Educated Alameda Beats State Average

The number of college-educated residents in Alameda makes it one of the better educated cities in California, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

In Alameda, 90.5 percent of residents age 25 or older have at least a high school diploma, and 44.9 percent hold a bachelor's degree or higher, according to an analysis by the California Department of Finance's Demographic Research Unit. 

For Alameda County as a whole, those figures are 85.7 percent for a high school diploma and 40.3 percent for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Palo Alto topped a list of the most educated cities in California, Lafayette ranked number 7 and Berkeley came in at number 9.

California Watch reports that about 8 of 10 Palo Alto residents age 25 and older hold at least a bachelor's degree. The city, which is home to tech giants Facebook and Hewlett-Packard, also has the state's highest rate of graduate or professional degrees among residents age 25 and older: 49.8 percent, according to the 2008-10 American Community Survey.

Statewide, 80.6 percent of Californians are at least high school graduates and 3 of 10 have a bachelor's degree or higher. Around 10.9 percent have a graduate or professional degree. For 1 in 5 California residents, the highest level of education attained is a high school diploma or equivalent. More than 2.5 million Californians reached less than ninth grade in school, including nearly 553,000 —2.3 percent of the state's population — who completed no schooling, data show.

California has slightly higher rates of bachelor's and graduate or professional degrees when compared with the rest of the nation, but it also has more residents with less than a ninth-grade education: 10.5 percent versus 6.2 percent.

In Alameda, the median income was $48,945 annually for people with a graduate or professional degree — a jump of $21,345 from the median income of people with a bachelor's degree, and $32,185 per year more than those without a high school diploma. 

Below are the 10 most and least educated cities in California. The list is based on educational attainment data for residents age 25 and older and includes only places with a population of 20,000 or more.

Percentage of residents with a bachelor's degree or higher:

1. Palo Alto, 79.7 percent
2. Los Altos, 76.2 percent
3. Saratoga, 75.9 percent
4. Cupertino, 73.4 percent
5. Manhattan Beach, 72.9 percent
6. Lafayette, 71.4 percent
7. La Cañada Flintridge, 70.7 percent
8. Davis, 69.1 percent
9. Berkeley, 68.4 percent
10. Menlo Park, 68.1 percent

Least well-educated cities as measured by percentage of residents who did not complete ninth grade:

1. Bell Gardens, 44.9 percent
2. Maywood, 44.5 percent
3. Florence-Graham, 43 percent
4. Cudahy, 37.9 percent
5. Lennox, 37.6 percent
6. Bell, 36.5 percent
7. East Los Angeles, 36 percent
8. Watsonville, 35.4 percent
9. Huntington Park, 34.9 percent
10. Coachella, 34.7 percent

California Watch and Emily Henry contributed to this report.