A record-low 35% of Americans consider a college education “very important,” according to new Gallup polling released Thursday.

This marks the first time in surveys going back to 2010 — when 75% responded this way — that fewer than half of adults have considered a college education crucial.

Among those responding to the latest poll, another 35% described college as “fairly important” and 24% as “not too important.”

Gallup analysts chalked up a steady 15-year decline in sentiment to souring attitudes among traditionally pro-college demographics.

“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,” Lydia Saad, Gallup’s director of social research, wrote in a summary of the findings. “However, even among these pro-college groups, less than half now say college is very important.”

The polling company found that the share of people viewing college as “not too important” more than doubled from 13% in 2019, the last time it polled the question. In 2010, just 4% of survey respondents agreed with that view.

Ms. Saad noted that perceptions of the value of a college education dropped among self-identifying Democrats and Republicans alike, requiring a broader explanation than dislike of campus politics and teachings among those on the right.

“While the new survey didn’t explore the reasons directly, the high cost of college, recent attention to the benefits of trade schools, the growth of online learning and microcredentials, and the potential for revolutionary changes in the labor market presented by recent advancements in AI are all possibilities,” she added.

Gallup conducted a randomized national telephone survey of 1,094 adults from Aug. 1-20. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.