An inclusive and equitable economic recovery in New York will require major new investments in job training, apprenticeships, digital literacy programs, and other skills-building initiatives that help lower-income New Yorkers access good jobs. The city’s employers should also rise to this challenge, making fundamental changes in how they recruit, hire, train, and promote employees, and shifting toward practices that value skills alongside educational credentials. But it will also require policymakers to make a bold commitment to help more New Yorkers achieve a college credential.

While New York City is home to an almost unparalleled concentration of highly educated people, this report finds glaring and persistent educational attainment gaps by race, ethnicity, and geography. Just 20 percent of Hispanic New Yorkers, 27 percent of Black New Yorkers, and 45 percent of Asian New Yorkers hold a bachelor’s degree, compared to 64 percent of white New Yorkers. In 39 of the city’s 55 Census-defined neighborhoods, fewer than one-quarter of working-age Hispanic residents hold a bachelor’s degree—and in 14 neighborhoods, the rate is under 15 percent. In 29 neighborhoods, fewer than 30 percent of Black residents hold a bachelor’s degree.

An analysis of Census data on college attainment rates across the five boroughs shows a city sharply divided by educational credentials. For instance, while 87 percent of working-age residents in Greenwich Village and 86 percent of those living on the Upper East Side hold at least a bachelor’s degree, the rate is just 15 percent in East New York, 13 percent in Mount Hope, and 12 percent in Hunts Point. In one-third of the city’s Census-defined neighborhoods—18 out of 55—fewer than 30 percent of residents hold at least a bachelor’s degree. In eight neighborhoods, fewer than 18 percent of residents do.  

Overall, 2.84 million working-age adults across the five boroughs do not have a four-year degree or higher. This includes nearly a million working-age New Yorkers in both Brooklyn (867,129) and Queens (862,209), and roughly 600,000 in the Bronx (596,462). In every borough but Manhattan, the number of working-age adults with a high school diploma or less outnumbers those with a bachelor’s degree.

For New York to succeed in rebuilding a more equitable economy, city and state policymakers—working with employers and philanthropy—will need to prioritize closing gaps in college attainment and helping far more New Yorkers get on the path to a credential. This is especially the case given the city’s increasingly bifurcated economy, which over the past decade produced a large number of low-wage jobs that were accessible to individuals without a college credential and a smaller number of higher-wage jobs that mainly went to those with at least a bachelor’s degree. These trends have only accelerated during the pandemic-induced economic crisis, which has disproportionately impacted workers without a college credential and industries with large numbers of accessible jobs. The challenges are compounded by the likelihood of a slow recovery for New York’s tourism economy, which supports a higher share of jobs that are accessible without a college degree than any other sector, the acceleration of automation across a broad cross-section of the city’s industries and occupations—such as food service, logistics, construction, and bookkeeping—and deepening problems for brick-and-mortar retailers even as e-commerce booms.  

To be sure, New York has made progress in boosting college attainment. Over the past decade, college attainment rates increased in every borough, and across all racial groups. Citywide, the share of working-age residents with a BA or higher shot up from 35.1 percent to 40.1 percent between 2008 and 2018. The rate increased in all but three of the city’s 55 Census-defined neighborhoods. In total, 290,863 more working-age adults across the city had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2018 than in 2008. The City University of New York (CUNY) is also graduating more New Yorkers: 57,139 in 2019, up 44 percent over the past 10 years.

But the growth in degree attainment has not been rapid or equitable enough to keep pace with the changing economy—or to spark meaningful changes in the racial composition of New York’s high- and middle-wage industries. At the same time, some of the recent gains in college attainment are likely the result of highly educated people moving into the city. Indeed, this analysis shows that college attainment rates increased fastest in gentrifying neighborhoods, with many of the greatest gains among white residents.

Other findings of our report include:

No other city has more college-educated residents, but the high overall number masks enormous disparities by race, ethnicity, and geography.

