Seattle

Education

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Seattle ranks well above the national average in terms of the educational level of its population. Of persons age 25 or over, 86.4 percent have graduated from high school, and 37.9 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher (compared with national averages of 82 percent and 23 percent, respectively).

As of fall 1997, Seattle had a total enrollment of 47,457 in its public schools, with a racial and ethnic composition that was 40.6 percent white, 24.8 percent Asian/Pacific Islander, 23 percent black, 8.5 percent Hispanic, and 3.1 percent Native American. The public school district operated 116 schools and employed 2,450 classroom teachers and 4,636 support staff. There are over 300 private and parochial schools in the city.

Seattle's major universities (with their fall 1997 enrollments) are the University of Washington (34,368), Seattle University (5,091), and Seattle Pacific University (3,293). Community college enrollment on the three Seattle campuses totaled 25,545.

Major research centers in the Seattle area include the Battelle Memorial Institute and the Washington Technology Center.