Source: American Community Survey

The rate of Marion County adults who earn a college degree has improved slowly over the years. But the youngest cohort of workers has leaped upward substantially. That’s encouraging.

The youngest cohort in the workforce has the highest level of college attainment. Only 25.4 percent of Indianapolis adults have attained a bachelor’s or higher degree. But attainment in the 25-to-34 age cohort is 31.7 percent. That group leads all others at three important levels: some college, associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees. It trails two older cohorts for graduate degrees, but many in their late 20s are still pursuing graduate studies, so the young cohort is likely to exceed their elders in time.

Unfortunately, that good news is balanced by a disquieting trend for the younger group. Those who are 18 to 24 years old are at or near the bottom at every educational-attainment level. This isn’t unexpected for the higher levels of education, since 18-to-24-year-olds are still in the education pipeline. But the 73 percent high school graduation rate is alarming. Most people of this age should have finished high school by now, and the chart shows their high school attainment level is the lowest in nearly 40 years.