Higher education levels linked with civic engagement, better health: Gallup
Story at a glance
- U.S. adults with higher education levels more likely to donate to charity or volunteer.
- Obtaining postsecondary education is linked to better physical health.
- The majority of Americans agree that additional education helps produce several desirable outcomes among individuals and in society.
Those with higher education levels are linked with more civic engagement and better physical health, according to a new analysis from Gallup.
Charitable giving rates increase with each successive level of educational attainment, Gallup found. Sixty-seven percent of bachelor graduates and 77 percent of those with graduate-level degrees reported charitable donations, compared to 38 percent of those with no more than a high school degree.
The same trend can be seen for volunteer work, where volunteerism nearly doubles between those with a high school degree and those with at least some postsecondary education, 14 percent compared to 27 percent. That number increases to 38 percent for those with a bachelor’s degree and 47 percent with a graduate degree.
The study also found higher levels of education linked to better physical health, with 61 percent of bachelor’s degree holders reporting their health as excellent or very good, compared with 43 percent who do not have a postsecondary education. Gallup said this link is demonstrated even when other health-related factors are controlled, including age, gender, race and ethnicity.
Gallup also tested the relationship between education and 52 separate outcomes including those related to work and income, physical health, civic engagement, social capital and cognitive ability, among others.
In 50 of these areas, Gallup found a “meaningful statistical relationship” between educational attainment and the outcome, with education showing the largest effect on cognitive ability, a measure of persistence, self-reports of having a job that fits with a person’s talent and interests, voting, volunteerism, and health ratings.
Gallup also surveyed adults in November 2022 to analyze the extent to which they believe a more educated society is linked to desirable outcomes for people and society, including higher incomes, increased citizen participation, more business creation and improved mental and physical health.
The survey found the majority of Americans agree that additional education helps produce 14 of the 19 desirable outcomes, especially those related to greater innovation, higher household incomes, and a more knowledge population.
The analysis was based on a study by the Lumina Foundation and Gallup titled “Education for What,” which used available survey data from Gallup, the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Surveys. It also used a nationally representative web survey from Nov. 9-27, 2022 of 14,054 U.S. adults who were members of the Gallup Panel to address gaps in the data.