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Credential attainment among U.S. adults is on the rise, according to new data released by the Lumina Foundation Thursday. The data is part of Lumina’s “A Stronger Nation” tool, which tracks progress toward a goal the foundation set in 2008 that 60 percent of working-age adults would hold a postsecondary credential by 2025.
While not there yet, the latest data, from 2023, is encouraging. Lumina found that 54.9 percent of Americans aged 25 to 64 had earned a credential of value such as a degree, certificate or industry-recognized credential, up from 54.3 percent the year prior and 53.7 percent in 2021. Back in 2008, when Lumina set its goal, the credential attainment rate was 37.9 percent.
A more granular look at the data shows that 14.5 percent of working-age American adults held a graduate or professional degree, 23.4 percent had a bachelor’s degree and 9.2 percent had earned an associate degree; 4.2 percent had earned certificates and 3.6 percent earned industry-recognized certifications.
However, racial disparities remain. While 67.1 percent of Asian adults and 52 percent of white adults have a credential, only 36.1 percent of Black adults and 29.7 percent of Hispanic adults do. Still, Black and Hispanic credential attainment rates have improved since 2009 by about nine percentage points and 10 percentage points, respectively.
