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https://Great-Liberal-Insights.Org/ about/REPLACE.info

How America's
blue vs. red states compare :

The states with the most educated people, i.e. scientists, scholars, teachers, lawyers, doctors, journalists, and successful citizens of all kinds are the ones that generally vote Democratic and are rewarded with all kinds of success, while the states with the fewest college-educated voters regularly elect Republicans to lead their states or to be their federal representatives and are "rewarded" (i.e. punished) with the lowest scores in most every category.
      Many of the graphs on this page were creeated by this site's architect, Ray Dubuque, in order to make the raw data easier to grasp. Many of the years used may now be dated, but much the data has not changed very much over the years. And the data years selected for use on thisd page were not chosen with any sinister intent. I only selected those years because they were the ones easiest to find on the www at the time. If I had the time, or a staff of helpers, I would like to have more current years to choose from. But I doubt that they would make either party's past record look much better or much worse.


Here's a graphic example of the correlation
between the level of education in the various states,
the way they vote, and the results for their states :

FOX Voting by education

The 2004 graph below lists the states by percentage of college-educated citizens, and shows how the better-educated states tend to be blue, and vote for Democrats (like Kerry), while those with fewer college-educated citizens tend to be red, and vote for Republicans (like Bush) :

ALL 50 states listed
by the level of education of its population
Maryland37.6 %     Alaska 25.6 %
Colorado35.7 %     New Mexico25.4 %
Virginia 34.6 %     N. Dakota25.3 %
Massachusetts34.3 %     Georgia 25.0 %
Connecticut32.6 %     Wisconsin24.7 %
New Jersey31.4 %     Ohio 24.5 %
Vermont30.8 %     Maine 23.8 %
Minnesota30.5 %     Indiana 23.7 %
New Hampshire30.1 %     Montana 23.6 %
Rhode Island30.1 %     S. Dakota23.6 %
Delaware29.5 %     S. Carolina 23.3 %
Kansas 29.1 %     Iowa 23.1 %
New York28.8 %     Alabama 22.7 %
Washington28.3 %     Michigan22.5 %
California27.9 %     N. Carolina 22.4 %
Illinois27.3 %     Louisiana 22.1 %
Oregon27.1 %     Nevada21.6 %
Nebraska27.1 %     Kentucky 21.6 %
Hawaii26.8 %     Tennessee 21.5 %
Utah 26.8 %     Idaho 20.9 %
Missouri26.7 %     Mississippi 20.9 %
Arizona 26.3 %     Oklahoma20.4 %
Texas 26.2 %     Wyoming19.6 %
Pennsylvania26.1 %     Arkansas 18.3 %
Florida 25.7 %     W. Virginia 15.9 %
= former Confederate "Dixiecrat" states
In 2004, all but 4 of
the 19 best educated states
voted for liberal Democrats. 		    while all but 4 of
the 31 least educated states
voted for conservative Republicans.
Obviously, the more liberal people are, the better-educated they become
OR
the better-educated they get, the more liberal people they become.
Either way, this page shows that, with few exceptions, the more liberal
that states (as well as larger or smaller communities) are, the better off they are likely to be.

In 2004, of the best educated half of the states, 16 of 25 voted for liberal Democrats, while 22 of the 25 least educated states voted for conservative Republicans.

  1.       Assuming that the comparative level of education hadn't changed very much, in 2016, while 24 of the 27 least-educated voted for Donald Trump, Colorado and Virginia joined the other better-educated states in voting for the liberal Democrat, Hillary Clinton, leaving only 2 of the 19 better-educated states, Kansas & Nebraska, voting for Trump.
  2.       On the other hand, three of the states which - despite being among the lesser-educated states - often vote blue, i.e. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, were seduced by Donald Trump and were instrumental in making him POTUS. Nevada and New Mexico went in the opposite direction, but had too few electoral votes to make much difference.
  3.       See much more on the individual states in question at the bottom 3rd of this page.
         

What difference does it make which party is in power?