• While 65 percent of working-age Manhattan residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher, the rate is considerably lower in each of the other four boroughs: 39.6 percent in Brooklyn, 35.7 percent on Staten Island, 34 percent in Queens, and 20.5 percent in the Bronx.
• The bachelor’s attainment rate is over 50 percent in just one-fifth (11) of the city’s 55 neighborhoods.
• In eight neighborhoods across the city—all in the Bronx and Brooklyn—fewer than 18 percent of residents have a bachelor’s degree: Hunts Point/Longwood/Melrose (12.2 percent), Morris Heights/Fordham South/Mount Hope (12.7 percent), Belmont/Crotona Park East/East Tremont (14 percent), East New York/Starrett City (15.5 percent), Brownsville/Ocean Hill (16.1 percent), Bedford Park/Fordham North/Norwood (16.2 percent). Concourse/Highbridge/Mount Eden (17.3 percent), and Castle Hill/Clason Point/Parkchester (17.5 percent).
• In 39 of the city’s 55 neighborhoods, less than one-quarter of Hispanic residents hold a bachelor’s or higher level of educational attainment. In 16 neighborhoods, fewer than 25 percent of Black residents have a bachelor’s degree. The same is true in 2 neighborhoods for Asian residents and 4 neighborhoods for white residents. 
   

While there are racial disparities in college attainment across the city, several neighborhoods have particularly wide gaps.

• In Jackson Heights, while only 11.1 percent of the neighborhood’s Hispanic residents hold a bachelor's degree, the rate is 57.8 percent for white residents.
• In Bushwick, 71.1 percent of white residents have a bachelor’s or higher, compared to 24.5 percent of Black residents and 14.1 percent of Hispanic residents.
• In East Harlem, the bachelor’s attainment rate is 74.9 percent for white residents, 26.9 percent for Black residents, and 19.0 percent for Hispanic residents.
• In the Concourse/Highbridge/Mount Eden neighborhood in the Bronx, 46.2 percent of white residents have a bachelor's degree, compared to 13.7 percent of Hispanic residents and 22.9 percent of Black residents.
   

The largest gains in college attainment over the past decade have occurred in gentrifying neighborhoods, exacerbating racial and ethnic achievement gaps.

• In Brownsville/Ocean Hill, the share of white residents with a BA nearly quadrupled, from 11.4 percent to 42.7 percent. The increases were smaller for Black (11.5 percent to 16 percent) and Hispanic (6.2 percent to 12.2 percent) residents.
• In East Flatbush/Farragut/Rugby, bachelor’s degree attainment rates for white residents similarly shot up by nearly 400 percent (14.8 percent to 57.7 percent), whereas the gains were more modest for Black residents (19.6 percent to 26.5 percent) and Hispanics (10.6 percent to 21.2 percent).
• In Jackson Heights/North Corona, the share of white residents with a bachelor’s went from 39.6 percent to 57.8 percent, but the share of Hispanics fell from 12.8 percent to 11.1 percent.
• The share of Bushwick residents with a bachelor’s degree skyrocketed from 13.8 percent in 2008 to 33.5 percent in 2018, yet the biggest gains were among white residents (41.7 percent to 71.1 percent). The gains were notable but more modest among Black (14.6 percent to 24.5 percent) and Hispanic (8.2 percent to 14.1 percent) residents.
• In Concourse/Highbridge/Mount Eden, the increase was higher for white residents (18.4 percent to 46.2 percent) than for Black residents (13.8 percent to 22.9 percent) and Hispanic residents (7.9 percent to 13.7 percent).
• In Prospect Lefferts/Wingate/Crown Heights South, bachelor’s attainment is up 14.3 percent higher overall, but up just 4.9 percent among Black residents despite their making up 63.1 percent of the working-age population. 23 percent of Black residents of Prospect Lefferts hold a bachelor’s, compared with 67.4 percent of white residents
• In Central Harlem, the number of Hispanic residents with a bachelor’s is up 118 percent, white residents up 113.2 percent, and Asian residents up 79.9 percent, but the number of Black residents with a bachelor’s has grown just 22.7 percent, despite Black residents making up 53.2 percent of the neighborhood’s working-age population.
   

Nearly 700,000 working-age New Yorkers have completed some college but have no degree, signaling an important opportunity to boost college attainment. 

• 678,871 working-age residents across New York City—14.3 percent of all New Yorkers between 25 and 64—have some college, but no degree.
• This includes roughly 220,000 Hispanic New Yorkers, 210,00 Black residents, 170,000 white residents, and 61,000 Asian residents.
• 21 percent of working-age Black New Yorkers have some college, but no degree, compared with 17 percent of Hispanic New Yorkers, 11 percent of white New Yorkers, and 8 percent of Asian New Yorkers.
   

There are many complex factors driving disparities in educational attainment. Some populations are aging out of the workforce, while influxes of immigrants, recent college graduates, and others are reshaping neighborhood demographics.

