More than half of Americans with a four-year degree work in the state where they earned it. The finding indicates that local economies often depend on homegrown talent rather than workers from other parts of the country.
The Strada Education Foundation published the data Thursday. It revealed that 55% of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher live in the state where they grew up and attended college. Another 9% moved to a new state for school and never left.
States with strong job markets keep more graduates
States that retain the most graduates typically have faster job growth, lower income taxes, and higher wages for degree holders. These conditions help them hold onto their own talent, even while competing for workers elsewhere.
Michigan keeps 78% of its college-educated workforce—either those who grew up there or moved in for school. Colorado, in contrast, retains just 48%. The difference highlights broader economic and migration trends.
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“Developing, attracting, and keeping a skilled workforce remains a constant challenge,” the report explains. “An aging population will increase the urgency of this issue in the coming years.”
Public colleges anchor local workforces
The type of college a student attends influences whether they stay after graduation. Public institutions, particularly those with open admissions, serve as anchors for in-state talent. About two-thirds of graduates from these schools remain in the state where they earned their degree. Selective public colleges see roughly half of their graduates stay.
Private nonprofit colleges retain only 40% of their graduates. Many students at these schools come from other states and leave after completing their studies.
Some public universities are taking steps to increase retention. Coppin State University, a historically Black institution in Maryland, began offering in-state tuition to applicants from states without an HBCU. The change led to a 26% enrollment increase in fall 2025, according to data from the University System of Maryland. Nearly 80% of Coppin State graduates stay in Maryland after earning their degree.
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Kean University in New Jersey will charge all students in-state tuition starting this fall. The University of Alaska System plans to eliminate out-of-state tuition entirely by 2027. System President Matt Cooper said the shift could draw more students and strengthen the state’s workforce, where about 75% of graduates already remain.
Among college graduates who recently elected to move states, 51% cited economic opportunity as their primary motivator.
The report, a collaboration between the Strada Institute for the Future of Work and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, primarily based its analysis on education polling conducted by Gallup and Strada between June 2016 and April 2019. Researchers focused on responses from over 44,000 working-age adults who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Their sample did not include postsecondary education such as associate degrees or postsecondary certificates.
To build a stronger workforce, states may need to prioritize educating their own residents over recruiting graduates from elsewhere. The chances of attracting out-of-state talent, the report concludes, are slim.
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