Across the city, Chicagoans are becoming more educated, Census Bureau estimates

In the midst of a three-year decline in population, Chicago’s population has grown more educated overall, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The Census Bureau estimates that 37.4 percent of Chicagoans 25 or older had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2017. That’s up from 32.2 percent in 2010.

In all but nine of Chicago’s 77 community areas, the share of those holding a bachelor’s degree or higher went up over those seven years, based on the recently released estimates. Four communities had an increase of more than 10 percentage points: Avondale, Logan Square, Pullman and the Lower West Side, which includes Pilsen.

Among community areas, Lincoln Park has the highest share overall of bachelor’s degree holders, at 83.5 percent, up 2.5 percentage points from 2010. Hyde Park is the community area with the highest percentage of graduate degree holders, at 49.5 percent. That’s up from 44.1 percent in 2010

The median income for a Chicagoans 25 and older was estimated to be $39,917 in 2017, compared with $35,090 in 2010. Chicagoans with just a bachelor’s degree made a median of $55,641 in 2017 ($50,788 in 2010). The median income for those with graduate degrees was $72,262 last year, compared with $62,550 in 2010.

Compared with the nation’s 25 largest cities, Chicago ranks as 12th-most educated, higher than bigger New York City and Los Angeles but well below Seattle, where 62 percent of the population has a bachelor’s degree.