Facts about Latinos and Education

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Educational attainment for U.S. Latinos has rapidly changed in recent years as it has begun reflecting the population’s growth. Latinos have experienced growth in the nation’s public K-12 schools and in its colleges and universities. In the past 10 years, the high school dropout rate for Latinos has declined while college enrollment has increased.

Latinos still trail other ethnic and racial groups in terms of bachelor’s degrees earned. In a recent poll, roughly 83% cited education as being very important in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, ranking alongside the economy, health care, and terrorism as the top issues for Latinos. Despite the emphasis on education and the gains Latinos have made, there are still obstacles to college enrollment for many.

In a 2014 National Journal poll, 66% of Latinos who either joined the military or got a full-time job after high school instead of enrolling in college did so citing a need to support their families. This compared to 39% of whites who gave the same reason.

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The Pew Research Center has compiled some new facts about Latinos and education:

The Latino high school dropout rate reached a new low in 2014, dropping from 32% in 2000 to 12% in 2014 among those ages 18 to 24. This lowered the national dropout rate from 12% to 7% over the same time period – also a new low. Still, dropout for Latinos rate remains higher than that of blacks (7%), whites (5%) and Asians (1%).
Latinos are making large inroads in college enrollment. In 2014, 35% of Hispanics ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in a two- or four-year college, up from 22% in 1993 – a 13-percentage-point increase. This accounted for 2.3 million Latino college students in 2014.
Even though more Latinos are getting a post-secondary education than ever before, they still lag in obtaining a four-year degree. Among Latinos aged 25-29, only 15% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. By comparison, nearly 41% of whites have a bachelor’s degree or higher (as do 22% of blacks and 63% of Asians).
Nearly half of all Latinos who go to college attend a public two-year school, or community college. This is the highest share of any race or ethnicity. By comparison, among college-goers, 30% of whites, 32% of Asians and 36% of blacks go to a community college.
Latinos are significantly less likely than other groups to have student debt. In Latino households headed by someone younger than 40, less than 22% have student loans. The share is nearly twice as high among young white households (42%) and young black households (40%). Despite growing college enrollment, young Latinos are not as likely to go to college as some other groups.