While Democratic-voting states tend to prosper,
those that vote Republican tend to lag behind:
US-Poverty_contrast.jpg

JobsbyAdmin.gif

Which states have the highest vs. the lowest
Divorce rates? ( per 1,000 for the year 2009 )
All ten states with
the highest Divorce rates
are considered "CONSERVATIVE" :
  1. conservative Nevada   6.6
  2. conservative Arkansas   5.6
  3. conservative Wyoming   5.2
  4. conservative Idaho   5.0
  5. conservative Kentucky   4.6
  6. conservative Oklahoma 4.6
  7. conservative Alaska 4.4
  8. conservative Florida   4.3
  9. conservative Maine   4.3
  10. conservative Colorado   4.2
Seven of the ten states with
the lowest Divorce rates,
are considered "LIBERAL" :
  1. liberal Wisconsin 3.0
  2. liberal Maryland 2.8
  3. liberal New Jersey 2.8
  4. liberal Illinois   2.6
  5. conservative North Dakota   2.5
  6. conservative South Carolina   2.6
  7. liberal New York   2.5
  8. conservative Iowa   2.5
  9. liberal Pennsylvania   2.3
  10. liberal Massachusetts   1.8
Sources:   Table designed by Ray Dubuque, using data
extracted from U.S Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract, 2009

Far too many states in America still allow children (usually girls) to marry legally, sometimes for "exceptional" circumstances, like pregnancy, and usually requiring parental permission, etc. Sadly, it's not just the more conservative states that offer rapists this "get out of jail free" card. Just because a girl has had the misforunte to be impregnated before she is ready for motherhood should not mean that she should have her problems compounded by a pre-mature marriage. ALL children should be allowed and required to become adults before assuming the adult responsibilities of marriage.

Here's a more recent graph
covering some of the same ground
from the New York Times ( June 27, 2009 ):
[ the lower on this list, the better,
which tends to be blue and liberal! ]

Morality Graphs

Which states have the highest
vs. the lowest murder rates ?

(assuming that states that voted for Kerry in 2004 were more liberal,
and those which voted for Bush were more conservative)
arranged from highest murder rate to lowest.
Of the 21 states with the highestmurder rates,
all but four are considered "conservative" :
  • conservative Louisiana 13.0
  • liberal Maryland   9.5
     3 conservative Mississippi   9.3
  • conservative Nevada   8.8
  • conservative Arizona   7.9
  • conservative Georgia   7.6
  • conservative South Carolina   7.2
  • liberal Illinois   7.1
  • liberal California   6.8
  • conservative Tennessee   6.8
    11 conservative Alabama   6.6
  • conservative Arkansas   6.4
  • conservative Texas   6.4
  • liberal Michigan   6.1
  • conservative North Carolina   6.1
  • conservative Alaska   6.0
  • conservative New Mexico   6.0
  • conservative Oklahoma   5.9
  • conservative Virginia   5.6
  • conservative Indiana   5.5
  • conservative Florida   5.4
    • Sources:
  •     Table designed by Ray Dubuque, using data extracted from Murder Rates: FBI Uniform Crime Statistics for 2003.

    • Which states have the highest rates
    of violent crimes?   (# per 100,000) ?
  • conservative South Carolina
  • conservative Florida
  • liberal Maryland
  • conservative Tennessee
  • conservative New Mexico
  • liberal Delaware
  • conservative Louisiana
  • conservative Nevada
  • conservative Alaska
  • liberal California
    		• 794
    730
    704
    688
    665
    658
    646
    614
    593
    579
    FBI "uniform crime reports"
    for 2003, Table # 5

    Which states have the highest vs. the lowest
    Suicide rates?      ( i.e. per 100,000 )   for the year 2003
    The eight states with
    the highest Suicide rates are ALL
    considered "CONSERVATIVE" :
      The eight states with
      the lowest Suicide rates are ALL
      considered "LIBERAL" :
    1. conservative Nevada   22.3
    2. conservative Wyoming   20.4
    3. conservative Montana   18.4
    4. conservative New Mexico   18.3
    5. conservative Arizona   16.0
    6. conservative Alaska   15.5
    7. conservative Oklahoma   14.7
    8. conservative Idaho   14.5
    1. liberal California   9.3
    2. liberal Minnesota   9.2
    3. liberal Maryland   8.4
    4. liberal Illinois   8.4
    5. liberal Connecticut   8.3
    6. liberal Massachusetts   7.0
    7. liberal New Jersey   6.9
    8. liberal New York   6.6
    Source :   U.S Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract, Table No. 119

