Educational Attainment

In the six-county region, as well as statewide, the largest population shares have attained high school diplomas, including equivalencies. In contrast, the smallest shares of the population in each county and statewide have received less than a 9th grade education. As of 2021, each county in the region has a higher percentage of high school graduates than the Commonwealth, but lower percentages of residents with bachelor’s degrees.

As of 2021, more than 90.0 percent of adults in Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, and Northumberland Counties have earned a high school diploma or higher. In Snyder and Union Counties, 86.5 percent and 88.2 percent of adults have earned a high school diploma or higher, respectively. Montour County has the highest percentage in the six-county region at 91.7 percent, whereas Snyder County has the lowest percentage at 86.5 percent. Overall, 90.3 percent of adults in the six-county region have earned a high school diploma or higher, which is slightly lower than that of the Commonwealth (91.9 percent).

College Attainment

Since 2017, the shares of adults with bachelor’s degrees or higher for each county in the region have generally trended upward. Montour County has the highest percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher at 35.6 percent, which is higher than that of the Commonwealth (34.5 percent). In contrast, Northumberland County has the lowest percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher at about 20.0 percent.

Higher Education Enrollment

Higher education enrollment in the six-county region has steadily decreased, seeing the largest decrease during the COVID-19 Pandemic. As of fall 2021, 19,027 students were enrolled at the five higher education institutions in the region, a 5.0 percent decrease from the previous year. Of those students, approximately 96.2 percent were undergraduates and 3.8 percent were graduate students. Bloomsburg University, now the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, had the highest enrollment total of both undergraduates (7,063 students) and graduate students (676 students).

Higher Education Completions

In 2021-2022 academic year, 6,555 degrees were awarded in the six-county region – the top three of which are in business administration and management (7.9 percent), registered nursing (6.0 percent), and general psychology (4.8 percent). Of these awards, approximately three-quarters are four-year (bachelor’s) degrees. Smaller shares are comprised of two-year (associate’s) degrees or certificates (16.3 percent) and postgraduate degrees (8.6 percent).

Disconnected Youth

Teens and young adults aged from 16-19 years who are neither working nor in school are considered disconnected youth. In the six-county region, Union County has the highest percentage of disconnected youth (11.8 percent). Conversely, Montour County has the lowest percentage of disconnected youth (4.4 percent), which is lower than that of the Commonwealth (6.3 percent). Snyder County also has a lower share of disconnected youth (4.6 percent) than the statewide share.