Graduate map shows huge increase in US adults going to college and getting a degree since 1970... even though tuition fees have risen by 400%

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College tuition fees may have risen by more than 400 per cent since in the last 40 years, but the number of graduates has also increased dramatically.

An interactive map uploaded by Metric Maps shows the increase in US citizens obtaining a bachelors degree from 10.7 per cent in 1970 to 28.5 per cent in 2012.

Almost half a century ago, college graduates made up less than 10 per cent of the population in a huge number of areas across the country, the map shows.

In 1970 only a small number of areas had more than 30 per cent of people studied for four years at college. These included the San Francisco Bay Area, parts of Colorado and Washington D.C

In only a few regions — the San Francisco Bay Area, parts of Colorado and Washington D.C. — did the number of people who had completed four years of college approach a third.

By 1990, there had been an enormous change with more areas showing an increase in the proportion of their citizens obtaining degrees.

Large parts of the northeastern and western coasts could boast that at least a third of their population were college graduates.

In 2012, the number increases again, with yet more areas showing a high percentage of residents achieving a bachelors degree. 

The dramatic increase across the country is surprising considering the substantial rise in college tuition. In 1970 for example, a University of Utah student would spent about $390 a year on tuition. Today it costs around $6,000.

The rise is also putting pressure on the job market and is causing thousands more to be left with mountains of student debt at the end of their courses.

PBS reported that the percentage of American jobs that require bachelor’s degrees to be somewhere between 20 and 35 percent. It means the market may not have enough employment opportunities for all the graduates.  

By 1990, the picture had dramatically changed, with coastal areas showing a higher proportion of people obtaining a bachelors degree 

More than 40 years on from the first map, huge swathes of the country have a population where more than 30 per cent have studied for four years at college