Immigrant-Origin Adults Without a Postsecondary Credential in the United States and by State, 2022
Immigrant-Origin Adults Without a Postsecondary Credential in the United States and by State, 2022
Attaining a high-quality, postsecondary credential is widely recognized as being increasingly necessary to achieve success in the U.S. labor market. So far, 46 states have embraced the goals of increasing the share of their adults with postsecondary credentials. Immigrant-origin adults make up a large proportion of U.S. adults without postsecondary credentials nationwide and in most states.
This data tool and ranked table display states by the number of immigrant-origin adults or their share of all adults without postsecondary credential as of 2022 for the following age groups: 16-64, 16-34, 25-34, and 25-64. The tool also displays the racial and ethnic composition of this population by state. Use the dropdown menus to select the age group of interest and to view the top 15 states ranked by one of the two indicators. Hover over a state to display all data. Click here to download additional tables that provide state-level estimates of adults (ages 16-64) without postsecondary credentials by immigrant generation and by race/ethnicity.
- The map and tables cover civilian adults ages 16 to 64 with less than an associate degree and without professional certifications or occupational licenses. These estimates exclude young adults (ages 16 to 24) who were enrolled in high school at the time of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).
- The term “immigrant origin” refers to persons born abroad who have immigrated to the United States and to U.S.-born persons with at least one immigrant parent. Immigrants, or the first generation, are persons with no U.S. citizenship at birth. Immigrants include naturalized U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents (or green-card holders), refugees and other humanitarian immigrants, persons on certain temporary visas (e.g., skilled foreign workers and international students), and unauthorized immigrants. The second generation is composed of persons born in the United States to one or more immigrant parents. Together, the first and second generations make up the immigrant-origin population. In contrast, adults born in the United States with only U.S.-born parents are described here as the third/higher generation.
- Postsecondary credentials refer to education or training earned beyond high school. There are two types of postsecondary credentials: degree and nondegree credentials. Degree credentials include associate-level vocational and academic degrees, as well as bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees (such as those for medical doctors or lawyers). Common types of nondegree credentials include certificates awarded by an educational institution, apprenticeship certificates, professional (or industry) certifications awarded by a nongovernmental body, and occupational licenses awarded by a government licensing board or agency. Business licenses are not included.
Migration Policy Institute (MPI) tabulation of monthly Current Population Survey (CPS), January to December 2022 combined, collected by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.