Educational Attainment of Parents
Parental education is the education level of the most highly educated parent living in the household. Parents can either have no high school degree; a high school degree, but no college; or some college or more.
- In South Carolina, children whose parents have low educational attainment are more likely to be low-income.
- 88% (72,825) of children whose parents do not have a high school degree live in low-income families.
- 58% (158,578) of children whose parents have a high school degree, but no college education live in low-income families.
- Only 24% (145,640) of children whose parents have at least some college education live in low-income families
Low-Income Children by Parental Educational Attainment and Income Level
| Less Than High School (Most Educated Parent) | High School Diploma (Most Educated Parent) | Some College or More (Most Educated Parent) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-Income Children | Above Low-Income Children | Low-Income Children | Above Low-Income Children | Low-Income Children | Above Low-Income Children | |||||||
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | |
| South Carolina | 72,825 | 88% | 10,284* | 12% | 158,578 | 58% | 114,828 | 42% | 145,640 | 24% | 449,730 | 76% |
| United States | 6,859,218 | 83% | 1,387,760 | 17% | 9,558,975 | 55% | 7,943,997 | 45% | 10,400,000 | 23% | 33,940,000 | 77% |
*This estimate should be used with caution. It may be unreliable due to small sample size.
Source: National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
State data were calculated from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (the March supplement) of the Current Population Survey from 2002, 2003, and 2004, representing information from calendar years 2001, 2002, and 2003. NCCP averaged three years of data because of small sample sizes in less populated states. The national data were calculated from the 2004 data, representing information from calendar year 2003.