from staff
A higher share of people in the five-county Jacksonville area held bachelor’s or higher degrees in 2009 compared with the two prior years.
The U.S. Census Bureau found that 27.3 percent of the population had earned college and graduate or professional degrees as of 2009, up from 24.6 percent in 2008 and 25.8 percent in 2007.
The percentage of people with at least a high-school diploma or equivalency rose to 88.2 percent from less than 88 percent the prior two years.
Meanwhile, the percentage of the population with only a high-school diploma or equivalency fell from 31.7 percent in 2007 to 29.8 percent in 2008 to 28 percent last year.
The national recession began in December 2007 and was declared over as of of June 2009.
The Daily Record is presenting a series of Jacksonville facts from the U.S. Census Bureau for 2007, 2008 and 2009 for Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
| Population | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Population age 25 and older | 859,046 | 871,628 | 880,391 |
| Less than 9th grade | 3.4% | 3.6% | 3.5% |
| 9th to 12th grade, no diploma | 8.8% | 8.9% | 8.3% |
| High-school graduate (including equivalency) | 31.7% | 29.8% | 28% |
| Some college, no degree | 21.4% | 24.8% | 24.4% |
| Associate degree | 8.9% | 8.5% | 8.4% |
| Bachelor’s degree | 17.2% | 16.2% | 18.3% |
| Graduate or professional degree | 8.6% | 8.4% | 9.0% |
| High-school graduate or higher | 87.8% | 87.6% | 88.2% |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 25.8% | 24.6% | 27.3% |