Race and Educational Attainment in California: Census 2000 Profiles

Transcription

1 Race and Educational Attainment in California: Census 2000 Profiles No. 11, October 2002 Report Author: Alejandra Lopez Series Advisors: Matthew Snipp & Al Camarillo 2002 by CCSRE Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity Stanford University Building 240 Stanford, CA The CCSRE Race and Ethnicity in California: Demographics Report Series documents the current socioeconomic, educational, and demographic status of ethnic and racial minority populations in California. Census 2000 data are being used as they become available to examine racial/ethnic diversity, residential segregation, household and family composition, language use, educational attainment, occupation and work status, income, and poverty. The series is made possible by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, and is accessible on-line at the CCSRE website:

2 Attainment of high levels of education are predictive of economic well-being, and have varied over time between racial groups in the United States, serving as a key component of differences in socioeconomic status. Using Census 2000 data, this report summarizes rates of educational attainment based on high school diploma, bachelor s degree, and graduate/professional degree 1 completion across major ethnic and racial groups in California, presenting data at the county and regional levels. To note changes in educational attainment over the past decade, data from the 1990 Census are also included. Throughout this report, the data presented focus on California s adult population age 25 and older, as compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. Aggregating Asians and Pacific Islanders In this report, Asians and Pacific Islanders (enumerated separately on the 2000 Census) are aggregated into one category to allow comparability with data from the 1990 census when these groups were counted in the same category. However, it should be noted that when these data are disaggregated, there are differences between the two groups, particularly at the higher levels of education (see Figure 1a). At the college level, 41.6 percent of Asians hold a Bachelor s degree as compared to only 12.6 percent of Pacific Islanders; at the graduate level, 13.3 percent of Asians hold a graduate or professional degree while only 3.2 percent of Pacific Islanders hold these degrees. This trend holds at the national level as well: 44.1 percent of Asians have Bachelor s degrees contrasted with 13.8 percent of Pacific Islanders, and 17.4 percent of Asians have graduate or professional degrees contrasted with 4.1 percent of Pacific Islanders. Since Asians comprise a much larger group than Pacific Islanders, the aggregated Asian/Pacific Islander values tend to more closely approximate the Asian numbers than the Pacific Islander ones. Figure 1a: Educational Attainment Data for Asians & Pacific Islanders, Aggregated and Disaggregated Asian alone OR Pacific Islander alone Asian alone Pacific Islander alone Percent of Population High School diploma Bachelor's degree Graduate/Professional degree 3.2 For the first time on the U.S. decennial survey, individuals were permitted to identify with more than one race category on the 2000 Census. The data released by the Census Bureau in Summary 1 This grouping includes Master s, Doctorate, and Professional school (e.g., Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Business, etc.) degrees. Breakdowns within this category, graduate/professional degree, are not currently available for specific race populations. 1

3 File 3, the primary data source for analyses in this report, does not provide educational attainment information linked with combination race responses. Instead, one Two or More Races grouping is used to aggregate persons who identified with more than one race. The race categories considered in this report (American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, White, and Some Other Race) mirror those currently available from the 2000 Census. In addition, a grouping for is included based on responses to the origin question of the census, a separate item from the race question. Making Sense of Who is White on the Census People of origin are expected by the U.S. Census Bureau to identify as White on the census question about race. This creates a White category of individuals, some of whom might have identified solely as had this been a response option. Thus, there are two breakdowns of Whites summarized by the Census Bureau in Summary File 3 (SF3): an allencompassing White category, which includes anyone who identified as only White on the race question (regardless of origin); and, a White, not grouping which includes people who identified as White on the race question AND not on the origin question. The majority of people who identified as White did not identify as (83.1 percent in California, 93.5 percent in the overall U.S.). To note differences in the educational attainment levels of various White and/or groupings, see Figure 1b. Figure 1b: Higest Educational Attainment in California for White and/or Populations White & High School Diploma Bachelor's Degree Graduate/Professional Degree White OR White & White, not Percent of the population Educational Attainment in California When the 2000 Census was taken, 77 percent of California s total population age 25 and older had completed high school or received a GED (equivalency certificate), 27 percent had earned a Bachelor s degree, and 10 percent held a graduate or professional degree. While women and men displayed similar high school completion rates, larger percentages of men held bachelor s degrees (men 27 percent, women 25 percent) and graduate/professional degrees (men 11 percent, women 8 percent) [data not shown]. Figure 2 summarizes data on highest levels of diploma and degree attainment for each race population in the state. For example, the first bar of this figure indicates that high school was the highest level of education completed by 39.5 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders, an additional

