Discover the 5 Most Educated Places in Michigan

Education level — specifically, higher education than a high school diploma — plays a significant role in demographic data used worldwide. Even the National Center for Education Statistics used the data for its yearly report on the condition of education for 2023.

With such significance, it’s interesting to learn where the most educated places in the United States are. Using data from DataCommons.org, AZ Animals has compiled a list of the five most educated places in Michigan.

What Counts as Most Educated?

For the purposes of this article, the “most educated places in Michigan” are places defined as having the highest percentages of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The data does not define the degree type or discipline. It also excludes associate’s degrees and other certificates that are not bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees.

Michigan’s Commitment to Education

Michigan, like many other states, has felt the effects of the school shutdowns and COVID-19. A whopping 85% of parents polled in 2021 believed that the state leaders could have done more to help children make up for lost time and prepare for their next grade level.

As such, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced in the summer of 2023 a new department in the state government of Michigan to focus on improving educational outcomes from preschool to college. The department, Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), focuses on three different tiers of education and advancement: early childhood, higher education, and education partnerships.

Finally, Gov. Whitmer has put more resources into improving the quality of the curriculum and the teachers in schools. In October 2023, the state of Michigan created an incentive program for teachers to improve the quality of education state-wide. In the program, “Commitment to Teach,” educators receive funding from the MI Future Educator Fellowship for educational pursuits to become teachers and “agree to teach, full-time, in qualifying Michigan schools.”

5 Most Educated Places in Michigan

Did you know that Michigan is in the top 10 percent of U.S. states with the most colleges? It has 159 higher learning institutions, with a vast majority of them located in the lower peninsula.

Washtenaw County

Percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.3%

Michigan’s oldest, and arguably most selective university, The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, resides in Washtenaw County. With so many wonderful professors and staff working at the school, it’s no wonder this is the most educated county in the state.

Leelanau County

Percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.2%

Leelanau Public School District in Leelanau County gets an “A ” rating from Niche for its college prep — a significant compliment, given the complex methodology Niche uses to grade its public school districts. By combining college scores, diversity factors, parent and student surveys, enrollment in AP and colleges, as well as the graduation rate and AP test pass rate, Niche crowned Leelanau Public School as the best school district in the county.

Oakland County

Percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 34.8%

Seven of Oakland County’s communities remain top of the charts for educational attainment for persons over 25 years old. Oakland County places great importance on community involvement in education, with recent elections bringing more school funding and Lakeland High School marking teacher, Lindsay Rubin, winning an “Excellence in Education” award from the state’s lottery.

Keweenaw County

Percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 28.9%

Within Keweenaw County, residents remain incredibly well-educated. Despite coming third on the list of Michigan’s most educated places as it pertains to post-secondary education, the county has a 98% rate of residents being high school graduates as of 2022 data from the U.S. Census.

Grand Traverse County

Percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 27.4%

Traverse City, Michigan is home to Northwestern Michigan College — a popular community college in the state that prepares students for four-year degrees. Furthermore, some of the most common employment sectors in Grand Traverse County (as of 2022) include healthcare and trade, both of which many positions require a degree of higher education.

5 Least Educated Places in Michigan

Among the least educated places in Michigan were Clare County, Montcalm County, Oscoda County, and Lake County.

While reasons for education levels differ with region, environment, and availability of resources, some of the main contributing factors to less educated places in states like Michigan include:

• External circumstances (like COVID-19 and a lack of response for recovery).
• Lack of schools and resources.
• Geographic position in terms of infrastructure, community, and transportation.
• Lack of importance placed on higher education.
• Lack of job prospects.

“Least educated” doesn’t communicate that a town, city, or county is uneducated — rather, it simply describes the comparative percentage of residents in said place with a lower rate of post-secondary education degrees.

Michigan’s Most Educated

Among Michigan’s most educated residents are those living in Washtenaw, Leelanau, and Oakland counties. These counties place a heavy significance on primary and secondary education and even house some universities. The least educated counties in Michigan, while having fewer residents with advanced degrees, still fall under the state’s overall push for better educational programs between elementary and post-secondary pursuits.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/AnnaStills