RANKING · 1990 CENSUS · 58 SHOWN OF 58

Most educated, California counties · 1990

California counties ranked by the share of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher (2023 ACS). This list covers the 58 counties in California that qualify, ranked against each other statewide.

Flip the list · Least educated, US counties →

CaliforniaAll states All rankings

SAME RANKING BYCities States Metros ZIP codes

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPBACHELOR'S DEGREE OR HIGHERVS 2000

01Marin County, CACA253,69444.0%−14%

02San Francisco County, CACA826,07935.0%−22%

03Santa Clara County, CACA1,914,39132.6%−20%

04Contra Costa County, CACA1,170,07031.6%−10%

05San Mateo County, CACA743,56831.3%−20%

06Yolo County, CACA224,41030.3%−11%

07Santa Cruz County, CACA258,85229.7%−13%

08Alameda County, CACA1,636,63028.8%−17%

09Orange County, CACA3,149,50727.8%−10%

10Santa Barbara County, CACA442,06526.6%−9%

11San Diego County, CACA3,282,24825.3%−14%

12Sonoma County, CACA486,44424.5%−14%

13Alpine County, CACA1,04324.0%−15%

14Ventura County, CACA830,85123.0%−15%

15Sacramento County, CACA1,618,46023.0%−7%

16San Luis Obispo County, CACA282,36722.9%−14%

17Placer County, CACA442,08122.7%−25%

18Los Angeles County, CACA9,694,93422.3%−10%

19Napa County, CACA132,94922.3%−15%

20Nevada County, CACA101,91122.1%−15%

21Mono County, CACA12,50521.9%−24%

22Monterey County, CACA433,72921.5%−4%

23El Dorado County, CACA192,32320.8%−22%

24Humboldt County, CACA131,64720.0%−13%

25Butte County, CACA209,21119.5%−11%

26Solano County, CACA455,37618.7%−12%

27Mendocino County, CACA88,12217.8%−12%

28Fresno County, CACA1,035,45616.9%−4%

29Mariposa County, CACA16,91816.8%−17%

30Sierra County, CACA3,09815.9%−8%

31Sutter County, CACA98,78715.4%+1%

32Plumas County, CACA18,58315.1%−14%

33San Bernardino County, CACA2,224,09114.9%−6%

34Tuolumne County, CACA53,16014.7%−9%

35Riverside County, CACA2,544,91614.6%−12%

36Calaveras County, CACA46,60514.4%−16%

37San Benito County, CACA70,08214.4%−16%

38Siskiyou County, CACA42,01314.2%−20%

39Amador County, CACA41,87614.0%−16%

40Shasta County, CACA181,64813.7%−17%

41Inyo County, CACA18,15813.5%−21%

42Kern County, CACA927,06813.3%−2%

43San Joaquin County, CACA823,81513.2%−9%

44Stanislaus County, CACA557,71913.0%−8%

45Trinity County, CACA15,72012.9%−17%

46Merced County, CACA297,26012.0%+9%

47Tulare County, CACA485,14611.8%+3%

48Madera County, CACA167,92711.7%−3%

49Lassen County, CACA28,11711.7%+9%

50Modoc County, CACA8,42611.2%−10%

51Colusa County, CACA21,83611.1%+4%

52Lake County, CACA67,77210.7%−11%

53Tehama County, CACA64,66510.2%−9%

54Del Norte County, CACA26,41010.0%−9%

55Imperial County, CACA181,4119.7%−6%

56Yuba County, CACA88,6919.5%−8%

57Glenn County, CACA28,1419.4%−12%

58Kings County, CACA154,3279.0%−14%

SHOWING 1–58 OF 58

Download CSV (full list, 58 rows)

UPDATED 2026-06-02 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU ACS 5-YEAR ESTIMATES