4 percent also earned a Bachelor s degree, and an additional 13.1 percent also received a graduate or professional degree. The remaining 19.6 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders have completed less than twelve years of schooling and/or did not receive a high school diploma (or the equivalent). In general, Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of education (particularly in terms of college and graduate degree attainment). Adults identified as or Some Other Race hold the lowest levels of education at all three levels of education considered 2. As illustrated in Figure 2, Blacks, American Indians, and individuals identified with Two or More Races have college and graduate degree attainment rates in between Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders at one end of the spectrum, and s (and Some Other Race persons) at the other end, though the percentages for American Indians are the lowest within this middle-range group. These patterns hold at the national level as well (see Table 1). Figure 2: Highest Diploma/Degree Attainment in California, by Race Percent of the Population Asian/Pacific Islander White Two or More Races Black American Indian Some Other Race TOTAL High School Diploma Bachelor's Degree Graduate/Professional Degree To offer a rough comparison of educational attainment rates in 1990 and 2000, Figure 3 summarizes the percentages of each race population (and the total population) that hold each type of degree or diploma. These comparisons are not exact because the race categories include persons who identified with only that one group. In general, between 1990 and 2000, rates of diploma and degree attainment increased for all race groups with the exception of American Indians whose rate of high school completion declined from 71.4 to 67.5 percent. (Note: Figure 3 does not contain data for the category, Two or More Races, since multiple responses were not allowed on censuses prior to 2000.) 2 Similarities in rates of educational attainment between these two groups are not surprising since the Census Bureau (2001) found that the majority of people who identified as Some Other Race on the race question of the census identified as on the separate origin question. 3

5 Figure 3: Degree Attainment By Race & Percent of Population GRAD BACH HS GRAD BACH HS GRAD BACH HS GRAD BACH HS GRAD BACH HS GRAD BACH HS GRAD BACH HS Other American Indian Black Asian or Pacific Islander White TOTAL

6 Table 1: Degree Attainment in the UNITED STATES, by Race 2000 RACE High School (%) Bachelor's (%) Graduate/Professional (%) Total Population Asian or Pacific Islander alone White alone, not Two or More Races Black alone American Indian alone Some Other Race alone Source: Census 2000 (SF3) To consider rates of change in diploma and degree attainment over the past decade, Figure 4 depicts change percentages for each race population in California as well as in the overall state. In terms of high school completion, between 1990 and 2000, Whites had the largest rate of growth (10.7 percent) in diploma attainment, followed by Blacks, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and s (all between 3.8 and 6.6 percent), while American Indians was the only group that experienced a decline (-5.4 percent). Figure 4: Percent Change in Degree Attainment, by Race to Percent Change in Rate (%) of Degree Attainment American Indian Other Black Asian or Pacific Islander White TOTAL High School Bachelor's Graduate/Professional At the college level, between 1990 and 2000, rates of Bachelor s degree attainment grew 33 percent for Whites, followed by Asians/Pacific Islanders at 19.7 percent and Blacks at 16.0 percent. s and American Indians showed the smallest growth (9.1 and 3.0 percent, respectively). 5

7 Changes in rates of graduate/professional degree attainment, available for the decade between 1990 and 2000, hold the same pattern as those for Bachelor s degree attainment: Whites showed the largest growth at 39.7 percent, followed by Asians/Pacific Islanders at 27.4 percent and Blacks at 20.5 percent, with s and American Indians experiencing the smallest rates of growth (8.4 and 1.6 percent, respectively). Educational Attainment Rates by County and Region At the county level, similar trends are evident. Tables 2-4 list diploma and degree attainment rates for each race population by county, grouped by location in the state. To illustrate these numbers across race, three map sets are also included one for high school completion, one for Bachelor s degree attainment, and one for graduate/professional degree attainment. The shading in Map Set 1 indicates that s have the lowest rates of high school completion and Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders have the highest rates, as is the case for California statewide. Also visible is the closer range of high school completion rates (between 78.4 and 95.9 percent) for Whites than for any other race population. For educational attainment rates at the college and graduate/professional level, similar patterns are evident in Map Sets 2 and 3: Asians and Whites have the highest rates, s and American Indians have the lowest rates, and Blacks and people identified with Two or More Races have intermediate rates. Table 5: Degree Attainment, by Region 2000 REGION High School (%) Bachelor's (%) Graduate/Professional (%) San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Sacramento Metropolitan Southern Los Angeles Central Valley Eastern Mountain Northern Source: Census 2000 (SF3) Figures 5-7 present these data regionally 3 across race in the state, and to contextualize these numbers, Table 5 summarizes rates of high school diploma, Bachelor s degree, graduate/professional degree attainment for the total population in each region. Note, for 3 The state s 58 counties were divided into the following eight geographic areas (illustrated on the last page of this report): Northern: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Lake, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba; Sacramento Metropolitan: El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo; San Francisco Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma; Eastern Mountain: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, Tuolumne; Central Valley: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare; Coastal: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Ventura; Los Angeles: Los Angeles; Southern: Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego. 6

