Degrees of difference between women and men
More women than men in the United States had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2014 -- 30.2 percent of women, compared to 29.9 percent of men, according to Census Bureau estimates. And as the bureau pointed out today, it's the first time that's happened nationally since the bureau started tracking the number in 1940.
We were curious about about the numbers for the Capital Region, so we looked 'em up for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro area. They're smashed into the chart above.
And here's a bit more...
According to Census Bureau estimates for 2014, a little more than 35 percent of people in the Albany metro area 25 and older had a bachelor's degree or higher -- 35.9 percent for women (+/-1) and 34.9 percent for men (+/-1.3).
As the Census Bureau highlighted this week, the share of women with bachelor's degrees (or higher) rising past that of men has been long developing:
The trend toward higher education started with younger women. A 2004 publication noted that since 1996, young women age 25 to 29 have had higher college attainment rates than young men. However, the pattern for older men and women is different. ... [In 2014] among women aged 25 to 34, 37.5 percent have completed a bachelor's or higher degree, compared with 29.5 percent of men. Among women 65 and older, 20.3 percent had a bachelor's degree, compared with 30.6 percent of men.
And that Capital Region appears to display a similar pattern. In the graph above you can see the rate for women steadily increase with each generational step toward the younger end of the age spectrum.
You can also see the gap between the genders in those younger generations. It's especially striking in the 25-34 age group.
Income
One related measure on which men still outpace women in the Capital Region: income.
Among people 25 and older, men had higher median earnings than women at every level of education. And the relative size of the gap is more or less the same, even across upper levels of educational attainment. The median income for women with a bachelor's degree in the Capital Region was 33 percent lower than men at the same level of educational attainment in 2014. And for women and men with professional or graduate degrees, it was 29 percent.
Capital Region numbers
Population with bachelor's degree or higher
Median earnings
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Comments
That's right, the women are smarter. The women are smarter, that's right.
... said Barold on Oct 8, 2015 at 8:56 AM | link
I'd love to see data on boomer women with Masters and PhDs.. we kept going to school to make ourselves marketable vs men with just Bachelors. And women who were teachers had to get a masters for full certification
... said Julie on Oct 8, 2015 at 11:48 AM | link
I'm not sure if educated always means smarter... I can think of a few morons I know with Masters. & I know some people who are very smart & didn't have the opportunity to attend or finish college...
... said Sally on Oct 9, 2015 at 10:00 AM | link