Is college necessary? It turns out about half of Californians don’t think so, according to a new Public Policy Institute of California survey.

The difference of opinions in ethnic groups is surprising: While two-thirds of Latinos answer yes, a majority of Asian- and African-Americans think so — but only 35 percent of whites agree.

The same disparity holds across income groups: Almost 60 percent of those from households earning less than $40,000 say college is necessary, while only 42 percent from households making at least $80,000 agree.

So what’s behind the numbers? For one, the mounting costs of a college degree and mountains of student debt are big factors behind the growing cynicism, experts say. Another reason: It’s human nature for one group (whites) to underestimate the value of something that comes easier (college access) than it does for others.

But while Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg managed to do just fine without a degree, that’s hardly a recipe for the rest of us. Not everyone has a safety net that makes dropping out of college in the hopes of becoming a tech titan a feasible option, said Audrey Dow, senior vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity.

Students of color generally don’t have access to the same wealth and capital as their white peers, she said, and their families view college as a path forward.

White families, on the other hand, are more likely to have sent several generations to college and might not recognize that some of their success is due to higher education.

Lower-income families may be “feeling like something about their own training falls short,” said Mark Baldassare, president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California. “Most people earning over $80,000 think there are many ways to succeed. Obviously many do have college degrees, but maybe they feel their own personal qualities or social networks account for that.”

The survey of more than 1,700 California adults between Oct. 8-17 also found significant gaps between native-born Californians and noncitizen residents on the question of whether college is necessary, with 75 percent of noncitizen California residents saying college is crucial to success and just 38 percent of native-born California residents agreeing.

“Higher education has been the key to Asian immigrants achieving the American dream,” said Frank H. Wu, a professor at UC Hastings College of the Law and chair of the Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization of Chinese-Americans.

“It’s been both incredibly important in the Asian cultures from which they or their parents or grandparents came, and in America, one of the ways to come to the country legally was to go to school or get a job,” Wu said.

But still, 45 percent of Asian-Americans don’t think college is a requirement for success these days.

That number surprised Darryl Cereno, a 17-year-old high school senior at San Jose’s Overfelt High School, who is Asian-American. More precisely, the fact only 54 percent of Asian Americans polled said college is necessary was the real surprise.

“Usually Asian-Americans, especially here in California, are first- or second-generation, and there’s this sort of cultural bias where you want to go to college to have a better life, so I’d expect that number to be way higher,” said Cereno, who is applying to college this year.

Still he’s intimidated about taking on significant debt. “I’m scared of that,” he said.

He’s not alone. Overall, 56 percent of the state’s residents think college affordability is a major problem, the survey found. In other words, a significant number of Californians aren’t sure college is worth the investment.

Those views have implications for whether voters are willing to kick more funding toward the state’s higher education system. While most of the state’s residents don’t think the state gives its public colleges enough money, a third think schools waste a lot of the money they are given.

Regardless of race, Wu said, the survey shows there’s skepticism about the value of going to college.

“We’re at a turning point, a crossroads,” he said, “where people are saying I want education, but I don’t want to pay this price for education.”