Community Indicator

Educational Attainment

- Every student stays in school and has the support needed to graduate high school ready for post-secondary completion and career success
About this measure

This measure shows the percent of residents obtaining a high school degree or higher in Cuyahoga County.  

Data are reported by the Cuyahoga County Office of Innovation and Performance on an annual basis.
Why is this important?

Completing higher levels of education increases long-term financial stability. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and over, at their highest levels of education, had median usual weekly earnings of: 

  • Less than a high school diploma: $619
  • High school diploma: $781
  • Some college, no degree: $877
  • Associate's degree: $938
  • Bachelor's degree: $1,305
  • Master's degree: $1,545
  • Professional degree: $1,893
  • Doctoral degree: $1,885

Additionally, increasing the education of the local workforce can have a positive effect on the County's ability to attract and retain businesses.
Related Key Government Measures

This is a community indicator measure.  It is provided to show an understanding of overall community health. The County organization does not directly control the outcome of this measure; however, a number of programs and initiatives the County is undertaking can have an impact. Related government measures include: 

  1. Youth and Young Adult Internships
  2. SkillUp Business Advisory Services

In addition, Cuyahoga County continues to look for ways to improve the number of students going on to post-secondary programs with initiatives such as County employees engaging in the True2U and College Now mentoring programs, and served as a partner to bring Say Yes to Education to Cleveland.  
Data Source

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (S1501) (1-Year Estimates)

  • Details on race and ethnicity standards can be found here.
  • Please note: 2020 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates data is unavailable due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on data collection.
  • This metric is calculated as the sum of the following categories of educational attainment: high school graduate; some college, no degree; associate's degree; bachelor's degree or higher.

Data table abbreviated due to number of measures. See Attachments for full data table.
Educational Attainment - Annual Performance
Cuyahoga County Educational Attainment (by Year)
Line chart with 8 lines.
Line chart shows percent of Cuyahoga County residents obtaining a high school degree or higher by year, broken down by total population and race and ethnicity.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying categories.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Range: 60 to 100.
End of interactive chart.
Community Indicator
Educational Attainment - Comparative Analysis
Comparative Analysis: Educational Attainment
Educational Attainment (Comparative Analysis)
Bar chart with 9 data series.
Bar chart shows educational attainment for 2019 for comparative counties. Cuyahoga: 90.2% Allegheny: 95.2% Franklin: 91.3% Hamilton: 92.8% Hillsborough: 88.8% Lucas: 89.1% Marion: 87.1% Montgomery: 90.3% Summit: 92.4%
The chart has 1 X axis displaying categories.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Range: 70 to 100.
End of interactive chart.
Attachments
  • Cuyahoga County Educational Attainment (Q4-21 Data Table).xlsx
Measure Data
Last Calculated 3 days ago
Period Status % - Total Population % - Black % - White % - American Indian/Alaska Native % - Asian % - Hispanic or Latino % - Two or more % - Some other race
2015 Community Indicator 88.60% 83.20% 92.00% 66.10% 88.10% 73.40% 88.50% 71.50%
2016 Community Indicator 90.00% 85.40% 93.20% 70.30% 86.50% 73.90% 90.70% 72.10%
2017 Community Indicator 90.20% 84.90% 93.40% 70.20% 89.90% 80.20% 84.80% 80.50%
2018 Community Indicator 89.90% 84.70% 93.60% 72.10% 84.00% 73.60% 90.50% 72.00%
2019 Community Indicator 90.20% 85.80% 93.70% 61.90% 85.60% 73.40% 91.10% 69.40%
2020 Community Indicator
2021 Community Indicator
2022 Not Defined