Figuring York County: How many of us are college grads?

Less than one quarter of York County residents have a college diploma, Census Bureau data shows

(York) — If you live in York County and have a college diploma, you’re in the minority.

Just 22.5 percent of York County residents —  fewer than one in four — have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The data covers the period from 2010 to 2014.

The rate for York County is less than Pennsylvania’s rate of 28.1 percent.

It’s also a smaller percentage than for residents of neighboring Cumberland, Dauphin and Lancaster counties. However, it is higher than it is for residents of Adams and Lebanon counties.

The York-Hanover area also placed near the bottom of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas — 125th out of 150  — in an education ranking done for WalletHub, a personal finance website.

Other southcentral Pennsylvania communities didn’t fare much better. The Harrisburg-Carlisle area ranked No. 101, and Lancaster ranked No. 132.

The report gave areas an overall score, as well as separate scores on two measures: educational attainment and educational quality combined with what it called “the attainment gap.”

Educational attainment focused on, among other things, the percentage of high school graduates, college grads and those with post-graduate degrees.

Educational quality and “the attainment gap” looked at a number of factors, including the quality of the area’s public schools, and colleges and universities. It also looked at racial and gender differences in the percentage of people with college degrees.

York-Hanover ranked 129th on educational attainment. It did better in terms of educational quality and the attainment gap, coming in 88th.

This story is part of a partnership between WITF and the York Daily Record.