In 2022, around 91.8 percent of women had graduated high school or had obtained a higher educational degree in the United States. This is an increase from 1960, when 42.5 percent of women in the U.S. had graduated from high school or above.

In 2019, around **** percent of the population in Vermont and Maine had high school graduation or higher as their highest form of education -- the most out of any state in the country. For the United States as a whole, **** percent of the population were high school graduates or higher.

In 2022, about 66 percent of female high school completers and 57.2 percent of male high school completers enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year college in the fall immediately following their graduation from high school in the United States. For females, this was a decrease from the previous year, when almost 70 percent enrolled in college immediately after completing high school.

Metric scores are not reported for n-sizes under 10. Per OSSE's policy, secondary suppression is applied to all student groups when a complementary group has an n-size under 10 or is top/bottom suppressed to prevent the calculation of suppressed data.

Data Source: DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education

Why This Matters

Graduating from high school is a critical step in advancing along educational and professional paths. Many careers and almost all colleges require a high school diploma or GED.

Educational attainment is strongly linked with socioeconomic and health outcomes. Americans who graduate high school tend to have higher incomes than those who do not. High school graduates also tend to live longer, healthier, and happier lives.

Black, Hispanic, and Native American students in the U.S. have lower graduation rates, on average, than white students. Segregation and historical disinvestment in communities of color play a significant role in these disparities. Poverty and limited educational resources act as barriers to graduation.

The District Response

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)’s Reimagining High School Graduation Requirements initiative aims to identify and implement new high school graduation requirements that incorporate outcome measures and support innovative approaches to preparing young people for life after graduation.

The District of Columbia Public Schools offers a number of supports to both proactively aid students in graduating and assist those at risk of not graduating.

Since 2014, those who pass the GED receive a State High School Diploma instead of a GED credential. This more accurately represents the dedication, hard work, and demonstration of skill it takes for residents to successfully complete this alternative path to a high school diploma.

The percentage of persons that have not completed, graduated, or received a high school diploma or GED. This is a standard indicator used to measure the portion of the population with less than a basic level of skills needed for the workplace. Persons under the age of 25 are not included in this analysis since many of these persons are still attending various levels of schooling.Source: American Community Survey Years Available: 2007-2011, 2008-2012, 2009-2013, 2010-2014, 2011-2015, 2012-2016, 2013-2017, 2014-2018, 2015-2019, 2016-2020, 2017-2021, 2018-2022, 2019-2023Please note: We do not recommend comparing overlapping years of data due to the nature of this dataset. For more information, please visit: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/guidance/comparing-acs-data.html

In 2020, about 62.7 percent of high school completers enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year college in the fall immediately following their graduation from high school. This is a decrease from the previous year, where 66.2 percent of high school graduates enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year college in the fall immediately following their graduation from high school.

The dataset is related to student data, from an educational research study focusing on student demographics, academic performance, and related factors. Here’s a general description of what each column likely represents:

Sex: The gender of the student (e.g., Male, Female). Age: The age of the student. Name: The name of the student. State: The state where the student resides or where the educational institution is located. Address: Indicates whether the student lives in an urban or rural area. Famsize: Family size category (e.g., LE3 for families with less than or equal to 3 members, GT3 for more than 3). Pstatus: Parental cohabitation status (e.g., 'T' for living together, 'A' for living apart). Medu: Mother's education level (e.g., Graduate, College). Fedu: Father's education level (similar categories to Medu). Mjob: Mother's job type. Fjob: Father's job type. Guardian: The primary guardian of the student. Math_Score: Score obtained by the student in Mathematics. Reading_Score: Score obtained by the student in Reading. Writing_Score: Score obtained by the student in Writing. Attendance_Rate: The percentage rate of the student’s attendance. Suspensions: Number of times the student has been suspended. Expulsions: Number of times the student has been expelled. Teacher_Support: Level of support the student receives from teachers (e.g., Low, Medium, High). Counseling: Indicates whether the student receives counseling services (Yes or No). Social_Worker_Visits: Number of times a social worker has visited the student. Parental_Involvement: The level of parental involvement in the student's academic life (e.g., Low, Medium, High). GPA: The student’s Grade Point Average, a standard measure of academic achievement in schools.

This dataset provides a comprehensive look at various factors that might influence a student's educational outcomes, including demographic factors, academic performance metrics, and support structures both at home and within the educational system. It can be used for statistical analysis to understand and improve student success rates, or for targeted interventions based on specific identified needs.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Unit Characteristics: Percent Black or African American by Highest Education: Less Than College Graduate: Less Than High School Graduate (CXU980270LB1403M) from 2012 to 2023 about no college, consumer unit, secondary schooling, African-American, secondary, education, percent, and USA.

