In 2012, the state ranked 4th in the country with 36.2% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Nine years later, in 2021, Connecticut's ranking dropped to 6th place despite an increase in the percentage of adults with a bachelor's degree to 40.6%.

When looking specifically at the share of adults over 25 with a bachelor's degree, Connecticut ranked 7th in 2012 with 20.3%. In 2021, the state's ranking dropped to 11th with an increased share of 22.3%, four percentage points away from the high of 26.7% belonging to Colorado.

Connecticut ranked 2nd in 2012 for the percentage of residents with a master's degree, with 11.7%, but in 2021, the state dropped to 3rd place, while still increasing its percentage to 13.3%, just behind Maryland, which had a share of 13.6% and Massachusetts at 14.2%.

Connecticut's ranking for those with a doctorate or professional degree remained unchanged at 3rd place, with a percentage of 4.5% in 2012 and 4.9% in 2021. Maryland (5.8%) and Massachusetts (6.1%) remained in the top two spots.

Read more: CT has changed in the last decade. Here are 10 charts that show how