AkashicThe most college-educated places in America
Of the 100 counties most defined by bachelor’s+, 21 voted Republican and 79 Democratic in 2024 — a median of D+25.8, and as a group they shifted −2.8 points toward Republicans from 2020 to 2024.
Does bachelor’s+ move the vote?
Every U.S. county, plotted by how much of the community lives there against its 2024 presidential margin — the demographic dial on one axis, the political one on the other.
Across every county, the more bachelor’s+ a county is, the more Democratic it votes — a moderate relationship (r = +0.59).
| Bachelor’s+ range | Counties | Median margin |
|---|---|---|
| 10.9% – 13.6% | 224 | R+55.0 |
| 13.6% – 16.3% | 339 | R+54.7 |
| 16.3% – 19.0% | 395 | R+52.9 |
| 19.0% – 21.8% | 413 | R+45.2 |
| 21.8% – 24.5% | 318 | R+42.3 |
| 24.5% – 27.2% | 234 | R+36.8 |
| 27.2% – 29.9% | 180 | R+30.4 |
| 29.9% – 32.6% | 157 | R+21.4 |
| 32.6% – 35.3% | 134 | R+21.0 |
| 35.3% – 38.0% | 99 | R+7.7 |
| 38.0% – 40.7% | 82 | R+2.3 |
| 40.7% – 43.4% | 62 | R+0.4 |
| 43.4% – 46.2% | 43 | D+10.4 |
| 46.2% – 48.9% | 30 | D+20.4 |
| 48.9% – 51.6% | 36 | D+6.5 |
| 51.6% – 54.3% | 79 | D+33.9 |
Where bachelor’s+ concentrates
Every county shaded by bachelor’s+ — deep where the community clusters, pale at the other end. Counties below 5,000 population are suppressed.
The leaderboard
Ranked most to least by bachelor’s+. Filter by region or state, switch the column lens, cap the list, and sort on any figure.
| # | 2008–24 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falls Church city, VA | 80.5% | D D+61.6 | −2.6 | 9,062 | |
| 2 | Arlington County, VA | 77.1% | D D+58.1 | −5.5 | 129,561 | |
| 3 | Los Alamos County, NM | 69.7% | D D+30.2 | +3.5 | 12,187 | |
| 4 | Alexandria city, VA | 66.2% | D D+57.1 | −5.5 | 80,904 | |
| 5 | Fairfax County, VA | 65.0% | D D+34.7 | −7.2 | 589,427 | |
| 6 | San Miguel County, CO | 64.9% | D D+49.4 | −4.7 | 4,804 | |
| 7 | Gunnison County, CO | 64.7% | D D+29.2 | −1.8 | 10,942 | |
| 8 | Loudoun County, VA | 64.6% | D D+16.2 | −8.8 | 229,692 | |
| 9 | Howard County, MD | 64.5% | D D+41.3 | −2.9 | 182,291 | |
| 10 | Boulder County, CO | 64.2% | D D+55.7 | −0.8 | 196,304 | |
| 11 | District of Columbia, DC | 64.2% | D D+83.8 | −2.9 | 325,869 | |
| 12 | New York County, NY | 64.2% | D D+64.2 | −10.3 | 654,372 | |
| 13 | Pitkin County, CO | 62.8% | D D+44.2 | −7.7 | 11,169 | |
| 14 | Williamson County, TN | 62.7% | R R+32.4 | −6.3 | 144,668 | |
| 15 | Charlottesville city, VA | 62.5% | D D+68.3 | −4.4 | 23,434 | |
| 16 | Fairfax city, VA | 62.4% | D D+33.1 | −5.2 | 13,567 | |
| 17 | Douglas County, CO | 62.0% | R R+7.0 | +0.2 | 243,892 | |
| 18 | Hamilton County, IN | 61.9% | R R+6.1 | +0.7 | 196,727 | |
| 19 | Orange County, NC | 61.8% | D D+50.8 | −0.2 | 87,807 | |
| 20 | Marin County, CA | 61.1% | D D+63.9 | −2.6 | 144,113 | |
| 21 | Albemarle County, VA | 61.1% | D D+33.9 | +0.4 | 67,224 | |