    Which states have
    the highest vs. the lowest
    Teen-pregnancy rates?
    Of the ten states
    with the highest
    rates of teen pregnancy    ,

    all but one
    are considered
    "CONSERVATIVE" :

    		 conservative Nevada 113
    conservative Arizona 104
    conservative New Mexico 103
    conservative Mississippi 103
    conservative Texas 101
    conservative Florida  97
    liberal California  96
    conservative Georgia  95
    conservative N. Carolina  95
    conservative Arkansas  93
    Four of the
    five states with
    the lowest rates
    are considered
    "LIBERAL" :     		liberal Maine 52
    liberal Minnesota 50
    liberal New Hampshire 47
    liberal Vermont 44
    conservative North Dakota 42
    Sources:   Table designed by Ray Dubuque, using data
    extracted from Teen pregnancy rates, ages 15-19, The Alan Guttmacher Institute.

    In most conservative states, after obsessing for months
    over the "pre-born", once they have emerged from their mother's womb,
    the "pro-life" mob fights every effort by liberals and Democrats
    to improve the lives of those children or their mothers!

    In August of 2009, the conservative Heritage foundation deplored the "Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act of 2009, which was introduced on July 31,by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) to increase criminal penalties for child pornography, child sex trafficking and prostitution, child rape and sex crimes, and sex tourism, as an instance of what it sees as a trend in Congress to use the criminal law to "solve" every problem, punish every mistake (instead of making proper use of civil penalties), and coerce Americans into conforming their behavior to satisfy social engineering objectives.

  •       See http://mediamattersaction.org/blog/200908120001,         A former employee of the private contractor that the Bush administration employed more than all the rest, "Blackwater", which is headed by a "devout conservativ e Christian" named Erik Prince, describes Blackwater as "having young girls provide oral sex to Enterprise members in the 'Blackwater Man Camp' in exchange for one American dollar." They add even though Prince frequently visited this camp, he "failed to stop the ongoing use of prostitutes, including child prostitutes, by his men."
  •       One of the statements also charges that "Prince's North Carolina operations had an ongoing wife-swapping and sex ring, which was participated in by many of Mr. Prince's top executives."
  •       http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/08/07/blackwater-provided-child-prostitutes/
  •       Do you hear even a peep of disgust from any conservative "Christian" Republicans?

    •         The more civilized states and nations in the world no longer execute
    offenders who are 18 or younger at the time of their offenses. But the more backward nations and states
    (all of them conservative) continue to do so. Here are the worst examples, since 1990.
    Nations : # U. S. states : #
    Iran8 Texas11
    Pakistan3 Virginia3
    Oklahoma2
    The Congo, China, Nigeria,
    Yemen and Saudi Arabia    		1 Georgia, Missouri & Louisiana1

    societies that kill their own children :

    On March 1, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that children under age 18, who commit serious crimes such as murder, may not be executed, and stated that execution of children constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. It should be noted that more than half of the countries in the world have entirely eliminated the death penalty, and that there are four international human rights treaties that exclude child offenders from the death penalty. In a worldwide study of the execution of children between 1994 and 2002, two-thirds of the executions of children occurred in the United States. While it has been said that Bush was elected by the "values voters", I have previously found that the states that voted for Bush in the November, 2004 election had higher divorce rates, higher murder rates, and higher teen pregnancy rates. So, when I heard that there were 19 states that had allowed execution of children, I wondered if the "values voters" states - those who voted for Bush - were more or less likely to allow the execution of children. Following is the list of states that allowed execution of children prior to the Supreme Court ruling, and how they voted in the recent presidential election:

    the "rewards" for being loyal
    ( and uninformed) Republican voters:

    DirtPoorGOP.png
    Now just imagine what life will be like if conservative Republicans
    succeed in dismantling the poverty programs instituted by liberal Democrats!

    Which states have
    the better record
    when it comes to minimum wage issues ?

