitat CountyKlickitat County: 31.1 %31.1Clallam CountyClallam County: 30 %30Skagit CountySkagit County: 28.6 %28.6Chelan CountyChelan County: 28.6 %28.6Pierce CountyPierce County: 28.4 %28.4Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla County: 28.4 %28.4Columbia CountyColumbia County: 26.8 %26.8Skamania CountySkamania County: 25.9 %25.9Garfield CountyGarfield County: 25.4 %25.4Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 24.3 %24.3Asotin CountyAsotin County: 23.7 %23.7Pacific CountyPacific County: 22.4 %22.4Pend Oreille CountyPend Oreille County: 22.2 %22.2Wahkiakum CountyWahkiakum County: 21.3 %21.3Douglas CountyDouglas County: 21.2 %21.2Okanogan CountyOkanogan County: 21.2 %21.2Stevens CountyStevens County: 20.8 %20.8Franklin CountyFranklin County: 19.8 %19.8Lewis CountyLewis County: 19 %19Mason CountyMason County: 18.7 %18.7Grant CountyGrant County: 18.1 %18.1Ferry CountyFerry County: 17.9 %17.9Yakima CountyYakima County: 17.9 %17.9Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County: 17 %17Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County: 16.3 %16.3Adams CountyAdams County: 13.7 %13.7
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1King County54
2San Juan County51.3
3Whitman County47.7
4Jefferson County42.7
5Whatcom County36.4
6Thurston County36.2
7Kittitas County35.3
8Kitsap County35
9Island County35
10Snohomish County34.1
11Benton County32.1
12Clark County32
13Spokane County31.5
14Klickitat County31.1
15Clallam County30
16Skagit County28.6
17Chelan County28.6
18Pierce County28.4
19Walla Walla County28.4
20Columbia County26.8
21Skamania County25.9
22Garfield County25.4
23Lincoln County24.3
24Asotin County23.7
25Pacific County22.4
26Pend Oreille County22.2
27Wahkiakum County21.3
28Douglas County21.2
28Okanogan County21.2
30Stevens County20.8
31Franklin County19.8
32Lewis County19
33Mason County18.7
34Grant County18.1
35Ferry County17.9
36Yakima County17.9
37Cowlitz County17
38Grays Harbor County16.3
39Adams County13.7

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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Questions

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

King County, with 54% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Adams County, with 13.7% 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 Washington: more rankings