| 22 | Teton County, WY | 61.1% | D D+34.7 | −2.8 | 13,286 | |
| 23 | Montgomery County, MD | 60.6% | D D+52.8 | −6.9 | 519,221 | |
| 24 | San Francisco County, CA | 60.3% | D D+64.8 | −7.7 | 402,964 | |
| 25 | Broomfield County, CO | 60.3% | D D+28.5 | +1.1 | 46,848 | |
| 26 | Summit County, UT | 59.8% | D D+14.8 | −4.2 | 25,876 | |
| 27 | Middlesex County, MA | 59.5% | D D+39.2 | −5.7 | 814,832 | |
| 28 | Delaware County, OH | 59.4% | R R+6.6 | +0.2 | 133,392 | |
| 29 | Norfolk County, MA | 58.8% | D D+28.5 | −7.5 | 386,447 | |
| 30 | Tompkins County, NY | 58.8% | D D+50.0 | +0.8 | 46,532 | |
| 31 | Washtenaw County, MI | 58.7% | D D+44.4 | −2.2 | 221,542 | |
| 32 | Fulton County, GA | 58.5% | D D+44.9 | −1.6 | 535,238 | |
| 33 | Morris County, NJ | 57.8% | R R+2.7 | −7.0 | 284,666 | |
| 34 | Somerset County, NJ | 57.8% | D D+13.9 | −7.3 | 177,412 | |
| 35 | Johnson County, KS | 57.6% | D D+8.5 | +0.2 | 343,780 | |
| 36 | Clear Creek County, CO | 57.5% | D D+16.6 | +3.6 | 6,102 | |
| 37 | Hunterdon County, NJ | 57.4% | R R+6.7 | −2.2 | 80,925 | |
| 38 | Wake County, NC | 57.2% | D D+25.4 | −1.0 | 653,580 | |
| 39 | Forsyth County, GA | 57.1% | R R+33.1 | +0.1 | 138,249 | |
| 40 | Chester County, PA | 57.1% | D D+14.5 | −2.7 | 324,964 | |
| 41 | Chittenden County, VT | 56.8% | D D+53.1 | −1.4 | 97,329 | |
| 42 | King County, WA | 56.7% | D D+51.3 | −1.4 | 1,130,502 | |
| 43 | Travis County, TX | 56.6% | D D+39.3 | −5.7 | 581,276 | |
| 44 | Santa Clara County, CA | 56.5% | D D+40.0 | −7.5 | 750,433 | |
| 45 | Denver County, CO | 56.5% | D D+56.1 | −5.3 | 363,519 | |
| 46 | Ouray County, CO | 56.5% | D D+21.2 | +1.6 | 4,098 | |
| 47 | Nantucket County, MA | 56.3% | D D+36.7 | −8.6 | 7,118 | |
| 48 | Collin County, TX | 56.2% | R R+11.1 | −6.8 | 515,585 | |
| 49 | Oconee County, GA | 55.9% | R R+35.9 | −2.4 | 27,287 | |
| 50 | Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 55.5% | D D+18.0 | −7.3 | 295,927 | |
| 51 | Dane County, WI | 55.3% | D D+51.5 | −1.1 | 365,929 | |
| 52 | Johnson County, IA | 55.2% | D D+37.8 | −5.4 | 86,644 | |
| 53 | Durham County, NC | 55.2% | D D+61.7 | −0.7 | 180,912 | |
| 54 | Summit County, CO | 55.0% | D D+37.2 | −2.4 | 17,545 | |
| 55 | Albany County, WY | 55.0% | R R+3.1 | −5.9 | 17,877 | |
| 56 | Story County, IA | 54.8% | D D+10.3 | −7.0 | 49,526 | |
| 57 | Gallatin County, MT | 54.3% | D D+3.2 | −4.3 | 69,897 | |
| 58 | Routt County, CO | 54.2% | D D+27.7 | +0.1 | 16,335 | |
| 59 | Benton County, OR | 54.2% | D D+39.3 | −0.4 | 50,232 | |
| 60 | Hennepin County, MN | 54.1% | D D+42.4 | −0.8 | 720,166 | |
| 61 | Newport County, RI | 54.1% | D D+25.5 | −4.3 | 44,349 | |
| 62 | San Juan County, WA | 53.9% | D D+51.1 | +0.6 | 13,006 | |
| 63 | San Mateo County, CA | 53.7% | D D+50.3 | −7.4 | 330,510 | |
| 64 | Douglas County, KS | 53.2% | D D+38.0 | −1.5 | 58,041 | |
| 65 | Bergen County, NJ | 53.1% | D D+3.4 | −13.1 | 459,077 | |
| 66 | Westchester County, NY | 53.1% | D D+26.1 | −10.1 | 457,838 | |
