Over the past 15 years, there has been a significant shift in how people in the U.S. perceive the importance of a college education, according to a recent Gallup poll.
In 2010, 75% of respondents said a college education was “very important,” while 21% said it was “somewhat important.” In this year’s survey, those who view a college degree as “very important” dropped to just over a third (35%), and 40% said it was “somewhat important.” Almost a quarter (24%) now say a college education isn’t important at all, up from only 4% in 2010.
Notably, every U.S. subgroup has seen a significant drop in views about the importance of a college education.
In 2013, the first year Gallup divided the results into subgroups, 65% of men and 75% of women said a college education was important. In this year’s survey, those rates had dropped to 29% and 41%, respectively.
Among respondents Gallup labels as “Non-Hispanic White Adults,” 66% in 2013 and 28% in 2025 said a college education was important. At almost half (49%), those Gallup labels “People of Color” are most likely to see a college education as important. However, that is down from a high of 79% in 2013.
Although members of both major political parties have seen a drastic drop in their views, stark partisan differences remain. In this survey, 42% of Democrats and only 20% of Republicans said a college education is important. This is down from 83% for Democrats and 68% for Republicans in 2013.
More information on the Gallup survey, including results by level of education received and the survey’s methodology, is available on Gallup’s website.
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