In 2022, about 37.7 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from college or another higher education institution, a slight decline from 37.9 the previous year. However, this is a significant increase from 1960, when only 7.7 percent of the U.S. population had graduated from college. Demographics Educational attainment varies by gender, location, race, and age throughout the United States. Asian-American and Pacific Islanders had the highest level of education, on average, while Massachusetts and the District of Colombia are areas home to the highest rates of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. However, education levels are correlated with wealth. While public education is free up until the 12th grade, the cost of university is out of reach for many Americans, making social mobility increasingly difficult. Earnings White Americans with a professional degree earned the most money on average, compared to other educational levels and races. However, regardless of educational attainment, males typically earned far more on average compared to females. Despite the decreasing wage gap over the years in the country, it remains an issue to this day. Not only is there a large wage gap between males and females, but there is also a large income gap linked to race as well.

School age population, tertiary education, both sexes (number) in United States was reported at 21452031 Persons in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population of the official age for tertiary education, both sexes - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

According to a survey conducted in 2023, Americans aged 60 years and over were most likely to say that the benefits of their higher education exceeded the costs, regardless of their education level. While ** percent of Americans aged 60 years and over with an associate's degree said that the benefits of their education exceeded the costs, only ** percent of Americans aged between 30 and 44 years with an associate's degree agreed with this belief.

School age population, tertiary education, both sexes (number) in World was reported at 585762068 Persons in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population of the official age for tertiary education, both sexes - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Competed Short-Cycle Tertiary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data was reported at 28.467 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 27.995 % for 2022. CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Competed Short-Cycle Tertiary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 18.790 % from Dec 2004 (Median) to 2023, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 28.467 % in 2023 and a record low of 10.880 % in 2006. CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Competed Short-Cycle Tertiary: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed short-cycle tertiary education.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;;

In an impressive increase from years past, 39 percent of women in the United States had completed four years or more of college in 2022. This figure is up from 3.8 percent of women in 1940. A significant increase can also be seen in males, with 36.2 percent of the U.S. male population having completed four years or more of college in 2022, up from 5.5 percent in 1940.

4- and 2-year colleges

In the United States, college students are able to choose between attending a 2-year postsecondary program and a 4-year postsecondary program. Generally, attending a 2-year program results in an Associate’s Degree, and 4-year programs result in a Bachelor’s Degree.

Many 2-year programs are designed so that attendees can transfer to a college or university offering a 4-year program upon completing their Associate’s. Completion of a 4-year program is the generally accepted standard for entry-level positions when looking for a job.

Earnings after college

Factors such as gender, degree achieved, and the level of postsecondary education can have an impact on employment and earnings later in life. Some Bachelor’s degrees continue to attract more male students than female, particularly in STEM fields, while liberal arts degrees such as education, languages and literatures, and communication tend to see higher female attendance.

All of these factors have an impact on earnings after college, and despite nearly the same rate of attendance within the American population between males and females, men with a Bachelor’s Degree continue to have higher weekly earnings on average than their female counterparts.

Bangladesh BD: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Female: % Gross data was reported at 21.955 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.844 % for 2022. Bangladesh BD: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Female: % Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 3.770 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2023, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21.955 % in 2023 and a record low of 0.407 % in 1970. Bangladesh BD: School Enrollment: Tertiary: Female: % Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Bangladesh – Table BD.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Tertiary education, whether or not to an advanced research qualification, normally requires, as a minimum condition of admission, the successful completion of education at the secondary level.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

