All major subgroups of Americans express less support for higher education today than they did 12 years ago. The initial decline — between 2013 and 2019 — in the percentage rating college as very important was steeper among 18- to 34-year-olds than among older adults. However, since then, the rates among older adults have plunged, so that now only about a third of all age groups say a college education is very important.
Women, people of color, college graduates and Democrats have traditionally been more likely than their counterparts to value higher education, and that remains the case today. However, even among these pro-college groups, less than half now say college is very important.