    RedMinWage.jpg BlueMinWage.jpg

    As of October, 2006 (prior to the 2006 elections, in which several progressive initiatives improved the situation in several of the red states above, only two of the 33 conservative states had seen fit to require minimum wage workers be paid more than the disgraceful 1997 national minimum wage, while ALL but ONE of the 17 liberal states had adopted higher minimum wages within their own borders than was mandated nationally.
          Contrary to the claim by opponents of the raising of the minimum wage, that such increases result in job losses, the actual record shows that states which have increased the minimum wage have seen job increases.
    After minimum wage increase, Oregon claims job growth

    States with minimum wage increase have faster small business growth, Fiscal Policy Institute.
    (if this paper should cease to be available at this link, email me if you would like me to send you a copy.)

    Policy Matters Ohio, minimum wage increase, job growth

    New Mexico study: Minimum wage law hasn't hurt job growth

    And contrary to unsupported claims that most minimum wage workers are teen-agers, the majority of such workers – according to official statistics – are over 20, and many of those have children to support.

    From an AP news item:

    In 2006, the House agreed to a $3,100 pay raise for to $165,200 after defeating an effort to roll it back.
            "It's not a pay raise," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. "It's an adjustment so that they're not losing their purchasing power."
            Federal minimum wage has been $5.15 since 1997. Loss of purchasing power: About 19.4%.
            In 1997, Congressional salaries were $133,600. The congressmen have raised their salaries a whopping $31,600 since 1997, or 23.7%, but have failed to provide any adjustment of even one penny to enable the working poor to cope with the tremendous increase in the cost of living since 1997.

    Sources:

    Table designed by Ray Dubuque, using data extracted from Murder Rates: FBI Uniform Crime Statistics for 2003. When people think of political corruption, they are probably aware of a few scandals involving Democrats. But ask them to point to significant scandals involving contemporary liberal Democrats, as opposed to scandals dating back decades, when the Democratic Party was dominated by conservative Southerners.  They won't be able to come up with anything near the corruption that has dominated the Republican Party in recent years (i.e. since its take-over by the "Bible Belt" conservatives), as I lay bare at JesusNoRepublican.Org.

    academy computer service charts

    Poverty rates graph

    If someone knows the precise source of the above, please email it to me at the address at bottom of this page.  Meanwhile the following are similar sources :

    taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2004/09/red_states_feed.html

    Bush vs other presidents on job growth post WWII.
    Source: Bureau of Labor and Statistics (www.bls.gov).
    With the exception of Reagan's 2nd term,
    Democratic administrations have proven to be invariably better
    than Republican administrations for job growth.

    the Nation's Financial
    well-being during thirteen
    presidencies : ( 1920 - 2006 ) :

    the Nation's Financial
    well-being during seven
    later presidencies
    ( 1968 - 2006 )

    prosperity2.jpg width=

    the Nation's Financial
    well-being during three
    recent presidencies
    ( 1992 - 2006 ) :

    prosperity3.jpg width=

    Graph sources:

    1. Mean Household Income for Top 5% in 2002 dollars:
      U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Income Tables - Households, Table H-3, http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/h0301.html, accessed 12 August 2004.
    2. Percent Change from Preceding Period in Real Disposable Income:
      U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts Table, Table 2.1—Personal Income and Its Disposition, Line 40: Percent Change from Preceding Period: Disposable Personal Income, Chained (2000) Dollars, http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/dn/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=58&FirstYear=1999&LastYear=2004&Freq=Qtr, accessed 31 July 2004.
    3. Annual Surplus or Deficit:
      Budget of the United States Government, Historical Tables: Fiscal Year 2004, Table 1.1—Summary of Receipts, Outlays, and Surpluses or Deficits, 1789-2008, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy04/sheets/hist01z1.xls, accessed 1 August 2004.
    4. Percent Change from Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product:
      U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts Table, Table 1.1.1—Percent Change from Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product, Line 1. http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/dn/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=1&FirstYear=1999&LastYear=2004&Freq=Qtr , accessed 29 July 2004.
    www.usgovernmentspending.com

    The number of Americans with college degrees has increased steadily in the last decade. According to the latest government data, 28.5% of U.S. residents 25 or older had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2011, up only slightly from 27.2% in 2005. While the number is relatively unchanged, there are substantial differences across the country. In West Virginia, the state with the lowest graduation rate, 18.5% of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree. In Massachusetts, the state with the highest graduation rate, the figure is 39.1%.

  •      This article was originally published by 24/7 Wall St. Based on education data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s’ American Community Survey, 24/7 Wall St. identified the U.S. states with the largest and smallest percentages of residents 25 or older with a college degree or more. The difference in median income between those with only a high school diploma and a college degree is dramatic. The median pay for U.S. adults with just a high school diploma was $26,699 in 2011. For those 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree, median annual earnings came to $48,309. Residents with a graduate or professional degree did even better; median annual earnings was $64,322.
  •      Differences in poverty rates related to education are just as dramatic. For U.S. adults with at least bachelor’s degrees, the percentage living in poverty in 2011 was just 4.4%. For adults with only a high school diploma, 14.2% were living below the poverty line. The effects of wage gap by education becomes clear when comparing the states by graduation rate. Of the 10 states with the largest percentage of college-educated residents, eight are in the top 10 for median income. Among the worst-educated states, eight are among the 10 with the lowest median income.
  •      24/7 Wall St. reviewed the percentage of U.S. residents 25 or older with at least a bachelor’s degree for 2011 from the annual American Community Survey. From that survey, we obtained the percentage of adults that had completed an education at each major level, including high school, graduate and professional schools. We also examined poverty rates and median income for those at different levels of educational attainment.

    America’s best-educated states

    [ which regularly vote Democratic ]
    10. Minnesota
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 32.4%
    • Median household income: $56,954 (11th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 11.9% (11th lowest)

    Nearly one in three Minnesota adults aged 25 or older has a bachelor’s degree or higher, the 10th-highest percentage in the country. Minnesota’s educational attainment at the earliest levels is even higher than it is at the college level. Just 4.7% of adults had started — but not completed — high school, compared to the 8.1% of adults who fell into that category nationally. Just 8% of Minnesotans 25 or older do not have a high school diploma, compared to the 14.1% nationwide. However, among states with the most college graduates, Minnesota has fewer adults who go on to the next level of education. Only 10.5% of adults have graduate or professional degrees, the 17th highest nationwide.


    9. New York
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 32.9%
    • Median household income: $55,246 (16th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 16.0% (21st highest)

    More than 14% of New Yorkers have an advanced degree, one of the highest percentages in the U.S. However, while many New Yorkers are highly educated, another large group lacks basic education. Just 85% of New Yorkers have at least a high school diploma, close to 1 percentage point below the national rate. Educational attainment dramatically affects New York residents’ ability to earn a living, where the median annual earnings for someone with only a high school diploma is $28,405, less than half the median earnings of $68,079 for someone with a graduate or professional degree.


    8. New Hampshire
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 33.4%
    • Median household income: $62,647 (6th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 8.8% (the least)

    More New Hampshire adults have at least completed high school than all but five states — 91.4%, compared to the national rate of 85.9%. The benefits for those 33.4% who have at least a bachelor’s degree are quite high. The state poverty rate is 8.8%, which is already the lowest in the country. Meanwhile, just 2.2% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree live below the poverty line, also the lowest rate in the country.


    7. Virginia
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 35.1%
    • Median household income: $61,882 (7th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 11.5% (tied-8th lowest)

    Although Virginia is one of the nation’s most-educated states, with 20.5% of adults with just bachelor’s degrees and another 14.6% with advanced degrees, the state still struggles to graduate many students from high school. According to the Census Bureau, only 87.8% of adult Virginians have high school diplomas — worse than any of the most-educated states, except New York. The median earnings for adults without high school diplomas is just $19,892 a year, compared to the median of $78,532 for residents with advanced degrees


    6. New Jersey
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 35.3%
    • Median household income: $67,458 (3rd highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 10.4% (3rd lowest)

    New Jersey is one of the most well-to-do states in the country, with just 10.4% of residents living below the poverty level, compared to a national rate of 15.9%. It also has the third-highest median household income in the country, at $67,458. Residents with bachelor’s degree also earn more than college graduates of any other state, at $60,107. The national median earnings for bachelor’s degree recipients is $48,309. More than 21% of New Jersey adults without a high school degree were living below the poverty line, compared to the just 3.1% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.


    5. Vermont
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 35.4%
    • Median household income: $52,776 (19th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 11.5% (tied-8th lowest)

    In Vermont, 35.4% of adult residents have at least a college degree, with 21.4% of the population holding a bachelor’s and another 14% holding a master’s, doctorate, or professional degree. Median earnings for adults with advanced degrees in Vermont is $50,593 a year — over $13,000 less than the national median. Only 2.8% of residents have less than a ninth grade education, less than half of the 6% nationwide, and another 5.5% finished ninth grade but dropped out of high school, one of the lowest rates in the nation. Among those aged 16 to 19, 97.2% were either in school or had graduated — the third-highest rate in the nation.


    4. Connecticut
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.2%
    • Median household income: $65,753 (4th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 10.9% (5th lowest)

    In Connecticut, an estimated 15.7% of the adult population has either a graduate or professional degree, one of the highest percentages in the U.S., behind only Massachusetts and Maryland. The median annual earnings for this group is $75,875, higher than all but a handful of states — twice the median earnings for an adult with only a high school diploma. Residents who don’t earn college also do well; median earnings for the group was $32,869, higher than in any other state.


    3. Colorado
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.7%
    • Median household income: $55,387 (15th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 13.5% (18th lowes;t)

    Colorado residents are among the most-educated people in the country — 23.3% of the adults have completed up to a bachelor’s degrees and another 13.4% have also completed advanced degrees. Colorado’s high school participation and graduation rates below the national average. Only 94.1% of residents aged 16 to 19 are either in high school or have graduated.


    2. Maryland
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 36.9%
    • Median household income: $70,004 (the highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 10.1% (2nd lowest) .

           In Maryland, 16.5% of the population holds a graduate or professional degree of some kind, behind only Massachusetts. Residents with these degrees are among the highest paid in the country, with median annual earnings of $77,166, behind only New Jersey and Virginia. Only one state — New Hampshire — has a lower poverty rate than Maryland’s 10.1%. This rate is likely driven downwards by the 36.9% of adults who have college degrees, among whom the poverty rate is just 3.2%.


    1. Massachusetts
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 39.1%
    • Median household income: $62,859 (5th highest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 11.6% (9th lowest).

    In Massachusetts, 39.1% of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, more than 10 percentage points above the national rate of 28.5%. Additionally, 16.8% of adults have a graduate or professional degree, again the highest percentage in the nation. Although the median annual earnings of $53,765 for those with a bachelor’s degree is very high, adults with either a graduate or a professional degree earn far more. Their median earnings exceed $70,000. Academic success is not limited to adults, as nearly 97% of individuals between the ages of 16 and 19 are either enrolled in high school or have graduated — one of the country’s highest rates.

    America’s worst-educated states

    [ which regularly vote Republican ]
      10. Oklahoma
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 23.8%
    • Median household income: $43,225 (10th lowest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 17.2% (16th highest)

      Oklahoma is just one of 15 states in which less than a third of all adults have an associate’s degree or higher. Residents with graduate or professional degrees are also scarce in Oklahoma. Residents who do have an advanced degree in Oklahoma do not earn much — the median earnings for adults with graduate or professional degrees is just $51,631, the fifth-lowest in the nation. Of Oklahoma’s adults with less than a high school degree, 28.5% live below the poverty line, compared to the 4.3% with a bachelor’s degree or higher.


      9. Tennessee
    • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 23.6%
    • Median household income: $41,693 (6th lowest)
    • Pct. below poverty level: 18.3% (12th highest)

      In Tennessee, the median earnings for an adult with an advanced degree is more than three times higher than that for a high school dropout. Despite the opportunity, just 8.3% of adults have graduate degrees, far below the national rate of 10.6%. Meanwhile 15.8% of adults lack even high school diplomas, well above the 14.1% for the U.S. overall. Residents with only a high school education are far more likely to live in poverty. Of residents with a high school education, 30.6% live in poverty, whereas only 3.8 of those who have at least bachelor’s degree live in poverty. One area in which Tennessee is especially strong: 96.4% of people aged 16 to 19 are either in high school or have their diploma, one of the higher rates in the U.S


      8. Indiana
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 23.0%
      • Median household income: $46,438 (20th lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 16.0% (21st highest)

      By one measure, Indiana does well providing its residents with an education — the percentage of adults who graduated high school, at 87.3%, exceeds the national rate of 85.9%. For many, however, education ends after high school. Only 30.9% of adults have at least an associate’s degree, while only 23% have at least a bachelor’s degree, both among the lowest rates in the U.S. Additionally, just 94% of current residents between 16 and 19 are either in high school or have graduated, a low compared to the national rate of 95.1%.


