STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Only about a quarter of adults in the United States believe that higher education is affordable, according to a new poll.

A Gallup poll asked more than 1,000 adults living in the United States if they believed higher education was available and affordable.

About 27% of U.S. adults report that education beyond high school is affordable -- a rate that is fairly consistent since Gallup began asking this question in 2012.

More than half of U.S. adults (60%) believe higher education is available to anyone in the country who needs it. This percentage has remained consistent since the last time Gallup asked this question in 2015 -- but has declined since its high of 71% in 2011.

Those numbers differ when Gallup analyzed the data based on age. About 46% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 said education beyond high school is available to those who need it -- compared to the 60% or higher among those in older generations.

Only 22% of people ages 18 to 29 said higher education is affordable, compared to 31% of people ages 30 to 49, 23% in the 50 to 64 age bracket and 31% among those ages 65 and older, according to Gallup.

The percentage of U.S. adults reporting higher education is affordable and available has remained stable since Gallup last asked the same questions in 2015, according to Gallup.

This may seem like good news given Americans declining confidence in higher ed -- but perhaps not, given the proliferation of online degree-granting programs and the expansion of degree alternatives such as digital badging and micro-credentialing, Gallup said about the poll. These programs were designed to improve access to education beyond high school for millions of Americans interested in upskilling and reskilling -- unfortunately, public opinion about availability appears stagnant despite these changes.

In May, U.S. News & World Report ranked New York State 15th for the best state for higher education.

The site ranked the best states to receive a higher education by weighing several factors, including: the number of citizens in each state who have college degrees; the time it takes students to complete both two- and four-year college programs; the cost of in-state tuition and fees; the burden of debt of college graduates.

Heres a breakdown of how New York ranked on each individual factor for higher education.

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Is higher education affordable? Heres what one poll found. - SILive.com