Far more Cleveland residents are completing college than they were two decades ago – but most of them are white people living in the city’s West Side neighborhoods.
In 2005, about 15% of the city’s residents held a degree from a four-year college. Now, that number is up to nearly 40%, according to findings in the recently released Cleveland Health Survey trend report. It’s the third edition of the report.
Stephanie Pike Moore, an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University and one of the report’s authors, said the increase “doubled across the board” for residents of all racial and ethnic groups.
Yet major disparities still exist. Pike Moore said white residents drove the growth. Cleveland’s non-Hispanic Black residents, meanwhile, are currently at the same educational attainment level that non-Hispanic white residents hit 20 years ago.
“There’s a clear connection that access to a good education is not consistent for everybody,” she said.
Pike Moore said some of the Cleveland neighborhoods with the lowest education attainment levels include Central, Buckeye-Woodhill and Euclid-Green. All are predominantly Black areas on the city’s East Side, which has “been historically disinvested in,” she said.
Meanwhile, residents living in predominantly white neighborhoods such as Edgewater, Old Brooklyn and Kamms Corner have the city’s highest levels of educational attainment.
Research shows college graduates are more civically engaged, healthier
The team behind the survey randomly sent out about 100,000 postcards to residents across the city. Their findings are based on the nearly 1,500 people who responded online and on the phone.
About 43% of respondents were Black and 38% were white. More than half of all respondents were female, according to a demographic breakdown.
The latest findings didn’t pinpoint one sole reason behind the increase in college graduates. Pike Moore thinks some of the growth could be because of increased availability of degree programs, including more being offered online.
About 29% of respondents indicated they completed some college courses or went to a technical school, up from 26% in 2005.
Earning a degree or certificate offers many benefits in addition to potentially earning more money. Graduates are more likely to live healthier lives and are generally more civically engaged. About 44% of Americans and 43% of Ohioans have some type of post-high school credential, according to one national estimate.
Pike Moore said her team considers educational attainment levels in Cleveland “a social determinant of health.”
“There’s a very strong link between what resources you have available to you and what health you can ultimately end up with,” she said.