The Golden Ticket: How Raising Postsecondary Attainment Rates to 70 Percent for All Demographic Groups Would Unlock Decades of Prosperity

California stands at a defining moment for its economic future.
Across the state, two Californias exist side by side. We have a thriving economy, yet millions of Californians are struggling to afford basic necessities. Increasingly, the dividing line between these realities is postsecondary education—who has access to it, who completes it, and whether it leads to real economic mobility.

Now we also understand what that divide is costing us.

New research from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, in partnership with College Futures Foundation, finds that California could generate $4.4 trillion in economic gains if we reach 70% postsecondary attainment across all demographic groups.
This is more than a number—it’s a measure of economic potential and a stark reminder that our systems are not working as they should, for all Californians.

Increasing attainment equitably will require more than expanding access. It will require ensuring that postsecondary education leads to real economic mobility, and that it is designed for the realities of today’s working learners.

In response to the report’s release, College Futures Foundation is launching Our Golden Ticket, a public engagement campaign to spark a new conversation about how postsecondary attainment connects to economic mobility across California, and to catalyze the transformation needed to get there. This campaign is grounded in a shared understanding: Reaching this level of opportunity will require all of us to think and do things in the most creative and expansive way possible.

This is California’s moment.