RANKING · 2020 CENSUS · 58 SHOWN OF 58

Most college graduates, California counties · 2020

California counties with the most adults 25 and over holding a bachelor's degree or higher, as of the 2020 American Community Survey. Ranked by number of graduates, not the share. This list covers the 58 counties in California that qualify, ranked against each other statewide. The median across all 58 is 36,459.

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SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros

RELATEDMost educated Least educated Most graduate degrees Fewest graduate degrees

RANKPLACESTATEPOPCOLLEGE GRADUATESVS –

01Los Angeles County, CACA9,694,9342,317,682–

02Orange County, CACA3,149,507900,407–

03San Diego County, CACA3,282,248893,648–

04Santa Clara County, CACA1,914,391716,934–

05Alameda County, CACA1,636,630575,727–

06San Francisco County, CACA826,079409,341–

07Riverside County, CACA2,544,916369,140–

08Contra Costa County, CACA1,170,070344,244–

09Sacramento County, CACA1,618,460328,051–

10San Bernardino County, CACA2,224,091292,237–

11San Mateo County, CACA743,568287,882–

12Ventura County, CACA830,851194,239–

13Fresno County, CACA1,035,456134,611–

14Sonoma County, CACA486,444130,834–

15Marin County, CACA253,694114,604–

16Placer County, CACA442,081112,522–

17Santa Barbara County, CACA442,06596,547–

18Kern County, CACA927,06893,120–

19San Joaquin County, CACA823,81591,108–

20Solano County, CACA455,37683,141–

21Santa Cruz County, CACA258,85275,435–

22Monterey County, CACA433,72972,592–

23San Luis Obispo County, CACA282,36768,535–

24Stanislaus County, CACA557,71961,312–

25Yolo County, CACA224,41054,823–

26El Dorado County, CACA192,32349,019–

27Butte County, CACA209,21141,383–

28Tulare County, CACA485,14639,847–

29Napa County, CACA132,94936,459–

30Humboldt County, CACA131,64728,770–

31Nevada County, CACA101,91128,748–

32Shasta County, CACA181,64828,097–

33Merced County, CACA297,26022,873–

34Imperial County, CACA181,41116,993–

35Madera County, CACA167,92714,912–

36Mendocino County, CACA88,12214,877–

37Kings County, CACA154,32714,068–

38Sutter County, CACA98,78712,636–

39Tuolumne County, CACA53,1609,252–

40Yuba County, CACA88,6918,815–

41San Benito County, CACA70,0828,041–

42Lake County, CACA67,7727,770–

43Tehama County, CACA64,6657,698–

44Siskiyou County, CACA42,0137,028–

45Calaveras County, CACA46,6057,011–

46Amador County, CACA41,8765,573–

47Mariposa County, CACA16,9183,659–

48Plumas County, CACA18,5833,566–

49Inyo County, CACA18,1583,466–

50Mono County, CACA12,5053,208–

51Del Norte County, CACA26,4103,042–

52Lassen County, CACA28,1172,825–

53Glenn County, CACA28,1412,610–

54Colusa County, CACA21,8362,041–

55Trinity County, CACA15,7201,868–

56Modoc County, CACA8,4261,220–

57Sierra County, CACA3,098446–

58Alpine County, CACA1,043336–

SHOWING 1–58 OF 58

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UPDATED 2026-09-11 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS