Over Two-Fifths of Clackamas County Residents Have a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher

April 3, 2025

Educational attainment is a baseline metric of the qualifications of the labor market, and in Oregon, the population tends to have a higher level of education. Roughly one in three people over age 25 in Oregon have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the 2023 American Community Survey estimates. This share is slightly higher in Clackamas County, where 41% of people have attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

More education tends to correlate with higher wages. That being said, there are still high-wage and high-demand careers that do not require college education. Matching opportunities between local jobs and jobseekers’ skills and training is more important for an efficient labor market than maximizing the percentage of graduates of a particular degree.

Educational Attainment by Area

Though Clackamas County tends to have higher levels of education than Oregon and the United States, educational attainment varies widely across the county. Two of the northwest portions of the county – Milwaukie and Happy Valley, and Oregon City, Gladstone, and Oak Grove – have fewer residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher than Clackamas County, at 37% and 31%, respectively. In Clackamas County’s rural areas (Canby, Sandy, Estacada, and Molalla), only 26% of residents had a bachelor’s degree or higher. Contrastingly, a significantly higher share (64%) of residents living in the far west portion of the county (Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Wilsonville) had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Median Earnings by Area

Median income or earnings is the middle value when incomes are sorted by value, representing the income level where half of wage earners earn more and half earn less. This data incorporates individuals 25 years and older, an age at which most people have completed their maximum amount of schooling. When looking at median income for the population 25 years and over, Clackamas County’s median income ($59,037) was about 13% higher than the U.S. ($51,288) and Oregon ($51,388). Median earnings were higher in Clackamas County than the U.S. and Oregon for all educational attainment levels. Higher levels of education in Clackamas County is one factor that can contribute to higher median incomes as well as the industry mix where a higher percentage of employment in an area is in higher wage industries.