But the bottom line is that New York City needs to help thousands more city residents—particularly New Yorkers of color in lower-income households—get on the path to a college credential. Doing so is not only crucial to creating a more equitable and inclusive economy by helping New Yorkers from all backgrounds access the good jobs of today and tomorrow. It will also be critical to reviving the city’s battered economy and meeting the workforce needs of city employers in an environment where a global pandemic may force businesses to rely on the local workforce more than ever before.

Making meaningful progress will require significant new educational investments, from early childhood through the city’s public community and senior colleges. It will necessitate improvements in college readiness among the city’s high school students, as well as continued improvements in graduation rates at CUNY—particularly for students in its community colleges. At the same time, the massive number of New Yorkers without a college credential—including nearly 1.2 million Black and Hispanic residents who have at most a high school diploma—suggests that city officials need to significantly ramp up adult workforce training programs. Although this data brief is intended to shed light on the scope and scale of the disparities in college attainment across the city, there are a number of steps we believe city officials should take.

• Set a 10-year goal to achieve a 50 percent increase in the number of Black, Latinx, and Asian New Yorkers with a college credential—with a focus on closing gaps in the city's lowest-income communities. A bold goal can help drive this issue forward, but only if it is backed up with a multifaceted set of policies and investments to get there. To rebuild a more inclusive economy, New York’s next mayor should make boosting college success a top priority.
• Double community college graduation rates by expanding evidence-backed programs that have proven effective. It’s not enough to help New Yorkers graduate high school and enroll in college; persistently low college completion rates demand that city and state leaders do much more to ensure that low-income students who do enroll in public colleges can graduate with a credential. Despite some clear progress in recent years, graduation rates remain painfully low: just 22 percent of students at CUNY’s community colleges earn a two-year degree within three years. To dramatically boost college success, city and state leaders should create a Student Success Fund to scale up evidence-backed interventions that work, starting with making CUNY’s successful ASAP program universal for all community college students. For many students, the non-tuition costs of attending college prove far more challenging than simply affording tuition. New York can help tackle these barriers by granting every community college student a free MetroCard, subsidizing technology and broadband costs for low-income students, and expanding free on-campus and community-based childcare to all student parents. The city and state should also incentivize the continuing push to reimagine counterproductive remedial education, such as by expanding the CUNY Start program and initiatives designed to help students start earning college credits from day one.
• Expand innovative alternative pathways to earn a college credential. While a four-year degree is clearly linked to much higher lifetime earnings, these high-stakes, high-cost degrees should not be the sole focus of higher education. Policymakers and education officials should work with industry leaders to develop and expand short-term academic certificate and industry-recognized credential programs that can stack up to a two- or four-year degree. A major expansion of academic certificate programs could provide quicker access to job opportunities and income gains while helping far more New Yorkers earn college degrees while working. Likewise, the city should greatly expand efforts to enroll high school students in early college programs—including through career-focused programs like apprenticeships. In addition, city leaders should launch a major campaign to help more of the nearly 700,000 working-age New Yorkers with some college but no degree to access job-relevant, credit-bearing courses that can help them reach the finish line.
• Include investments in skills-building programs that go beyond college degrees. A comprehensive plan to expand access to good jobs should also include non-degree investments in skills training for adults who don’t have a college credential, such as apprenticeships, workforce training, and tech skills-building programs, which can provide valuable credentials for New Yorkers looking to gain a foothold in high-growth sectors such as technology, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing—or who see the need to reskill as the needs of the economy change—but for whom a traditional college degree may not be the best option. These programs should be developed in partnership with industry leaders and small businesses, result in marketable credentials, focus on the neighborhoods and communities with the greatest need, and include wraparound supports for the same non-tuition barriers—from childcare to technology—that derail aspiring low-income college students.
   

Methodology

This analysis is conducted on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 and 2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. More specifically, we look at educational attainment for working-age (age 25-64) residents of the five boroughs of New York City.

