Figure 5 Educational Attainment Levels by Region
19.6%
19.4%
24.4%
23.7%
24.1%
23.0%
South Central Oklahoma 25.0%
28.6%
31.5%
24.8%
33.6%
34.7%
32.2%
35.8%
21.1%
23.4%
22.3%
22.1%
22.1%
23.0%
19.8%
6.3%
5.4%
5.2%
5.0%
4.9%
5.9%
2.9%
24.4%
20.3%
23.2%
15.5%
14.2%
15.9%
16.5%
U.S.
Less Than High School Diploma High School Graduate Some College, No Degree Associates Degree Bachelors and Above
Oklahoma
Texas
Texoma
I-35 Corridor
U.S. 75 Corridor
In contrast, the proportion of the Texoma population that has some experience with college (even if they did not finish) is about 43 percent. Nationally, the college-going rate (including those who have some college as well as those with associates, bachelors, or more advanced degrees) is 52 percent. As a result, the regions overall education attainment levels are below the U.S. average. Texoma is competing at a disadvantage for the increasing number of jobs that require post secondary education.
Income Area income can be examined through a variety of lenses, but they tend to lead the analyst to the same conclusion—wages in Texoma are lower than elsewhere. First, the region’s median household income1 consistently trail the US, Texas, and Oklahoma’s median levels. Second, average wages are significantly below the US, Texas, and Oklahoma averages. The lower income and wages are somewhat (but not entirely) offset by a lower cost of living in the region. Thus, many of the new lower wage jobs (paying $9-$11 per hour) being created pay just enough to allow a family of four to live slightly above the federal poverty rate $18,8502 and earn a self-sufficient wage. Of course, households with two wage earners are better off, but the relatively low labor force participation rate suggests that many families live with one wage earner in the household. Median Household Income and Growth During the past 25 years, household incomes in the region have averaged about two-thirds to three-fourths the US average and about 80 to 90 percent of the median household income in Texas and Oklahoma, respectively. In 2004, the US median household income was $45,684, about $11,500 higher than the Texoma region’s median household income of $34,128. Texoma’s median household income levels also trailed 1
The median household income is the level at which half of households have incomes higher and half have incomes lower. 2 United States Department of Health and Human Services 2004 Poverty Guidelines Corporation for a Skilled Workforce and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness
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