Higher Education in the State of Alaska

Alaska may to understood as having a moderately-educated population of the working age, with 27.2 percent of the population (+25) having received a BA or higher, as reported in American Community Survey of 2005. The State of Alaska is reported having a higher percent of population with a BA or Higher percent than the national average of 27.2 percent.

According to the 2000 Census Decennial, the census area in the State of Alaska range, in terms of percent of population with a Bachelors Degree or Higher, from a high of 36 percent in Juneau City and Borough to a low of 4.8 percent in Aleutians East Borough.

The ten most highly-educated census areas in Alaska
Percent of the population holding a bachelors degree or higher

1. Juneau City and Borough (36 percent)
2. Sitka City and Borough (29.6 percent)
3. Anchorage Municipality (29 percent)
4. Fairbanks North Star Borough (27 percent)
5. Haines Borough (23.8 percent)
6. Denali Borough (22.8 percent)
7. Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area (21.6 percent)
8. Valdez-Cordova Census Area (21.2 percent)
9. Bristol Bay Borough (21 percent)
10. Kenai Peninsula Borough (20.2 percent)


Reported by the 2005 American Community Survey in the State of Alaska, the largest educational attainment category for men is the Some College or Associates Degree category, with 34.4 percent receiving this level of education. The women in the Alaska have achieved a greater level of higher education (Bachelors Degree or Higher) than the male population-- 25.4 percent (Men) versus 29.2 percent (Women). A high proportion of the female population in the area has reached the Some College or Associates Degree category, with 35.2 percent of the female population achieving this education level.

From 2000, the State of Alaska has increased in the population percent with a Bachelors of Higher. This population percent has grown by 2.4 percent to a total of 27.2 percent in 2005, as reported by the American Community Survey. The proportion of the 2005 population having received at least a BA is the same the United States percent of 27.2.

From 2000 to 2005, the percent of the male population that can be considered highly educated has increased by 1.4 percent. By the year 2005, 25.4 percent of area's male population (+25) achieved a BA or Higher. During the same period, the percent of women (+25) that have earned a BA or higher has increased by a total of 3.8 percent. By the year 2005, a total of 29.2 percent of the total female population achieved this high level of education.

In the State of Alaska as reported in the 2005 American Community Survey, 32.4 percent of the White Alone, 15.8 percent of Black or African American, 25.8 percent of the Asian alone and 21.6 percent of the Hispanic or Latino (+25) population has achieved at least a Bachelors Degree.

Datasource: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000 Decennial Census. 2005 American Community Survey.