Appendix - Borough Breakdowns

Bronx

• 43.2 percent of white Bronx residents aged 25-64 hold a bachelor’s or higher, compared with 37 percent of Asian Bronxites, 22.2 percent of Black Bronxites, and 14.5 percent of Hispanic Bronxites.
• For working-age Hispanics, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in all 10 of the Bronx’s Census-defined neighborhoods. For working-age Black residents, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 6 of the Bronx’s 10 neighborhoods.
• In the Bronx, 20.5 percent of the working-age population have a BA or higher level of educational attainment. Another 8.0 percent have an associate's degree.
• The Bronx's BA attainment rate for working-age residents increased from 18.4 percent in 2008 to 20.5 percent in 2018. In total, 24,995 more working-age Bronx residents had at least a BA in 2018 than in 2008.
• 18.8 percent of working-age residents in the Bronx have some college but no degree--the highest rate in the city.
• 52.7 percent of working-age residents in the Bronx have no college experience, meaning they have at most a high school diploma.
• The BA attainment rate for working-age adults in the Bronx is under 40 percent in 9 of the borough’s 10 neighborhoods. It is over 50 percent in 0 neighborhoods, and it is under 18 percent in 6 neighborhoods.
• In the Bronx, the BA attainment rate for working-age Hispanics is lowest in Hunts Point/Longwood/Melrose (11.1 percent) and highest in Co-op City/Pelham Bay (24.7 percent). For working-age Black residents, it is lowest in Hunts Point/Longwood/Melrose (12.4 percent) and highest in Riverdale/Kingsbridge (35.6 percent). For working-age Asian residents, it is lowest in Bedford Park/Fordham North/Norwood (28.7 percent) and highest in Riverdale/Kingsbridge (57.8 percent). For working-age white residents, it is lowest in Morris Heights/Fordham South/Mount Hope (15.5 percent) and highest in Riverdale/Kingsbridge (70.4 percent).

Brooklyn

• 60.4 percent of working-age white Brooklynites hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 37.5 percent of Asian Brooklynites, 26.3 percent of Black Brooklynites, and 20.2 percent of Hispanic Brooklynites.
• For working-age Hispanics, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 12 of Brooklyn’s 18 Census-defined neighborhoods. For working-age Black residents, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 5 of Brooklyn’s 18 neighborhoods.
• In Brooklyn, 39.6 percent of the working-age population have at least a bachelor's degree, the second-highest rate behind Manhattan. Another 6.4 percent have an associate's degree.
• Brooklyn's BA attainment rate for working-age residents increased from 30.4 percent in 2008 to 39.6 percent in 2018--the largest jump of any borough. In total, 162,788 more working-age Brooklynites had at least a BA in 2018 than in 2008.  
• 14.1 percent of working-age Brooklynites have some college but no degree.
• 40.0 percent of working-age Brooklyn residents have no college experience. This translates into 574,201 individuals, the most of any borough.
• The BA attainment rate for working-age adults in Brooklyn is under 40 percent in 12 of the borough’s 18 Census-defined neighborhoods. It is over 50 percent in 3 neighborhoods, and it is under 25 percent in 2 neighborhoods.
• In Brooklyn, the BA attainment rate for working-age Hispanics is lowest in East New York/Starrett City (10.7 percent) and highest in Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Red Hook (42.3 percent). For working-age Black residents, it is lowest in Brownsville/Ocean Hill (16.0 percent) and highest in Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights (62.5 percent). For working-age Asian residents, it is lowest in Sunset Park/Windsor Terrace (19.6 percent) and highest in Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Red Hook (83.8 percent). For working-age white residents, it is lowest in East New York/Starrett City (17.4 percent) and highest in Park Slope/Carroll Gardens/Red Hook (86.8 percent).

Manhattan

• 87.2 percent of working-age white Manhattan residents hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 72.3 percent of Asian residents, 34.2 percent of Black residents, and 29.3 Hispanic residents.
• For working-age Hispanics, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 4 of Manhattan’s 10 Census-defined neighborhoods. For working-age Black residents, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 1 of Manhattan’s 10 neighborhoods.
• In Manhattan, 65.0 percent of working-age residents have at least a BA, the highest of any borough by far. Another 4.2 percent have an associate's degree.
• Manhattan's BA attainment rate for working-age adults increased from 60.2 percent to 65.0 percent between 2008 and 2018. In total, 38,701 more working-age Manhattan residents had at least a BA in 2018 than in 2008.
• 9.3 percent of Manhattan's working-age adults have some college but no degree.
• 21.5 percent of working-age residents in Manhattan have no college experience.
• The BA attainment rate for working-age adults in Manhattan is under 40 percent in 2 of the borough’s 10 Census-defined neighborhoods. It is over 50 percent in 6 neighborhoods, and it is under 25 percent in 0 neighborhoods.
• In Manhattan, the BA attainment rate for working-age Hispanics is lowest in East Harlem (19.0 percent) and highest in Soho/Battery Park City/Greenwich Village (74.0 percent). For working-age Black residents, it is lowest in Lower East Side/Chinatown (22.9 percent) and highest in Soho/Battery Park City/Greenwich Village (67.2 percent). For working-age Asian residents, it is lowest in Lower East Side/Chinatown (33.7 percent) and highest in Upper East Side (91.1 percent). For working-age white residents, it is lowest in East Harlem (74.9 percent) and highest in Midtown East/Murray Hill/Gramercy/Stuyvesant Town (90.3 percent).

