College Graduate - Age 65+ in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

Educational attainment is important to the continuous development of a society. Those who earn a college degree have access to a wider variety of employment opportunities and are compensated more on average than those without a college degree.

College graduates tend to engage in healthier behaviors, which contribute to longevity and better quality of life. College graduates are also more likely to participate in civic engagement activities like voting, community service and community organizing, all of which are associated with positive mental and physical health outcomes.

Although older adults cannot change their educational history, it’s important to recognize that education remains one of the greatest drivers of health inequities.

Among older adults, the percentage of college graduates is higher among: 

• Asian populations compared with non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic African American and Hispanic populations.
• Men compared with women.

While obtaining a college degree after the age of 65 is uncommon, education remains a major predictor of health and mortality outcomes. The attainment of a college degree by age 25, as opposed to high school completion only, has been linked to better cognitive function later in life. Education is also a determining factor in socioeconomic status, which is, in turn, a reliable predictor of health outcomes across age, gender and race. Therefore, implementing policies that improve access to quality education for low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations can significantly improve long-term health and overall community well-being. Additionally, creating inclusive policies for elder education can boost senior enrollment in degree-conferring programs.

Administration on Aging. “2021 Profile of Older Americans.” Administration for Community Living, November 2022. https://acl.gov/sites/default/files/Profile%20of%20OA/2021%20Profile%20of%20OA/2021ProfileOlderAmericans_508.pdf.

Ahearn, Caitlin E., Jennie E. Brand, and Xiang Zhou. “How, and For Whom, Does Higher Education Increase Voting?” Research in Higher Education 64, no. 4 (June 2023): 574–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09717-4.

Chen, Li-Kuang, and Shan Tair Wang. “Seniors’ Demographic Correlates for Motivations to Enroll in Degree-Conferring Programs in Universities.” Educational Gerontology 42, no. 6 (June 2, 2016): 431–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2016.1139968.

Cloete, Nico, Peter Maassen, and Pundy Pillay. “Higher Education and National Development, Meanings and Purposes.” In Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions, edited by Jung Cheol Shin and Pedro Teixeira, 1–9. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_18-1.

Clouston, Sean A. P., Marcus Richards, Dorina Cadar, and Scott M. Hofer. “Educational Inequalities in Health Behaviors at Midlife: Is There a Role for Early-Life Cognition?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 56, no. 3 (September 2015): 323–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146515594188.

Greenfield, Emily A., Ayse Akincigil, and Sara M. Moorman. “Is College Completion Associated with Better Cognition in Later Life for People Who Are the Least, or Most, Likely to Obtain a Bachelor’s Degree?” Edited by Deborah Carr. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 75, no. 6 (June 2, 2020): 1286–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz132.

Hahn, Robert A., and Benedict I. Truman. “Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.” International Journal of Health Services 45, no. 4 (October 2015): 657–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731415585986.

Hummer, Robert A., and Elaine M. Hernandez. “The Effect of Educational Attainment on Adult Mortality in the United States.” Population Bulletin 68, no. 1 (June 2013): 1–16. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25995521/.

Kaplan, Robert M., Michael L. Spittel, and Daryn H. David, eds. Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2015. http://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo68570.

Luy, Marc, Marina Zannella, Christian Wegner-Siegmundt, Yuka Minagawa, Wolfgang Lutz, and Graziella Caselli. “The Impact of Increasing Education Levels on Rising Life Expectancy: A Decomposition Analysis for Italy, Denmark, and the USA.” Genus 75, no. 1 (December 2019): 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41118-019-0055-0.

West, Loraine A., Samantha Cole, Daniel Goodkind, and Wan He. “65+ in the United States: 2010.” Current Population Reports. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, June 2014. https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/demo/p23-212.pdf.