37 percent of people 25 or older have an associate's degree or higher in Des Moines

By Des Moines Sun

Apr 4, 2022

37 percent of people 25 years or older had an associate's degree or higher in Des Moines in 2020, according to data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau.

This was 4.1 percent lower than the state average of 41.1 percent. In 2020 the total municipality population reached 215,408.

86.7 percent of the population had at least a high school diploma or the equivalent.

Degree distribution in Des Moines for 2020*

Degree	Number of people	Percentage of population
No degree	18,730	13.3
Regular high school diploma	33,678	23.9
GED or alternative credential	7,576	5.4
Some college, less than 1 year	10,453	7.4
Some college, 1 or more years, no degree	18,209	12.9
Associate's degree	12,729	9
Bachelor's degree	27,399	19.5
Master's degree	8,182	5.8
Professional school degree	2,414	1.7
Doctorate degree	1,306	0.9