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Show Education Education levels are important to understanding health status because as the level of formal education rises, the population generally becomes healthier. A person with a higher level of formal education generally has increased awareness of health risks and healthy behavior, higher likelihood of finding employment which provides health insurance and a greater opportunity of obtaining a higher income. All of these factors affect access and utilization of health care and can help contribute to a healthier population. For 1970, 1980, and 1990 Utah reported that a higher percentage of its population completed high school and college than did the U.S. population. During this period, however, the percentage of the U.S. population reaching these levels of educational attainment grew at a faster rate than the percentage of Utah residents achieving the same levels of education. As a result, the ratio between Utah and U.S. high school completion dropped from 1.29:1 to 1.13:1 and the Utah and U.S. ratio for college completion fell from 1.31:1 to 1.10:1. Table 22. % of Population 25+ Who Have Completed High School/College Year Utah High U.S. School Utah:U.S. (Ratio) Utah College U.S. Utah:U.S. (Ratio) 1970 1980 1990 67.3 80.0 85.1 52.3 66.5 75.2 1.29:1 1.20:1 1.13:1 14.0 19.9 22.3 10.7 16.2 20.3 1.31:1 1.23:1 1.10:1 5 8 Demographics |