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News

Degrees in the Statehouse: West Virginia

June 12, 2011

National Overview

Choose another state ↓
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois
Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana
Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania
Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Degrees in the Statehouse

part-timelegislature
100lower house
34upper house
134legislators

West Virginia

Where did West Virginia’s state legislators go to college?
Highest level of college education achieved
No college
Some college
Bachelor’s
Beyond bachelor’s
West Virginia state legislators
14%
10
29
44
All state legislators in the U.S.
9%
11
34
41
All West Virginia residents
59%
24
11
7
Location of college attended
In home state
Outside of home state
Both
West Virginia state legislators
61%
16
22
All state legislators in the U.S.
55%
22
20
Type of college attended
Some legislators attended colleges of multiple types.

Public
Private
Other
West Virginia state legislators
102 legislators
47
10
All state legislators in the U.S.
5,215 legislators
2,961
479
Figures may not add to 100 because of rounding and because the education of some legislators is unknown.
Built by Josh Keller and Alex Richards / Produced by Xarissa Holdaway, Gabriela Montell, and Carmen Mendoza

MORE ON THE REPORT

How Educated Is Your Legislature?
 A Chronicle examination of 7,000 state representatives finds that just three in four have completed college. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Lawmakers Talk About Their Degrees – or the Lack of Them
 One five-decade Iowa legislator and veteran makes higher education a priority, while a self-taught Utah senator thinks college is useless for some.
4 Experts Weigh In
 How important is it for state legislators to hold college degrees?
How a Degree Influences Decision Making
 More than a third of South Carolina’s state legislators went to the University of South Carolina, but that doesn’t seem to be helping its budget.

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National Overview

Choose another state ↓
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois
Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana
Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania
Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Degrees in the Statehouse

part-timelegislature
100lower house
34upper house
134legislators

West Virginia

Where did West Virginia’s state legislators go to college?
Highest level of college education achieved
No college
Some college
Bachelor’s
Beyond bachelor’s
West Virginia state legislators
14%
10
29
44
All state legislators in the U.S.
9%
11
34
41
All West Virginia residents
59%
24
11
7
Location of college attended
In home state
Outside of home state
Both
West Virginia state legislators
61%
16
22
All state legislators in the U.S.
55%
22
20
Type of college attended
Some legislators attended colleges of multiple types.

Public
Private
Other
West Virginia state legislators
102 legislators
47
10
All state legislators in the U.S.
5,215 legislators
2,961
479
Figures may not add to 100 because of rounding and because the education of some legislators is unknown.
Built by Josh Keller and Alex Richards / Produced by Xarissa Holdaway, Gabriela Montell, and Carmen Mendoza

MORE ON THE REPORT

How Educated Is Your Legislature?
 A Chronicle examination of 7,000 state representatives finds that just three in four have completed college. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Lawmakers Talk About Their Degrees – or the Lack of Them
 One five-decade Iowa legislator and veteran makes higher education a priority, while a self-taught Utah senator thinks college is useless for some.
4 Experts Weigh In
 How important is it for state legislators to hold college degrees?
How a Degree Influences Decision Making
 More than a third of South Carolina’s state legislators went to the University of South Carolina, but that doesn’t seem to be helping its budget.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Law & Policy Political Influence & Activism
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