Educational Attainment

Minnesota's 2025 Attainment Goal

Working to increase the percent of Minnesotans age 25 to 44 who have attained a postsecondary certificate or degree to 70 percent by 2025. 

Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education an individual completes. Educational attainment of a population is reported as a percentage or count of the population that holds a postsecondary credential (certificate, associate degree, diploma, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, graduate certificate, and doctoral or professional degree). The population sampled for measuring educational attainment can vary widely depending on the source. 

The 2015 Minnesota Legislature enacted legislation setting a target that 70 percent of Minnesota adults age 25 to 44 will have attained a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2025.  Most importantly, the law also sets 30% and 50% educational attainment benchmarks for all races and ethnicities. The report uses data obtained from the American Community Survey and analyzed by the Minnesota Demographic Center, with supplemental data provided by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, to create state-level estimates of postsecondary attainment. 

In Minnesota, educational attainment estimates for measuring progress towards the state’s attainment goal are limited to persons aged 25-44 years. The Legislature chose this age group because age 25-44 is the primary age range at which individuals have completed or are pursuing education or training. The population reported by other sources, for example the U.S. Census Bureau, uses the population aged 25-64 years. 

County Profile Information 

Did you know that we have data on the educational attainment of each county? 

Each county profile includes information about postsecondary enrollment, financial aid, graduation rates, top colleges, average SAT/ACT scores, and more. Below are example profiles from Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Click here to find your county's report. 

Contact Dr. Alex Hermida, Senior Research Analyst at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, for more information about the project.