      7. Nevada
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 22.5%
      • Median household income: $48,927 (24th lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 15.9% (23rd highest)

      In Nevada, only 29.7% of adults have at least an associate’s degree, while the percentage of adults with a bachelor’s degree is just 22.5%. Both of these figures are among the nation’s worst. Within the state, 6% of adults with bachelor’s degrees still live below the poverty line, one of the worst rates in the country. Having a bachelor’s degree is not as much of an advantage in Nevada as it is in other parts of the country. Median earning for adults with less than a high school degree is well more than the national median. At the same time, those with at least a bachelor’s degree earn less than the median college graduate nationwide.


      6. Alabama
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 22.3%
      • Median household income: $41,415 (5th lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 19.0% (7th highest)

      Alabama has one of the nation’s worst high school attainment rates. Among adults 25 and older, 17.3% do not have high school diploma, the fifth-worst percentage in the U.S. For those aged 16 to 19, just 93.7% were either still in high school or had graduated, among the lowest rates in the nation. Only 22.3% of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree in Alabama. More than one in four Nevada adults have some college education, but have not completed a degree, compared to the 21.2% nationwide.


      5. Louisiana
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 21.1%
      • Median household income: $41,734 (7th lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 20.4% (3rd highest).

      Only 82.5% of adults in Louisiana have high school diplomas, one of the lowest percentages in the country. College education in the state is also low. Just 26.3% of adults have associate degrees or higher and only 21.1% have bachelor’s degrees or higher. Both these rates are well below national averages. Graduate and professional degrees are also low. Only 7.1% of adults have a graduate or professional degree, one of the lowest numbers in the country.


      4. Kentucky
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 21.1%
      • Median household income: $41,141 (4th lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 19.1% (5th highest)

      Kentucky residents are among the least likely to have a bachelor’s degree or high school diploma. Only 83.1% of adults have a high school education, and 7% of adults have not completed the ninth grade — both among the worst rates in the U.S. Residents without a high school education often struggle to earn a living — 32.1% live in poverty — more than twice the 15.5% poverty rate for adults who have finished high school. Despite the state’s many problems, Kentucky residents aged 16 to 19 are more likely to be either in school or to have graduated high school than their peers nationwide, at 95.7% versus 95.1% across the U.S.


      3. Arkansas
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 20.3%
      • Median household income: $38,758 (3rd lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 19.5% (4th highest)

      Not only is Arkansas among the 10 worst states in the nation for high school graduation rates, at 83.8%, but it also has the second-smallest proportion of adults with at least an associate’s degree, at just 26.1%. The poverty rate for adults with less than a high school education is seven times higher than for those with a bachelor’s degree or more.


      2. Mississippi
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 19.8%
      • Median household income: $36,919 (the lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 22.6% (the highest)

      Just 81.1% of adults in Mississippi are high school graduates, tied with Texas and California for the lowest percentage in the nation. Additionally, 6.6% of adults have not completed the ninth grade — especially troubling in a state with a poverty rate of 32.5% for those without a high school diploma. Although the median earnings for an adult with no education past high school is just $24,060 — one of the lowest figures in the nation — more than 80% of adults do not have a bachelor’s degree, while more than 70% have not completed an associate’s degree.


      1. West Virginia
      • Bachelor’s degree or higher: 18.5%
      • Median household income: $38,482 (2nd lowest)
      • Pct. below poverty level: 18.6% (10th highest)

      Just 18.5% of West Virginians have at least a bachelor’s degree — 10 percentage points lower than the national rate of 28.5% and considerably lower than the next-lowest state, Mississippi. West Virginia is also the only state in the nation where less than 7% of adults have a graduate or professional degree. West Virginia adults are the least likely in the nation to have at least an associate’s degree, at 24.9%, compared to 36.3% nationwide. Median earnings for adults with an advanced degree in West Virginia is $52,308 — more than $12,000 below the national median.
      [ from http://247wallst.com/special-report/2012/10/15/164232/3/ and
      /or http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/10/15/americas-best-and-worst-educated-states/

