An educated population makes a more attractive workforce and is better prepared to instruct the next generation of residents. High educational attainment represents a region's investment in human capital and preparation for long-term growth. There are persistent gaps in academic achievement among students of different races, ethnicities and incomes, and this is likely reflected in levels of educational attainment.

In 2016-20, the share of Lancaster County residents who held a bachelor's degree or higher was highest among Asians, at 43%, followed by whites, 29%, African Americans, 21%, and Hispanics, 14%. At the state level, a higher share of Asians (56%), whites (33%) and Hispanic residents (18%) had college degrees than in Lancaster. The share of people with a Bachelor's degree in the United States was also higher than Lancaster County.

In the City of Lancaster, a similar share of whites (29%) had college degrees compared to Lancaster County as a whole, while a smaller share of Asians (26%), African Americans (16%) and Hispanics (11%) in the city had degrees.

Since 2000, the share of residents without a high school degree declined among all racial and ethnic groups in Lancaster County, ranging from an 18 percentage-point drop among Hispanics to a 8-point drop among whites. All groups, except Asians, had increases in their share of residents who had attended some college or earned an associate's degree.

Among neighboring counties in 2016-20, while racial and ethnic disparities persisted, Chester and Dauphin counties had larger shares of all groups with at least a bachelor's degree. Chester had higher percentages of Asians (84%), African American (28%), Hispanics (25%) and whites (55%) with college degrees. Lebanon and York had a smaller share of residents with college degrees than Lancaster for all racial groups.

There are a variety of factors believed to contribute to disparities in educational attainment. School systems in the United States are highly segregated, and students of color disproportionately attend schools with high proportions of low-income students who may not have benefited from early learning opportunities at the same rate as other students. Schools also have different levels of resources ranging from qualified/experienced teachers to advanced courses to facilities and technology, and schools with large Black and Latino populations often have lower levels. In addition, teachers across all school systems tend to be disproportionately white, and teaching practices and curriculum may not be culturally relevant to students of color. Low staff expectations at racially and economically segregated schools also contribute disparities in educational attainment. The accumulation of inequities leads to lower graduation rates and college matriculation, with college affordability acting as another barrier. When Black and Latino students enter higher education institutions, they are less likely to attain a college a degree given weaker academic preparation and financial hardship.

Adults are people 25 and older. The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.