Tea Party Supporters Richer, More Educated Than Most, Poll Finds

Tea Partiers make more money and are better educated than most Americans, a new poll out Thursday found.

The New York Times/CBS News poll took the temperature of Tea Party supporters on a number of topics, and turned up some results that might seem apparent -- Tea Partiers mostly describe themselves as "very conservative," they say President Obama's policies favor the poor and they describe the president as "very liberal."

But in a number of areas, their responses mirrored the general public's. And, according to the poll, their incomes and education levels are well above average.

Of the Tea Party supporters who responded, 20 percent make more than $100,000, versus 14 percent for the general pool of people polled. Fourteen percent of Tea Party supporters have a post-graduate education, compared with 10 percent for the general public. Twenty-three percent of Tea Party supporters have a college degree, compared with 15 percent for the general public, according to the poll.

The 18 percent of people who counted themselves among the Tea Party crowd are also mostly white, male and older than 45 years old.

The poll of 1,580 adults was conducted April 5-12. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.

Click here to read The New York Times/CBS News poll.