Thursday, March 28, 2024

Foreign born exceed native born in advanced degrees

Posted by Elena del Valle on February 2, 2009

Educational Level Hispanic vs. U.S. Total Population 2007

Educational Level Hispanic vs. U.S. Total Population 2007 – click on image

When it comes to advanced degrees foreign-born residents exceed native-born residents, according to a  U.S. Census Bureau report released last week. In 2007, more foreign born people living in the United States had master’s degree or higher than native-born residents. Nationally, 11 percent of people born in another country who lived in the United States and 10 percent of U.S.-born residents had an advanced degree.

That same year, 84 percent of adults 25 and older said they had at least a high school diploma and 27 percent claimed to have a bachelor’s degree or higher. At the same time, across the whole country a smaller percentage of foreign-born than native-born adults had completed at least a high school education. Only 49 percent of foreign-born Latinos said they had graduated from high school while 49 percent of Asians indicated they had graduated from college or higher.

While 87.7 percent of U.S.-born residents said they had a high school diploma only 76.5 percent of U.S.-born Latinos graduated from high school; 68 percent of foreign-born residents had a high school diploma and 49 percent of foreign born Latinos had graduated from high school. Undergraduate degrees were less common. Some 27.6 percent of U.S.-born residents said they had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 15.9 percent of U.S.-born Latinos had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Just over one quarter of foreign-born residents (26.9 percent) claimed a bachelor’s degree or higher while 10 percent of foreign born Latinos had such degrees.

In the West, the percentage of foreign-born who had completed at least a bachelor’s degree or higher was less than the percentage of the native-born, 24 percent compared with 31 percent respectively. In the Northeast, both groups had 32 percent with bachelor’s degrees or more. The foreign-born in the South (26 percent) and Midwest (31 percent) were more likely than native-born residents to have at least a college degree (25 percent and 26 percent, respectively).

The report also indicates that: 84 percent of adults 25 and older had completed high school, while 27 percent had obtained at least a bachelor’s degree in 2007; a larger proportion of women (85 percent) than men (84 percent) had completed high school; a larger proportion of men had earned a bachelor’s degree (28 percent compared with 27 percent); the percentage of high school graduates was highest in the Midwest (87 percent), and the percentage of college graduates was highest in the Northeast (32 percent).

Also, men earned more than women at each level of educational attainment. The percentage of female-to-male earnings among year-round, full-time workers 25 and older was 77 percent; workers with a bachelor’s degree on average earned about $20,000 more a year ($46,805) than workers with a high school diploma ($26,894). Hispanic and black workers earned less at all levels than non-Hispanic whites and Asians.

The information in the report is from Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007, a report that describes the degree or level of school completed by adults 25 and older. This data stands out because it’s the first Census Bureau report on educational attainment to use data from the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey. Researchers point out that combining the two data sets provides a state-by state comparison of educational attainment while providing an examination of historical trends.


Target Latinos effectively by anticipating changes in the market with

“Hispanic Projections with 2007-08 update” audio recording

Roger Selbert, Ph.D.

Presenter Roger Selbert, Ph.D.

Find out

  • About Latino buying power growth in the future
  • How Latino market growth compares with other markets in the U.S.
  • What drives the rise of Latino economic clout
  • Who should target the Latino market
  • What is the size of the Hispanic affluent market
  • If the luxury Latino market is growing

Stay ahead of your competition with “Hispanic Projections”