Whether you're in college already or in the stages of applying, most of the time it seems like everyone and their cousin are pursuing their educational goals.

But according to a new article from Edudemic, what does data from the U.S. 2010 Census reveal about the current state of education?

Among other things, the Census is one of the key ways in which we can evaluate how our education system is really stacking up. If you've ever wondered how much your degree will actually be worth or how many women are going to college compared to men, now we finally have a few insights.

Here are some key takeaways from this valuable U.S. Census data:

60% of 3-5 year olds are enrolled in pre-school, and 92% of 5-6 year olds are enrolled in kindergarten. Although this is a huge jump in enrollment from the 1970 census, the number of children in nursery school is perhaps lagging behind where it could be. In light of this data, Obama's new "Preschool for All" program from his 2014 budget proposal makes a lot more sense as a priority.

93% of teens ages 14-18 are finishing high school. This is especially encouraging, as the information also showed that typically Americans who don't hold a high school diploma only earn about $18,413 per year. Compared to the $47,422 per year earned by college graduates, for those of us currently pursuing higher education the difference definitely seems worthwhile.

The number of women enrolled in universities increased by more than 20% over the past 30 years. In 2010, 47.5% of women attended college, a huge jump from only 20% in 1970. Meanwhile, the number of men attending college also increased from 27% in 1970 to 38.6% in 2010.

_To learn more about U.S. education as told by the 2010 U.S. Census data, check out these infographics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau._

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