Study: Lafayette, it's time to hit the books

Lafayette can claim Louisiana’s second-largest state university and an established community college.

But a study by WalletHub, a social media and consumer website, suggests it can’t claim much in the way of educational attainment.

WalletHub ranks the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area in its bottom 10, No. 142, among the nation’s 150 largest MSAs in its 2015’s Most & Least Educated Cities. That’s the lowest among Louisiana MSAs that made the list, including New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport.

Lafayette ranked 136th in percentage of high school diploma holders, 134th in percentage of bachelor’s degree holders, 146th in percentage of adults with some college experience or an associate’s degree, and 141st in the percentage of graduate or professional degree holders.

It also ranked 65th among the 150 in public school system rankings, 77th in average qualities of universities, 77th in the number of students enrolled in Top 200 universities per capita and 78th in the difference between the percentages of black and white bachelor’s degree holders.

In the Lafayette MSA, WalletHub said, 80.4 percent of people over 25 hold a high school degree. About 45.4 percent have an associate’s degree or some college and 20 percent hold a bachelor’s. Only 5.9 percent hold a a graduate or professional degree or more.

In Louisiana, Top 200 universities, according to U.S. News and World Report, include Tulane, No. 54; LSU, 129. The publication ranked Louisiana Tech at No. 201; UL was not ranked.

"We have long-known that our public education system trails much of the rest of the U.S.," said Gregg Gothreaux, president and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. "This issue has been with us for many years and very little has been accomplished to improve the situation by those charged with the job.

"To compensate, those who are able to live in areas where public schools are excellent or can afford to send their child through the private education system do so in order to secure quality education for their children. Louisiana has made a concerted effort through adult education to train and retrain for those jobs that are or become available in the area. Those resources appear to have been well-placed. That, combined with the unparalleled productivity of our people, has led us to a position of prosperity despite the drag of poor public education."

WalletHub said it based its rankings on a methodology that weighed all of the above categories.

WalletHub said the “college-educated third” of the country have advantages over those with no degrees. More schooling means better job opportunities and bigger salaries, but also more tax dollars collected over time.

Citing the Economic Policy Institute, WalletHub said a surefire way to strengthen the economy is to attract companies that pay well for college-educated employees. In states with less-schooled workforces, the median wage is about $4 an hour less than in states where 40 percent or more of the population holds at least a bachelor’s.

Louisiana MSA Rankings

New Orleans-Metairie, 106

Baton Rouge, 108

Shreveport-Bossier, 127

Lafayette, 142

Source: WalletHub