CEDSSummary Background People & Communities
Educational Attainment
Understand the adult education profile behind local career pathways and workforce planning.
- Skills Foundation
- Completion Pathways
- Career Connections
County Data Explorer
Education and Career Foundations
One Region
Choose a measure, then select a county on the map or in the comparison below.
Compare the Five Counties
Sources and Map Notes
County boundaries are from the U.S. Census Bureau, January 1, 2024. This is a county comparison, not a map of neighborhoods, parcels, tribal jurisdiction, or hazard zones. County totals include residents of the Mescalero Apache Tribe within those boundaries.
U.S. Census Bureau: About County Boundaries ↗How Education Levels Compare
The chart shows the highest level completed by adults age 25 or older in each of the five counties. Choose one category to compare its share across counties. Each percentage uses that county’s own adults age 25 or older as its denominator, so a taller bar means a larger share—not necessarily more people.
The six choices form a full education profile: below high school; high school diploma or GED; some college without a degree; associate degree; bachelor’s degree; and graduate or professional degree. A resident appears in only one category. “Some college, no degree” means coursework without a completed associate or higher degree; it is not a measure of current enrollment or a count of people ready to return to school.
Adults Age 25+
People younger than 25 are excluded so current students do not distort the adult attainment comparison.
A Share Within Each County
Select a category to compare county percentages on the same zero-based scale. Open the data table to read all six categories together.
Skills or Job Readiness
A degree level cannot identify a person’s trade skills, experience, credentials, or interest in a specific career.
The differences are substantive but call for careful interpretation. Lea reports the largest below-high-school share at 25.3%, compared with 5.3% in Lincoln. Some college without a degree ranges from 19.3% in Lea to 26.4% in Eddy. These are different measures: the first describes foundational completion, while the second identifies adults who have already taken some college coursework. Neither explains why a resident stopped or what support they would want next.
Compare the Evidence
Highest Education Completed by County
Choose a measure and comparison order to explore the values. Bars start at zero; values remain visible beside every bar.
Below High School · A consistent zero-based scale makes the differences visible.
U.S. Census Bureau · 2020–2024 ACS 5-Year Estimates, table B15003. Universe: residents age 25 and older. Each person appears in one highest-completed category. County percentages are rounded and may not total exactly 100%; estimates have sampling uncertainty. Bachelor’s degree or higher combines bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees before rounding. View Source Definitions ↗
View All Values in a Table
| Area / Organization | Below High School | High School Diploma or GED | Some College, No Degree | Associate Degree | Bachelor’s Degree | Graduate or Professional Degree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lea | 25.3% | 32.3% | 19.3% | 7.5% | 8.2% | 7.4% |
| Chaves | 19.1% | 29.4% | 24.4% | 9.2% | 10.7% | 7.3% |
| Eddy | 16.6% | 27.5% | 26.4% | 10.2% | 11.5% | 7.8% |
| Otero | 12.2% | 28.5% | 26.2% | 10.4% | 15.1% | 7.6% |
| Lincoln | 5.3% | 24.8% | 25.6% | 12.1% | 18.7% | 13.5% |
Bachelor’s Degree or Higher in Context
The map’s “Bachelor’s Degree or Higher” measure combines bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral degrees. That combined measure is different from selecting “Bachelor’s Degree” alone in the chart. Lea and Lincoln mark the low and high ends of the five-county range. The composite is calculated from underlying counts before rounding, so adding two displayed rounded chart categories can differ by a tenth of a point.
Lea County
Adults age 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Lincoln County
The same combined measure, 16.7 percentage points above Lea’s estimate.
A higher degree share is one kind of local asset. It does not mean those residents work in the county, are available for a particular vacancy, or have the experience an employer requires. Likewise, adults without a college degree may have valuable occupational credentials and skills. The best workforce response connects these estimates with local program capacity, employer demand, and barriers to participation.
Key Insights
These planning implications follow from the county profile; they are not claims about an individual’s ability or reasons for pursuing education.
Make Foundational Learning Accessible
Lea’s 25.3% below-high-school share suggests a reason to assess demand for adult education, GED preparation, and supportive schedules. Ask residents and providers what prevents participation before expanding a program.
Create Practical Completion Routes
Every county has adults with some college and no degree. Colleges and employers can test credit transfer, short credentials, advising, and flexible formats without assuming everyone in this group wants the same pathway.
Connect Learning With Local Work
Pair the attainment profile with current employer needs and occupational evidence. Degree levels alone cannot tell whether a county has enough workers for healthcare, energy, construction, education, or other roles.
Coordinate Across Institutions
Use colleges, adult-education providers, workforce partners, and local employers to connect recruitment, training, and support. The map identifies where to ask better questions; partners must shape the actual response.