An educated population makes a more attractive workforce and is better prepared to instruct the next generation of residents. High educational attainment represents a region's investment in human capital and preparation for long-term growth.

In 2016-20, 64% of residents age 25 and older in the region had attended at least some college or earned a bachelor's degree, slightly above the state and national rates (both at 62%). Just 9% of adults in the region lacked a high school diploma, lower than both the statewide (13%) and national (11%) rates, and 34% had their bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 37% statewide and 33% nationally. Regional educational achievement rose from 2000 through 2016-20, with the share of individuals with no high school diploma falling 7 percentage points and the share of individuals with a bachelor's degree or higher increasing 8 points.

Among the individual counties, Ontario and Monroe had the highest rate of adults having attended some college or achieved a bachelor's degree, at 67% and 68%, respectively. Wyoming and Orleans had the lowest rates, at 50% and 47%, respectively. In the City of Rochester, 56% of residents had attended at least some college, in line with many counties in the region but lagging behind the cities of Geneva (59%) and Canandaigua (68%), though higher than Batavia (53%). Rochester also had the highest share of individuals without a high school diploma, at 18%. However, the percentage of City residents without a high school diploma fell 9 points from 2000.

The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are expected to be released in the fourth quarter.