8 Region San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Central Valley Table 2: Percent of Race Populations with a High School Diploma, by County County Total population White alone, not Black alone Asian or Pacific Islander alone Two or More Races American Indian alone Some Other Race alone Marin Contra Costa San Mateo Sonoma Solano Santa Clara Alameda San Francisco Napa San Luis Obispo Santa Cruz Ventura Santa Barbara San Benito Monterey San Joaquin Stanislaus Kings Kern Fresno Madera Merced Tulare Los Angeles Los Angeles Eastern Alpine NA Mountain Mono Calaveras Mariposa Tuolumne Amador Inyo Northern Nevada Plumas Sierra NA Humboldt Siskiyou Shasta Butte Trinity Mendocino Lassen Lake Modoc Tehama Sutter Yuba Del Norte Glenn Sacramento Metropolitan Southern Colusa Placer El Dorado Sacramento Yolo San Diego Orange Riverside San Bernardino Imperial California Source: Census 2000 (SF3) 7

9 Region San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Central Valley Table 3: Percent of Race Populations with a Bachelor's Degree, by County County Total population Asian or Pacific Islander alone White alone, not Two or More Races Black alone American Indian alone Some Other Race alone Marin San Francisco Santa Clara San Mateo Contra Costa Alameda Sonoma Napa Solano Santa Cruz Santa Barbara Ventura San Luis Obispo Monterey San Benito Fresno San Joaquin Stanislaus Kern Madera Tulare Merced Kings Los Angeles Los Angeles Eastern Mono Mountain Alpine NA Mariposa Inyo Calaveras Amador Tuolumne Northern Nevada Humboldt Butte Mendocino Siskiyou Plumas Sierra NA Shasta Trinity Sutter Modoc Lake Tehama Del Norte Glenn Lassen Colusa Sacramento Metropolitan Southern Yuba Yolo Placer El Dorado Sacramento Orange San Diego Riverside San Bernardino Imperial California Source: Census 2000 (SF3) 8

10 Table 4: Percent of Race Populations with a Graduate or Professional Degree, by County Region San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Central Valley County Total population Asian or Pacific Islander alone White alone, not Two or More Races Black alone American Indian alone Some Other Race alone Marin Santa Clara San Francisco San Mateo Alameda Contra Costa Sonoma Napa Solano Santa Cruz Santa Barbara Ventura San Luis Obispo Monterey San Benito Fresno Kern Stanislaus San Joaquin Madera Tulare Merced Kings Los Angeles Los Angeles Eastern Mono Mountain Alpine NA Inyo Amador Tuolumne Mariposa Calaveras Northern Nevada Mendocino Humboldt Butte Siskiyou Sierra NA Plumas Shasta Trinity Lake Sutter Modoc Yuba Lassen Del Norte Tehama Glenn Sacramento Metropolitan Southern Colusa Yolo Placer El Dorado Sacramento San Diego Orange Riverside San Bernardino Imperial California Source: Census 2000 (SF3) 9

11 Map Set 1: High School Completion Rates Across Race American Indian Asian/Pacific Islander Black No Data Two or More Races White, not Source: Census 2000 (SF 3)

12 Map Set 2: Bachelor's Degree Attainment Rates Across Race American Indian Asian/Pacific Islander Black No Data Two or More Races White, not Source: Census 2000 (SF 3)

13 Map Set 3: Graduate/Professional Degree Attainment Rates Across Race American Indian 0-5 Asian/Pacific Islander Black No Data 0-5 Two or More Races White, not Source: Census 2000 (SF 3)

14 example, that the Central Valley and Los Angeles regions have the lowest rates of high school completion, and the San Francisco Bay Area has the highest rates of Bachelor s and graduate/professional degree attainment, compared to other areas in the state. Also, for comparison with the data presented in Figures 5-7, Appendix Tables 1-3 detail regional educational attainment rates for 1990 by race population. Rates of Degree Attainment by Race in the Ten Largest Cities of California Of course, educational levels vary within regions and counties. To illustrate such differences, Tables 6-8 summarize data regarding high school completion, bachelor s degree and graduate degree attainment in the ten most populated cities of the state. Table 6: Rates of High School Completion by Race in the Ten Largest Cities Anaheim Fresno Long Beach Los Angeles Oakland Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Jose Santa Ana White, not Asian/Pacific Islander Black Two or More Races American Indian Some Other Race Source: Census 2000 SF3 Table 7: Rates of Bachelor's Degree Attainment by Race in the Ten Largest Cities Anaheim Fresno Long Beach Los Angeles Oakland Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Jose Santa Ana White, not Asian/Pacific Islander Two or More Races Black American Indian Some Other Race Source: Census 2000 SF3 13

