Data / Rankings / Graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over

Champaign County had the highest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over of 102 counties in 2023, at 25.5%. Brown County had the lowest, at 3.4%. The median was 6.8% and the figure for Illinois was 14.9%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest25.5Champaign County
Lowest3.4Brown County
Median6.8102 counties
Illinois14.9History

Map of counties, 2023

Adams County: 8.9 %Alexander County: 5.3 %Bond County: 9 %Boone County: 8.8 %Brown County: 3.4 %Bureau County: 7.1 %Calhoun County: 5.1 %Carroll County: 4.8 %Cass County: 5 %Champaign County: 25.5 %Christian County: 5.1 %Clark County: 9.9 %Clay County: 5.6 %Clinton County: 7.4 %Coles County: 10.5 %Cook County: 17.6 %Crawford County: 6.3 %Cumberland County: 5.9 %DeKalb County: 12.7 %De Witt County: 6.8 %Douglas County: 6.3 %DuPage County: 21 %Edgar County: 5.1 %Edwards County: 5 %Effingham County: 8.2 %Fayette County: 5 %Ford County: 7 %Franklin County: 5.4 %Fulton County: 5.6 %Gallatin County: 5.7 %Greene County: 5.1 %Grundy County: 7.9 %Hamilton County: 7 %Hancock County: 7.1 %Hardin County: 5.2 %Henderson County: 4.9 %Henry County: 7.7 %Iroquois County: 4.9 %Jackson County: 16.8 %Jasper County: 6.6 %Jefferson County: 6.8 %Jersey County: 7 %Jo Daviess County: 9.7 %Johnson County: 6.6 %Kane County: 13.4 %Kankakee County: 7.9 %Kendall County: 13 %Knox County: 7.2 %Lake County: 19.5 %LaSalle County: 6 %Lawrence County: 5.8 %Lee County: 7 %Livingston County: 5.9 %Logan County: 6.4 %McDonough County: 15.1 %McHenry County: 11.9 %McLean County: 15.7 %Macon County: 8.1 %Macoupin County: 5.6 %Madison County: 11.2 %Marion County: 5.5 %Marshall County: 5.7 %Mason County: 4.7 %Massac County: 4.9 %Menard County: 10.5 %Mercer County: 6.3 %Monroe County: 14 %Montgomery County: 6.5 %Morgan County: 7.1 %Moultrie County: 5.8 %Ogle County: 8.6 %Peoria County: 13.7 %Perry County: 4.1 %Piatt County: 11.3 %Pike County: 4.7 %Pope County: 5.9 %Pulaski County: 4.8 %Putnam County: 8.5 %Randolph County: 4.8 %Richland County: 6.4 %Rock Island County: 9 %St. Clair County: 13.2 %Saline County: 5.8 %Sangamon County: 14.2 %Schuyler County: 6.3 %Scott County: 4.5 %Shelby County: 4.4 %Stark County: 4.4 %Stephenson County: 7.6 %Tazewell County: 8.8 %Union County: 6.8 %Vermilion County: 6.6 %Wabash County: 6.4 %Warren County: 7.8 %Washington County: 8 %Wayne County: 5.2 %White County: 5.2 %Whiteside County: 7.6 %Will County: 13.8 %Williamson County: 11 %Winnebago County: 9 %Woodford County: 12.4 %
  • Under 5.1
  • 5.1 to 5.8
  • 5.8 to 6.8
  • 6.8 to 8.1
  • 8.1 to 11
  • 11 and over
%, 2023. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2023

