What does this measure?

The number of residents with particular education level, expressed as a percentage of all residents 25 and older, broken down by race and ethnicity.

Why is this important?

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.

How are Cayuga and Seneca counties performing?

Education levels varied across racial and ethnic groups in the counties, though most groups were too small to report reliable figures. In 2006–10, 19% of white residents in both counties had a bachelor’s or higher degree, below state (excluding NYC) and national levels. In both counties, nearly 50% of African American residents lacked a high school diploma, compared to just over a third of Hispanic residents and 15% or less of whites, though these figures appear to reflect the state prison populations in both counties.

Notes about the data

The 2006–10 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. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%–50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%–35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census.