    Balance of Taxes Paid by States
    vs. Benefits Received from Federal Gvmt.
    by "Welfare States" for the year 2001 : (dollars in millions) states which
    voted for G. W. Bush     		Taxes sent
    to Fed. Govt.     		  Benefits  
    Received    		 Surplus
    vs.
    Deficit
    ( + vs. – )
    Alabama22,43733,205 + 10,768
    Alaska4,2006,685 + 2,485
    Arizona30,05732,392 + 2,335
    Arkansas12,47617,469  4,993
    Colorado33,89826,618 - 7,280
    Florida110,294107,395 - 2,899
    Georgia52,22550,822 - 1,403
    Idaho6,6837,977 + 1,294
    Indiana36,73334,630 - 2,103
    Kansas16,50317,806 + 1,303
    Kentucky20,50927,210 + 6,701
    Louisiana21,37129,249 + 7,878
    Mississippi12,09421,023 + 8,929
    Missouri33,71841,452 + 7,734
    Montana4,3596,910 + 2,551
    Nebraska10,41511,469 + 1,054
    Nevada15,01410,631 - 4,383
    North Carolina47,57947,748 + 169
    North Dakota3,2886,169 + 2,881
    Ohio69,12766,341 - 2,786
    Oklahoma16,66723,790 + 7,123
    South Carolina20,79926,070 + 5,271
    South Dakota4,2936,095 + 1,802
    Tennessee33,22538,986 + 5,761
    Texas134,809121,571 - 13,238
    Utah11,35812,139 + 781
    Virginia52,85874,802 + 21,944
    West Virginia7,79313,064 + 5,271
    Wyoming3,5833,824 + 241
    Net Welfare collected from Uncle Sam
    in Millions of dollars : :    		+ 71,868
    by the red Conservative states which voted for Republicans
    G.W. Bush in 2000 & 2004, John McCain in 2008, Mit Romney in 2012, and for Donald Trump in 2016 & 2020

    Balance of Taxes Paid by States
    vs. Benefits Received from Federal Gvmt.
    by "Welfare States" for the year 2001 : (dollars in millions) states which
    voted for G. W. Bush     		Taxes sent
    to Fed. Govt.     		  Benefits  
    Received    		 Surplus
    vs.
    Deficit
    ( + vs. – )
    Alabama22,43733,205 + 10,768
    Alaska4,2006,685 + 2,485
    Arizona30,05732,392 + 2,335
    Arkansas12,47617,469  4,993
    Colorado33,89826,618 - 7,280
    Florida110,294107,395 - 2,899
    Georgia52,22550,822 - 1,403
    Idaho6,6837,977 + 1,294
    Indiana36,73334,630 - 2,103
    Kansas16,50317,806 + 1,303
    Kentucky20,50927,210 + 6,701
    Louisiana21,37129,249 + 7,878
    Mississippi12,09421,023 + 8,929
    Missouri33,71841,452 + 7,734
    Montana4,3596,910 + 2,551
    Nebraska10,41511,469 + 1,054
    Nevada15,01410,631 - 4,383
    North Carolina47,57947,748 + 169
    North Dakota3,2886,169 + 2,881
    Ohio69,12766,341 - 2,786
    Oklahoma16,66723,790 + 7,123
    South Carolina20,79926,070 + 5,271
    South Dakota4,2936,095 + 1,802
    Tennessee33,22538,986 + 5,761
    Texas134,809121,571 - 13,238
    Utah11,35812,139 + 781
    Virginia52,85874,802 + 21,944
    West Virginia7,79313,064 + 5,271
    Wyoming3,5833,824 + 241
    Net Welfare collected from Uncle Sam
    in Millions of dollars : :    		+ 71,868
    by the red Conservative states which voted for Republicans
    G.W. Bush in 2000 & 2004, John McCain in 2008, Mit Romney in 2012, and for Donald Trump in 2016 & 2020


    Welfare2GOPstates

    For some fantastic graphs and data regarding
    Presidential elections and administrations
    see ThankGodforLiberalDemocrats.org/a_Secular_Issue/the-presidential-vote-since-1868.html

    The very best site I know of for keeping up with
    all kinds of elections when they are being held in the U.S.A. is
    www.electoral-vote.com/index.html
    See also International graphs with comparisons of the U.S. with other countries:
    National Rankings re: prosperity
    National Rankings re: health care

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