Dec 19, 2025
Seattle has hit a milestone that may be a first for any U.S. city — more than 70% of its residents who are 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, the Spokesman-Review reported, using U.S. Census Bureau data.
The number of highly educated people in Seattle has increased significantly in the last 20 years. In the year 2000, college graduates accounted for 47% of the city, and by 2010, that number had reached 56%.
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Seattle is outpacing other major U.S. cities when it comes to educational attainment, beating out Washington, D.C., where 65.5% of people over 25 held degrees, Atlanta (62.1%), San Francisco (60.9%) and Austin (60.7%) (1).
But the other metric that’s also increased in these cities? House prices. The median home price in Seattle in November was $865,000 according to Redfin (2), more than double the median price in the U.S. of $410,800, according to the Federal Reserve (3). In Washington, D.C., the median house price in November was $700,000 (4), and in San Francisco it was a whopping $1.5 million (5).
Cities reported by the Spokesman-Review to have the lowest numbers of degree holders — Detroit (18.8%), Fresno (24.8%), Las Vegas (28%), Memphis (28.6%) and El Paso (28.7%) — are more affordable when it comes to housing (though they may face other issues) (6).
An analysis by SmartAsset that ranked the 50 largest U.S. cities by housing affordability found that in all of these cities, the housing to income ratio was below 28%, a metric that many financial advisers use as a rule of thumb for affordability (7).
However, due to higher median incomes, Seattle’s housing to income ratio is also below the 28% mark, at 24.27%, but the median household income is $118,745, significantly higher than the national median household income of $83,730. By comparison, the median household income in Detroit is $39,209 (8).
The cost-of-living dilemma
The high cost of housing in cities with educated populations puts a wrinkle in the plans of educated Americans who are considering moving, changing careers, or entering the job market for the first time.
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Moving to cities such as Seattle or San Francisco will mean a higher cost of living, but can be worth it for those who are able to secure well-paying jobs. Both Seattle and San Fran are hubs for jobs in the tech sector. The Seattle Times reports that 52% of degree holders in that city had STEM educations, based on 2023 data (9).
Remote workers appear to be responding to rising housing costs in major cities by moving to lower-cost areas. According to a survey conducted by staffing company Howdy, one in five remote workers said they planned to relocate in 2025, with cost of living being a "significant motivator” (10).
Recent graduates, or those entering the workforce for the first time, may also find cities like this appealing. An analysis by Upgraded Points using Census Bureau data that compared median earnings for recent college graduates and earnings needed to cover necessary expenses found that the top-five cities for grads were:
- Tucson ($61,770 median earnings for recent graduates; $42,510 earnings needed for necessities)
- Milwaukee ($61,770 median earnings for recent graduates; $43,180 earnings needed for necessities)
- Houston ($61,770 median earnings for recent graduates; $46,010 earnings needed for necessities)
- Cincinnati ($56,620 median earnings for recent graduates; $42,690 earnings needed for necessities)
- Detroit ($56,620 median earnings for recent graduates; $43,000 earnings needed for necessities) (11).
Some states and municipalities offer workers incentives to move. According to MakeMyMove, the top states with regions that offer pay-to-move programs include Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana and Illinois.
These incentives can include cash for relocation and memberships to coworking spaces. In Ottawa County, Kansas, incentives include cash and a unique offer: five pounds of locally raised bison, according to MakeMyMove (12).
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The costs and benefits of a college degree
The Spokesman-Review noted that the upward trend of degree-holders moving to the city was “particularly interesting, as the number of college students has been declining in the U.S. since 2010.” The report notes that the climbing cost of higher education is a “major factor” in this decline, “but so is a growing sense among the American public that a college education is no longer worth the cost.”
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Indeed, an NBC News poll found that 63% of registered voters surveyed said that higher education is “not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt to pay off (13).”
While the cost of higher education has increased, so too has the income gap between households with college degrees versus those that do not. According to Census Bureau data, “Between 2004 and 2024, earnings of those with a high school degree but no college rose 3.2%, while earnings of those with a bachelor’s degree or more went up 6.3%.”
Census data from 2024 show that the median income of households with a high school degree but no college was $58,410. The median income of households with a bachelor’s degree or higher was $132,700 — more than double (14).
Those people have more money to play with — and more to offer for housing in an expensive housing market.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Spokesman-Review (1); Redfin (2); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (3); Redfin (4); Redfin (5); U.S. Census (6); SmartAsset (7); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (8); Seattle Times (9); Howdy (10); Upgraded Points (11); MakeMyMove (12); NBC News (13); U.S. Census (14)
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
