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BENEFITS
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EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
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Adults with Bachelor's
Degree or Higher
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ECONOMIC BENEFITS
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Increased Income from
Education
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CIVIC BENEFITS
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Population Voting
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Charitable Contributions
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ADULT SKILL LEVELS
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Quantitative Literacy
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Prose Literacy
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Document Literacy
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What benefits does the state receive as a result of having a highly educated population?
Educational Achievement
Nationwide, the percentage of the population with a bachelor's degree has increased over the last decade.
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States range from a high of 37% (Maryland) to a low of 17% (West Virginia) on this measure.
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In Missouri, the state that has made the most headway on this measure over the past decade, the percentage of the population with a bachelor's degree has increased from 18% to 28% - an increase of 60%.
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Oregon is the only state that has not seen growth on this measure over the past decade; it has held steady at just under 25%.
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Economic Benefits
States that have a high proportion of the population with a bachelor's degree tend to reap great economic benefits from their population.
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Maryland, the top-performing state for bachelor's degree attainment, is also the top performer in the increase in total personal income as a result of the percentage of its population with a bachelor's degree.
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Civic Benefits
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In Minnesota, where 31% of the population has a bachelor's degree, the percentage of residents voting is the highest in the nation (based on 1996 and 1998 elections).
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In New York, of those residents who itemize on federal income taxes, 94% declare charitable gifts - the highest in the nation. Nearly a third of New York's population has a bachelor's degree.
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Adult Skill Levels
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The population of Colorado, 35% of which has a bachelor's degree, enjoys the highest levels of literacy skills in the nation, as measured by national surveys.
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Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island
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Alaska, Arizona, California, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
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Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming
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Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee
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