The findings are based on a survey conducted in 1998 and refer to the population 25 years old and over.
More education tends to reflect greater socioeconomic success for individuals and for the state.
In 1990, one out of every three Alabama adults did not have as much as a high school education. By 1998 that average had dropped to about one out of five. Alabama's overall educational level remains below the national average, but is catching up. The census information showed that significant differences remain with regard to age and race, but the percentages of whites and blacks with a high school education attained a record level in 1998. Over the last 20 years high school completion among young adults has been higher than during earlier periods of Alabama's history, Watters said.