15 Table 8: Rates of Graduate/Professional Degree Attainment by Race in the Ten Largest Cities Anaheim Fresno Long Beach Los Angeles Oakland Sacramento San Diego San Francisco San Jose Santa Ana White, not Asian/Pacific Islander Two or More Races Black American Indian Some Other Race Source: Census 2000 SF3 Summary Findings According to data collected on the 2000 Census, 77 percent of California s adult population age 25 and older had completed high school (or the equivalent), 27 percent of the population had earned a Bachelor s degree, and 10 percent had earned a graduate or professional degree. While the national rate of high school completion is slightly higher (80 percent), rates of Bachelor s and graduate/professional degree attainment are lower (24 percent and 9 percent, respectively). Education data broken down for each race population in the state indicate differing levels of diploma and degree attainment. In general, Whites and Asians/Pacific Islanders have the highest educational attainment rates (particularly at the Bachelor s degree and graduate/professional degree levels), s and individuals identified as Some Other Race have the lowest rates, and Blacks, American Indians, and people identified with Two or More Races have rates in between; this same pattern holds at the national level. Over the past decade, between 1990 and 2000, rates of high school diploma, Bachelor s degree, and graduate/professional degree attainment increased for all race groups with the exception of American Indians who experienced a decline of 5.4 percent in the rate of high school completion. In comparison, Whites experienced the largest rate of growth in high school completion, 10.7 percent, between 1990 and 2000, and all other race groups experienced growth between 2.8 and 6.6 percent. With regard to rates of Bachelor s and graduate/professional degree attainment, Whites experienced the largest growth (33.0 percent and 29.7 percent, respectively), followed by Asians/Pacific Islanders (19.7, 27.4), and Blacks (16.0, 20.5); and, s (9.1, 8.4) and American Indians (3.0, 1.6) experienced the smallest change in these rates. Reference U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (2001). Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin. Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR/

16 Figure 5: High School Completion by Race for Each Region Percent of Population White Alone, Not Black Alone Asian or Pacific Islander Alone Two or More Races American Indian Alone Some Other Race Alone Sacramento Metropolitan San Francisco Bay Area Eastern Mountain Southern Coastal Northern Los Angeles Central Valley 15

17 Figure 6: Bachelor's Degree Attainment by Race for Each Region Percent of Population Asian or Pacific Islander Alone White Alone, Not Two or More Races Black Alone American Indian Alone Some Other Race Alone San Francisco Bay Area Los Angeles Coastal Southern Sacramento Metropolitan Eastern Mountain Northern Central Valley 16

18 Figure 7: Graduate/Professional Degree Attainment by Race for Each Region Percent of Population Asian or Pacific Islander Alone White Alone, Not Two or More Races Black Alone American Indian Alone Some Other Race Alone San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Los Angeles Southern Sacramento Metropolitan Eastern Mountain Northern Central Valley 17

19 Appendix Table 1: High School Completion Rates (%) for Race Populations, by Region REGION Total White Asian or Pacific Islander Black American Indian Other San Francisco Bay Area Sacramento Metropolitan Southern Coastal Eastern Mountain Northern Los Angeles Central Valley Source: Census 1990 (STF 1) Appendix Table 2: Bachelor's Degree Attainment for Race Populations, by Region REGION Total Asian or Pacific Islander White Black American Indian Other San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Sacramento Metropolitan Southern Los Angeles Northern Eastern Mountain Central Valley Source: Census 1990 (STF 1) Appendix Table 3: Graduate/Professional Degree Attainment for Race Populations, by Region 1990 REGION Total Asian or Pacific Islander White Black American Indian Other San Francisco Bay Area Coastal Los Angeles Southern Sacramento Metropolitan Northern Eastern Mountain Central Valley Source: Census 1990 (STF 1) 18

20 Del Norte Siskiyou Modoc Regions of California Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Tehama Plumas Butte Glenn Sierra Mendocino Lake Nevada Colusa Yuba Sutter Placer Yolo El Dorado Sonoma Napa Sacramento Amador Solano Marin Calaveras Contra Costa San Joaquin San Francisco Alameda Stanislaus San Mateo Santa Clara Merced Santa Cruz San Benito Monterey Alpine Tuolumne Mariposa Madera Fresno Kings Mono Tulare Northern Counties Sacramento Metropolitan Area San Francisco Bay Area Central Valley Eastern Mountain Counties Coastal Counties Los Angeles Southern Counties Inyo San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles San Bernardino Orange Riverside San Diego Imperial