NoRTEC stands for the Northern Rural Training and Employment Consortium, consists of 13 counties in northern California. In their recent Regional Labor Market Profile and Industry/Sector Analysis, it was found that this region outperforms the state and nation in terms of portion of the population with at least some postsecondary education. Nearly 62% of adults in the NoRTEC region have some college or an associate’s, bachelor, or graduate degree, compared to 59.7% of California’s adults and 57.5% nationwide. The NoRTEC region also significantly outperforms the state and the nation in portion of adults who have at least completed high school; more than 86% of NoRTEC adults have a high school diploma or equivalent or greater, compared to 80.7% statewide and 85.6% nationally. In addition, the region has a significantly greater portion of adults who have started a postsecondary program or completed an associate’s degree (40.2%) than the state (29.5%) or the nation (28.8%). You can read more here.