Champaign County: 25.5 %Champaign County25.5DuPage County: 21 %DuPage County21Lake County: 19.5 %Lake County19.5Cook County: 17.6 %Cook County17.6Jackson County: 16.8 %Jackson County16.8McLean County: 15.7 %McLean County15.7McDonough County: 15.1 %McDonough County15.1Sangamon County: 14.2 %Sangamon County14.2Monroe County: 14 %Monroe County14Will County: 13.8 %Will County13.8Peoria County: 13.7 %Peoria County13.7Kane County: 13.4 %Kane County13.4St. Clair County: 13.2 %St. Clair County13.2Kendall County: 13 %Kendall County13DeKalb County: 12.7 %DeKalb County12.7Woodford County: 12.4 %Woodford County12.4McHenry County: 11.9 %McHenry County11.9Piatt County: 11.3 %Piatt County11.3Madison County: 11.2 %Madison County11.2Williamson County: 11 %Williamson County11Coles County: 10.5 %Coles County10.5Menard County: 10.5 %Menard County10.5Clark County: 9.9 %Clark County9.9Jo Daviess County: 9.7 %Jo Daviess County9.7Rock Island County: 9 %Rock Island County9Bond County: 9 %Bond County9Winnebago County: 9 %Winnebago County9Adams County: 8.9 %Adams County8.9Boone County: 8.8 %Boone County8.8Tazewell County: 8.8 %Tazewell County8.8Ogle County: 8.6 %Ogle County8.6Putnam County: 8.5 %Putnam County8.5Effingham County: 8.2 %Effingham County8.2Macon County: 8.1 %Macon County8.1Washington County: 8 %Washington County8Kankakee County: 7.9 %Kankakee County7.9Grundy County: 7.9 %Grundy County7.9Warren County: 7.8 %Warren County7.8Henry County: 7.7 %Henry County7.7Stephenson County: 7.6 %Stephenson County7.6Champaign County: 25.5 %Champaign County25.5DuPage County: 21 %DuPage County21Lake County: 19.5 %Lake County19.5Cook County: 17.6 %Cook County17.6Jackson County: 16.8 %Jackson County16.8McLean County: 15.7 %McLean County15.7McDonough County: 15.1 %McDonough County15.1Sangamon County: 14.2 %Sangamon County14.2Monroe County: 14 %Monroe County14Will County: 13.8 %Will County13.8Peoria County: 13.7 %Peoria County13.7Kane County: 13.4 %Kane County13.4St. Clair County: 13.2 %St. Clair County13.2Kendall County: 13 %Kendall County13DeKalb County: 12.7 %DeKalb County12.7Woodford County: 12.4 %Woodford County12.4McHenry County: 11.9 %McHenry County11.9Piatt County: 11.3 %Piatt County11.3Madison County: 11.2 %Madison County11.2Williamson County: 11 %Williamson County11Coles County: 10.5 %Coles County10.5Menard County: 10.5 %Menard County10.5Clark County: 9.9 %Clark County9.9Jo Daviess County: 9.7 %Jo Daviess County9.7Rock Island County: 9 %Rock Island County9Bond County: 9 %Bond County9Winnebago County: 9 %Winnebago County9Adams County: 8.9 %Adams County8.9Boone County: 8.8 %Boone County8.8Tazewell County: 8.8 %Tazewell County8.8Ogle County: 8.6 %Ogle County8.6Putnam County: 8.5 %Putnam County8.5Effingham County: 8.2 %Effingham County8.2Macon County: 8.1 %Macon County8.1Washington County: 8 %Washington County8Kankakee County: 7.9 %Kankakee County7.9Grundy County: 7.9 %Grundy County7.9Warren County: 7.8 %Warren County7.8Henry County: 7.7 %Henry County7.7Stephenson County: 7.6 %Stephenson County7.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Champaign County25.5+0.6 pts
2DuPage County21+0.2 pts
3Lake County19.5-0.1 pts
4Cook County17.6+0.3 pts
5Jackson County16.8-0.9 pts
6McLean County15.7+0.1 pts
7McDonough County15.1-0 pts
8Sangamon County14.2+0.2 pts
9Monroe County14+0.1 pts
10Will County13.8+0.4 pts
11Peoria County13.7+0.5 pts
12Kane County13.4+0.4 pts
13St. Clair County13.2+0.5 pts
14Kendall County13-0.2 pts
15DeKalb County12.7-0.6 pts
16Woodford County12.4-0.6 pts
17McHenry County11.9-0.1 pts
18Piatt County11.30 pts
19Madison County11.2+0.3 pts
20Williamson County11+0.1 pts
21Coles County10.5-0.4 pts
22Menard County10.5+0.3 pts
23Clark County9.9+2.2 pts
24Jo Daviess County9.7-0 pts
25Rock Island County9+0.3 pts
26Bond County9+0.1 pts
