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 2023, at 55.9%. Adams County had the lowest, at 15.4%. The median was 28.2% and the figure for Washington was 38.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest55.9King County
Lowest15.4Adams County
Median28.239 counties
Washington38.8History

All counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

King CountyKing County: 55.9 %55.9San Juan CountySan Juan County: 53.4 %53.4Whitman CountyWhitman County: 50.2 %50.2Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 43.3 %43.3Whatcom CountyWhatcom County: 38.1 %38.1Thurston CountyThurston County: 37.2 %37.2Snohomish CountySnohomish County: 36.8 %36.8Kitsap CountyKitsap County: 36.5 %36.5Island CountyIsland County: 35.7 %35.7Kittitas CountyKittitas County: 35.3 %35.3Benton CountyBenton County: 33 %33Clark CountyClark County: 33 %33Spokane CountySpokane County: 32.1 %32.1Klickitat CountyKlickitat County: 31.2 %31.2Clallam CountyClallam County: 30.7 %30.7Chelan CountyChelan County: 30.2 %30.2Pierce CountyPierce County: 30.2 %30.2Walla Walla CountyWalla Walla County: 30.1 %30.1Skagit CountySkagit County: 29.1 %29.1Skamania CountySkamania County: 28.2 %28.2Columbia CountyColumbia County: 27.2 %27.2Garfield CountyGarfield County: 26.8 %26.8Asotin CountyAsotin County: 24.3 %24.3Okanogan CountyOkanogan County: 24 %24Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 23.7 %23.7Pacific CountyPacific County: 23.4 %23.4Wahkiakum CountyWahkiakum County: 22.3 %22.3Mason CountyMason County: 22 %22Douglas CountyDouglas County: 21.9 %21.9Stevens CountyStevens County: 21.8 %21.8Franklin CountyFranklin County: 20.4 %20.4Pend Oreille CountyPend Oreille County: 20.3 %20.3Lewis CountyLewis County: 20.2 %20.2Yakima CountyYakima County: 18.9 %18.9Ferry CountyFerry County: 18.3 %18.3Grant CountyGrant County: 18.2 %18.2Grays Harbor CountyGrays Harbor County: 17.6 %17.6Cowlitz CountyCowlitz County: 17 %17Adams CountyAdams County: 15.4 %15.4
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1King County55.9+1.1 pts
2San Juan County53.4+0.8 pts
3Whitman County50.2-0.8 pts
4Jefferson County43.3-0.2 pts
5Whatcom County38.1+1.1 pts
6Thurston County37.2+0.8 pts
7Snohomish County36.8+1.5 pts
8Kitsap County36.5+1.2 pts
9Island County35.7+0.4 pts
10Kittitas County35.3-0.8 pts
11Benton County33+0.6 pts
12Clark County33+0.8 pts
13Spokane County32.1+0.2 pts
14Klickitat County31.2+0.4 pts
15Clallam County30.7-0.1 pts
16Chelan County30.2+0.7 pts
17Pierce County30.2+0.8 pts
18Walla Walla County30.1+0.2 pts
19Skagit County29.1+0.5 pts
20Skamania County28.2+1.8 pts
21Columbia County27.2+0.6 pts
22Garfield County26.8-0.2 pts
23Asotin County24.3+1.2 pts
24Okanogan County24+1.3 pts
25Lincoln County23.7+0.7 pts
26Pacific County23.4-0.4 pts
27Wahkiakum County22.3+0.1 pts
28Mason County22+0.6 pts
29Douglas County21.9+0.1 pts
30Stevens County21.8+0.8 pts
31Franklin County20.4+0.4 pts
32Pend Oreille County20.3-1.2 pts
33Lewis County20.2+0.4 pts
34Yakima County18.9+0.7 pts
35Ferry County18.3+0.2 pts
36Grant County18.2+0.5 pts
37Grays Harbor County17.6+0.4 pts
38Cowlitz County17+0.4 pts
39Adams County15.4+0.7 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.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Washington 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":"Washington","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=bachelors_degree_share&level=province&within=Washington&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

King County, with 55.9% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Adams County, with 15.4% 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 Washington: more rankings