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US Energy Use per Capita vs US College Enrollment

US Energy Use per Capita and US College Enrollment correlate at r = -0.55 over 39 years (1971–2022), p = 3.2e-4. With the time trend removed, r = +0.43. Direction flips without the trend.

Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is -0.55, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes 0.43. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.

Pearson r
-0.55
p-value
3.2e-4
Years compared (n)
39 (1971–2022)
95% confidence interval
-0.74 to -0.28
Correlation with the time trend removed
+0.43

Sources

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Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.