Schools

Less Than Half of Bostonians Have a Bachelor's Degree or Higher

But how does Boston compare to neighboring communities?

Chris Orchard's profile picture
Chris Orchard, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

Less than half of Bostonians who are at least 25 years old—42.5 percent—have a bachelor's degree or higher, according to 2010 Census data.

That's higher than the state average, which is 38.3 percent. Of course, Somerville is located near some of the country's best universities, such as Harvard, MIT and .

When it comes to higher education, how does Boston compare?

Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

We looked at 2010 Census data for 18 cities and towns in the Boston region and discovered that eight communities in the area—Cambridge, Arlington, Winchester, Wakefield, Lynnfield, Melrose, Somerville and Reading—have higher percentages of residents with at least a bachelor's degree. (Again, we're talking about residents who are 25 and older.) The rest have lower percentages of residents with college degrees.

Here's a chart showing the numbers.

Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Community Percentage of residents age 25+ with bachelor's degree or higher Arlington 62.3 percent Boston 42.5 percent Cambridge 72.1 percent Chelsea 13.6 percent Everett 15.8 percent Lynnfield 49.7 percent Malden 30.5 percent Medford 40.6 percent Melrose 48.6 percent Reading 55.1 percent Revere 18.1 percent Saugus 23.7 percent Somerville 52.3 percent Stoneham 38.9 percent Wakefield 47.6 percent Winchester 70.3 percent Winthrop 32.3 percent Woburn 32.3 percent Massachusetts 38.3 percent

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Beacon Hill