AZ: School Enrollment: Tertiary: % Gross data was reported at 41.391 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 41.002 % for 2022. AZ: School Enrollment: Tertiary: % Gross data is updated yearly, averaging 24.321 % from Dec 2006 (Median) to 2023, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 41.391 % in 2023 and a record low of 19.048 % in 2008. AZ: School Enrollment: Tertiary: % Gross data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Azerbaijan – Table AZ.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Gross enrollment ratio is the ratio of total enrollment, regardless of age, to the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the level of education shown. Tertiary education, whether or not to an advanced research qualification, normally requires, as a minimum condition of admission, the successful completion of education at the secondary level.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Male: % Cumulative data was reported at 15.925 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 15.820 % for 2022. CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Male: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 10.150 % from Dec 2007 (Median) to 2023, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.925 % in 2023 and a record low of 9.220 % in 2009. CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Bachelor's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Male: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Bachelor's or equivalent.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;;

CO: Primary School Starting Age data was reported at 6.000 Year in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 6.000 Year for 2022. CO: Primary School Starting Age data is updated yearly, averaging 6.000 Year from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2023, with 54 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.000 Year in 1975 and a record low of 6.000 Year in 2023. CO: Primary School Starting Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Primary school starting age is the age at which students would enter primary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;;

Educational attainment of the population aged 25 to 64, by age group and sex, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada, provinces and territories. This table is included in Section D: Postsecondary education: Educational attainment of the population aged 25 to 64 of the Pan Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP). PCEIP draws from a wide variety of data sources to provide information on the school-age population, elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, transitions, education finance and labour market outcomes. The program presents indicators for all of Canada, the provinces, the territories, as well as selected international comparisons and comparisons over time. PCEIP is an ongoing initiative of the Canadian Education Statistics Council, a partnership between Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada that provides a set of statistical measures on education systems in Canada.

CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Master's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data was reported at 4.659 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 4.280 % for 2022. CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Master's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data is updated yearly, averaging 3.230 % from Dec 2007 (Median) to 2023, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.659 % in 2023 and a record low of 2.200 % in 2009. CO: Educational Attainment: At Least Master's or Equivalent: Population 25+ Years: Female: % Cumulative data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Colombia – Table CO.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Master's or equivalent.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;;

School age population, tertiary education, male (number) in United States was reported at 10980204 Persons in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population of the official age for tertiary education, male - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

CM: Primary Completion Rate: Total: % of Relevant Age Group data was reported at 71.081 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 69.435 % for 2022. CM: Primary Completion Rate: Total: % of Relevant Age Group data is updated yearly, averaging 55.875 % from Dec 1973 (Median) to 2023, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 75.070 % in 2012 and a record low of 46.782 % in 1974. CM: Primary Completion Rate: Total: % of Relevant Age Group data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Cameroon – Table CM.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Primary completion rate, or gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, is the number of new entrants (enrollments minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education. Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;Weighted average;

DD: Primary School Starting Age data was reported at 6.000 Year in 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 6.000 Year for 2022. DD: Primary School Starting Age data is updated yearly, averaging 6.000 Year from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.000 Year in 2023 and a record low of 6.000 Year in 2023. DD: Primary School Starting Age data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Curacao – Table CW.World Bank.WDI: Social: Education Statistics. Primary school starting age is the age at which students would enter primary education, assuming they had started at the official entrance age for the lowest level of education, had studied full-time throughout and had progressed through the system without repeating or skipping a grade.;UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS.Stat Bulk Data Download Service. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://apiportal.uis.unesco.org/bdds.;;

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Unit Characteristics: Percent High School (9-12) by Age: from Age 25 to 34 (CXU980300LB0403M) from 1984 to 2023 about consumer unit, age, secondary schooling, secondary, 25 years +, education, percent, and USA.

Estimates of suicides among higher education students by sex, age group, ethnicity, type of study, and student term time accommodation between the academic years ending 2017 and 2023. Based on mortality records linked to Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student records. These are official statistics in development.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Unit Characteristics: Age of Reference Person by Highest Education: Less Than College Graduate: Less Than High School Graduate (CXU980020LB1403M) from 2012 to 2023 about no college, consumer unit, age, secondary schooling, secondary, education, personal, and USA.

School age population, tertiary education, male (number) in World was reported at 302411110 Persons in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population of the official age for tertiary education, male - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.