Queens

• 50.6 percent of white Queens residents aged 25-64 hold a bachelor’s or higher, compared with 39.7 percent of Asian residents, 27.5 percent of Black residents, and 18.4 percent of Hispanic residents.
• For working-age Hispanics, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 11 of Queens’ 14 Census-defined neighborhoods. For working-age Black residents, the BA attainment rate is below 25 percent in 4 of Queens’ 14 neighborhoods.
• In Queens, 34.0 percent of working-age residents have at least a bachelor's degree, the second-lowest percentage among the five boroughs. Another 8.4 percent have an associate's degree.
• Queens' BA attainment rate for working-age residents increased from 30.6 percent to 34.0 percent between 2008 and 2018. In total, 52,121 more working-age Queens adults had at least a BA in 2018 than in 2008.
• 15.2 percent of working-age Queens residents have some college but no degree--or a total of 198,950 individuals.
• 42.4 percent of working-age residents in Queens have no college experience, the second-highest rate in the city. This translates into 553,314 individuals.
• The BA attainment rate for working-age adults in Queens is under 40 percent in 9 of the borough’s 14 Census-defined neighborhoods. It is over 50 percent in 2 neighborhoods, and it is under 25 percent in 3 neighborhoods.
• In Queens, the BA attainment rate for working-age Hispanics is lowest in Elmhurst/South Corona (10.3 percent) and highest in Forest Hills/Rego Park (40.0 percent). For working-age Black residents, it is lowest in Far Rockaway/Breezy Point/Broad Channel (22.3 percent) and highest in Forest Hills/Rego Park (73.8 percent). For working-age Asian residents, it is lowest in Flushing/Murray Hill/Whitestone (25.0 percent) and highest in Forest Hills/Rego Park (70.2 percent). For working-age white residents, it is lowest in Jamaica/Hollis/St. Albans (18.3 percent) and highest in Astoria/Long Island City (64.7 percent).

Staten Island

• 45.5 percent of working-age Asian Staten Islanders have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 40.2 percent of white Staten Islanders, 28.5 percent of Black Staten Islanders, and 18.5 percent of Hispanic Staten Islanders.
• 35.7 percent of Staten Island's working-age adults have at least a bachelor's degree, third-highest among the five boroughs.
• Staten Island's BA attainment rate for working-age adults increased from 29.8 percent in 2008 to 35.7 percent in 2018. This was the second-highest gain of any borough (behind Brooklyn). In total, 12,258 more working-age Staten Islanders had at least a BA in 2018 than in 2008.
• 17.8 percent of working-age Staten Islanders have some college but no degree, the highest rate in the city. This translates into 45,410 individuals.
• 38.1 percent of working-age adults on Staten Island have no college experience, or a total of 97,194 individuals.
• In all three of the borough’s Census-defined neighborhoods, the BA attainment rate is between 30 and 40 percent.
• On Staten Island, the BA attainment rate for working-age Hispanics is lowest in Port Richmond/Stapleton/Mariner's Harbor (15.5 percent) and highest in Tottenville/Great Kills/Annandale (27.9 percent). For working-age Black residents, it is lowest in both New Springville/South Beach and Port Richmond/Stapleton/Mariner's Harbor (both had 28.3 percent) and highest in Tottenville/Great Kills/Annandale (32.5 percent). For working-age Asian residents, it is lowest in Port Richmond/Stapleton/Mariner's Harbor (42.7 percent) and highest in New Springville/South Beach (48.9 percent). For working-age white residents, it is lowest in New Springville/South Beach (38.6 percent) and highest in Port Richmond/Stapleton/Mariner's Harbor (43.3 percent).

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