| 67 | Larimer County, CO | 53.0% | D D+17.6 | +2.2 | 225,654 | |
| 68 | Cumberland County, ME | 53.0% | D D+35.3 | −0.0 | 192,656 | |
| 69 | Montgomery County, PA | 53.0% | D D+22.8 | −3.5 | 520,906 | |
| 70 | Bristol County, RI | 53.0% | D D+26.4 | −2.9 | 28,117 | |
| 71 | Gilpin County, CO | 52.8% | D D+12.7 | +3.4 | 4,130 | |
| 72 | Washington County, RI | 52.4% | D D+15.0 | −4.4 | 75,556 | |
| 73 | Alameda County, CA | 52.2% | D D+53.6 | −8.6 | 669,800 | |
| 74 | Jefferson County, CO | 52.0% | D D+19.5 | +0.9 | 361,716 | |
| 75 | Dukes County, MA | 51.9% | D D+52.4 | −4.2 | 12,209 | |
| 76 | DuPage County, IL | 51.8% | D D+13.1 | −4.8 | 456,882 | |
| 77 | Leelanau County, MI | 51.8% | D D+7.8 | +2.6 | 17,685 | |
| 78 | Boone County, IN | 51.7% | R R+16.0 | +2.5 | 40,109 | |
| 79 | Hampshire County, MA | 51.6% | D D+41.7 | −4.8 | 84,720 | |
| 80 | Dallas County, IA | 51.5% | R R+4.7 | −2.7 | 62,961 | |
| 81 | Boone County, MO | 51.5% | D D+9.7 | −2.8 | 90,110 | |
| 82 | Monmouth County, NJ | 51.3% | R R+11.4 | −8.6 | 360,143 | |
| 83 | Wasatch County, UT | 51.3% | R R+27.4 | −1.5 | 18,354 | |
| 84 | Ozaukee County, WI | 51.2% | R R+10.4 | +1.6 | 63,472 | |
| 85 | Oakland County, MI | 51.0% | D D+10.6 | −3.5 | 772,145 | |
| 86 | James City County, VA | 51.0% | D D+6.2 | +1.3 | 51,274 | |
| 87 | Eagle County, CO | 50.9% | D D+24.4 | −5.4 | 27,805 | |
| 88 | St. Johns County, FL | 50.9% | R R+31.3 | −4.7 | 197,457 | |
| 89 | Cobb County, GA | 50.8% | D D+14.9 | +0.6 | 401,369 | |
| 90 | Lexington city, VA | 50.7% | D D+26.4 | −5.6 | 2,895 | |
| 91 | Suffolk County, MA | 50.6% | D D+52.1 | −10.8 | 299,193 | |
| 92 | Carver County, MN | 50.4% | R R+5.4 | −0.5 | 69,160 | |
| 93 | Charleston County, SC | 50.3% | D D+5.7 | −7.2 | 214,521 | |
| 94 | Fort Bend County, TX | 50.2% | D D+1.6 | −9.0 | 362,524 | |
| 95 | York County, VA | 50.0% | R R+6.1 | +0.5 | 39,749 | |
| 96 | Fayette County, GA | 49.9% | R R+3.2 | +3.6 | 74,633 | |
| 97 | Teton County, ID | 49.9% | D D+6.8 | −0.4 | 6,698 | |
| 98 | Whitman County, WA | 49.8% | D D+8.9 | −1.1 | 20,027 | |
| 99 | Nassau County, NY | 49.7% | R R+4.2 | −13.7 | 712,299 | |
| 100 | Madison County, MS | 49.6% | R R+17.3 | −5.5 | 55,710 |
Source. Demographics — U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year (ancestry B04006, language C16001, income B19013/B19001, education S1501, poverty S1701); adherence — 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB); density — Census TIGER land area · counties and cities ≥ 5,000 population, ranked by bachelor’s+; the medians are taken across the 100 top counties; the correlation is over all 2,825 eligible counties. Presidential results are two-party margins (MIT Election Lab); city results are precinct-derived for 2008–2024. A place can be demographically homogeneous and politically split — which is exactly what these tables are built to show. Real returns — nothing estimated.