Resources

Research

Educated Communities are Healthy Communities

We believe that an educated population is essential for healthy communities.  A college graduate is more likely to:

Live longer
25 year old college graduates, on average, will live over 12 years longer than 25 year olds who never finished high school (Rostron et al, Vital and Health Statistics Series 2, no. 151, 2010, National Center for Health Statistics)

Be happier
Adults who have attained higher levels of education … portray greater satisfaction in life than those with lower levels of educational attainment. (Education Indicators in Focus, January 2013, OECD)

Have a better paying job
College graduates earn over 125% more than those who do not graduate from high school (Education Pays 2013, College Board)

Keep their family out of poverty
Only 5% of college graduate led households live in poverty (Education Pays 2013, College Board)

Raise children who graduate from college
Only 5% of Americans ages 25-34 whose parents didn’t finish high school have a college degree (September 23, 2015, New York Times)

Help the economy
Providing access to high quality education will not only expand economic opportunity for residents, but also likely do more to strengthen the overall state economy more than anything else a state can do (Berger and Fisher, August 22, 2013, Economic Policy Institute)

Actively engage in civic activities
Among 25 OECD countries with available data, adults with a high-level of education report they vote 15% more frequently than adults with a low level of education report they vote.  This gap widens to 27 percentage points among younger adults (25-34 year-olds) (Education Indicators in Focus, January 2013, OECD)