These Maps Show The Dramatic Rise In College-Educated Americans Since 1970

Americans are a lot more educated today than they were a few decades ago.

A GIF from @MetricMaps pieces together maps showing county-level data about the number of people who have earned bachelor's degrees since 1970.

Unsurprisingly, those numbers have shot up over the past 40 years (along with the price of college), but not all regions of the US are seeing equal growth.

Check it out:

The West Cost and Northeast seem to be some of the most educated areas of the country, while parts of the Midwest and South have fallen behind.

We see a similar pattern with high school diplomas, with an even more drastic change:

The rising number of people with bachelor's degrees coupled with the rising cost of college has led to increasing student loan debt among Americans.

This map gives a good sense of how much the cost of college has risen:

While the Northeast appears to be the most educated region in the US, it's also the most expensive in terms of public college costs.