OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
Educational Attainment The average level of education in the downtown study area is relatively high. Residents ages 25 and over have an average of 13.8 years of schooling in 2017, or 1.8 years of education beyond high school on average. 35 This exceeds the average level of schooling for the county (13.5 years), metropolitan area (13.5 years), state (13.3 years), and nation (13.5 years). A bachelor’s degree or higher is held by 38.4% of residents in the study area, well above the county (31.2%), metro area (29.6%), state (24.8%) and nation (30.9%) using a comparable five-year Census ACS measure. Education Across Tracts . There is considerable variation in educational attainment across the Census tracts in the study area. Figure 25 details the distribution of educational attainment for each tract. The relatively high overall education level in the study area is traced largely to the northern highly residential tracts. Education levels are far higher in the three northernmost tracts (1016, 1017, and 1018), with 68% of residents having completed a bachelor’s degree or higher. The average length of schooling in these three tracts is 15.3 years (3.3 years beyond high school), with 86% of residents having completed some education beyond high school. In tract 1017 in the north, approximately 95% of residents have some education beyond high school, 79% report a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 45% hold a graduate or professional degree. Among the southern tracts, the highest levels of attainment are found in tracts 1036.01 (15.3 years, Downtown and Myriad Gardens) and 1038 (16.3 years, Bricktown and Deep Deuce), with residents in both having roughly a college degree on average. More than half of residents in these two tracts have a bachelor’s degree or higher, well above the state and national average. More than 86% of residents in tract 1038 (Bricktown and Deep Deuce) have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher, the highest share among all tracts in the study area. The lowest educational attainment levels in 2017 are found in tract 1037 (11.6 years, Union Station) and tract 1040 (11.4 years, south of I-40 to the Oklahoma River). Residents in both tracts have completed slightly less than a high school diploma on average with few completing a bachelor’s degree or higher. Two other tracts – 1036.02 (11.9 years, Police Department and Courts) and 1091 (12.4 years, Automobile Alley to Cox Center) – report a low average attainment level approximately equaling high school completion, as well as a low share of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher.
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