27Winnebago County9+0.1 pts
28Adams County8.9-0.2 pts
29Boone County8.8-0.1 pts
30Tazewell County8.80 pts
31Ogle County8.6+0.4 pts
32Putnam County8.5-0 pts
33Effingham County8.2-0 pts
34Macon County8.1+0.1 pts
35Washington County8+0.1 pts
36Kankakee County7.9-0.1 pts
37Grundy County7.9-1 pts
38Warren County7.8+0.9 pts
39Henry County7.7-0.4 pts
40Stephenson County7.6+0.4 pts
41Whiteside County7.6+0.1 pts
42Clinton County7.4+0.4 pts
43Knox County7.2+0.4 pts
44Morgan County7.1-0.2 pts
45Bureau County7.1-0.2 pts
46Hancock County7.1-0.5 pts
47Hamilton County7-0.2 pts
48Lee County7+0.3 pts
49Jersey County7-1.3 pts
50Ford County7-1 pts
51De Witt County6.8-0.4 pts
51Union County6.8-0 pts
53Jefferson County6.8+0.2 pts
54Vermilion County6.6+0.8 pts
55Johnson County6.6+1.6 pts
56Jasper County6.6+0.1 pts
57Montgomery County6.5-0.1 pts
58Logan County6.4-0.1 pts
59Richland County6.40 pts
60Wabash County6.4-0.5 pts
61Crawford County6.3-0.3 pts
62Mercer County6.3-0.1 pts
63Schuyler County6.3+0.6 pts
64Douglas County6.3+0.3 pts
65LaSalle County6-0.2 pts
66Livingston County5.9-0.5 pts
67Cumberland County5.9+0.1 pts
68Pope County5.9+0.9 pts
69Lawrence County5.8+0.8 pts
70Moultrie County5.8-1 pts
70Saline County5.8-0.3 pts
72Gallatin County5.7+0.8 pts
73Marshall County5.7+0.7 pts
74Macoupin County5.6-0.3 pts
75Fulton County5.6+0.1 pts
76Clay County5.6+0.2 pts
77Marion County5.5-0.2 pts
78Franklin County5.40 pts
79Alexander County5.3+0.8 pts
80Hardin County5.2-0.1 pts
81White County5.2-0.8 pts
82Wayne County5.20 pts
83Calhoun County5.1-0.6 pts
83Greene County5.1+0.4 pts
85Christian County5.1+0.3 pts
86Edgar County5.1-0.3 pts
87Edwards County5+1.1 pts
88Fayette County5+0.9 pts
89Cass County50 pts
90Massac County4.9+0.3 pts
91Henderson County4.9-0.2 pts
92Iroquois County4.9+0.3 pts
93Carroll County4.8-0.3 pts
94Randolph County4.8-0.3 pts
95Pulaski County4.8-0.8 pts
96Pike County4.7-0.2 pts
97Mason County4.7-0.4 pts
98Scott County4.5-0.3 pts
99Shelby County4.4-0.7 pts
100Stark County4.4-0.9 pts
101Perry County4.1+0.6 pts
102Brown County3.4+0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a 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.

A subset of bachelors_degree_share, which also counts people whose highest degree is a bachelor's.

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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs (Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat

MLA 9

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/illinois-counties?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/illinois-counties?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs, Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/illinois-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs: Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/illinois-counties?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs: Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over, 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/illinois-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/graduate-or-professional-degree/illinois-counties?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a master's, professional school or doctorate degree 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 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank Counties in Illinois by graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over?

Champaign County, with 25.5% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over?

Brown County, with 3.4% 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 master's, professional school or doctorate degree as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Graduate or professional degree, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings