I live in the Midwest too, but my experience is very different - on my street, almost everyone is a college grad, but those colleges are directional state universities or “lower-tier” universities. Most are nowhere near the top 100 in any list.
And who are these poor loser neighbors of mine? Teachers, lawyers, small businessmen, engineers, scientific researchers (me!), and entrepreneurs. Most seem pretty happy and financially stable. However, most people don’t drive the “right” car, because in my neck of the woods, it’s all Fords and GMs.