This dataset shows the percentage of students who graduated from Massachusetts public schools with a regular high school diploma within 4 or 5 years. It is a long file that contains multiple rows for each school and district, with rows for different years and different student groups.

Note: Data is currently available at the school level only, as well as the state overall. For district-level graduation rates, please see the High School Graduation Rates dataset, or the High School Graduation Rates report on our DESE Profiles site.

Economically Disadvantaged was used 2015-2021. Low Income was used prior to 2015, and a different version of Low Income has been used since 2022. Please see the DESE Researcher's Guide for more information. 

For more data about student experiences and outcomes in high school and beyond, please see the main DART: Success After High School dataset and dashboard.

Overall educational attainment measures the highest level of education attained by a given individual: for example, an individual counted in the percentage of the measured population with a master’s or professional degree can be assumed to also have a bachelor’s degree and a high school diploma, but they are not counted in the population percentages for those two categories. Overall educational attainment is the broadest education indicator available, providing information about the measured county population as a whole.

Only members of the population aged 25 and older are included in these educational attainment estimates, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS).

Champaign County has high educational attainment: over 48 percent of the county's population aged 25 or older has a bachelor's degree or graduate or professional degree as their highest level of education. In comparison, the percentage of the population aged 25 or older in the United States and Illinois with a bachelor's degree in 2023 was 21.8% (+/-0.1) and 22.8% (+/-0.2), respectively. The population aged 25 or older in the U.S. and Illinois with a graduate or professional degree in 2022, respectively, was 14.3% (+/-0.1) and 15.5% (+/-0.2).

Educational attainment data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, which are released annually.

As with any datasets that are estimates rather than exact counts, it is important to take into account the margins of error (listed in the column beside each figure) when drawing conclusions from the data.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of providing the standard 1-year data products, the Census Bureau released experimental estimates from the 1-year data in 2020. This includes a limited number of data tables for the nation, states, and the District of Columbia. The Census Bureau states that the 2020 ACS 1-year experimental tables use an experimental estimation methodology and should not be compared with other ACS data. For these reasons, and because data is not available for Champaign County, no data for 2020 is included in this Indicator.

For interested data users, the 2020 ACS 1-Year Experimental data release includes a dataset on Educational Attainment for the Population 25 Years and Over.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (16 October 2024).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (29 September 2023).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (6 October 2022).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (4 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using data.census.gov; (4 June 2021).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2017 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (13 September 2018).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (13 September 2018). U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (19 September 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2014 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2012 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2006 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, 2005 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1501; generated by CCRPC staff; using American FactFinder; (16 March 2016).

In 2023, around 23.5 percent of high school dropouts were unemployed, compared to 15.8 percent of graduates. See the United States unemployment rate and the monthly unemployment rate for further information. Unemployment among high school dropouts and high school graduatesAs seen from the timeline above, high school graduates are generally employed at a higher rate than individuals who had dropped out of high school. Since 2000, the share of high school dropouts to be employed has risen and fallen. Unemployment of high school dropouts reached a low in 2020 at 7.5 percent, falling well below graduates. In 2021, 90.1 percent of the U.S. population who were aged 25 and above had graduated from high school. Unemployment of high school graduates not enrolled in college is much higher than the national unemployment rate in the United States. As of 2021, unemployment in the U.S. was at 5.3 percent, down from a high of 9.6 percent unemployment in 2010, the highest yearly rate in ten years. Nationwide, unemployment is worst among farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, with a rate of 5.1 percent in May 2022, followed by construction and extraction occupations and transportation and material moving occupations. Not only were more than 7.5 percent of high school dropouts unemployed in 2021, but working high school dropouts earned less on average than individuals of any other level of educational attainment. In 2020, mean earnings of individuals who had not graduated from high school were about 26,815 U.S. dollars annually, compared to 39,498 dollars among high school graduates and 73,499 dollars among those with a Bachelor's degree.

Graph and download economic data for Unemployment Rate - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over (LNS14027660) from Jan 1992 to Jun 2025 about secondary schooling, secondary, 25 years +, tertiary schooling, education, household survey, unemployment, rate, and USA.

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.

Graph and download economic data for High School Graduate or Higher for Ohio (GCT1501OH) from 2006 to 2023 about secondary schooling, secondary, 25 years +, educational attainment, OH, education, and USA.

United States - Employment-Population Ratio - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over was 54.70% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Employment-Population Ratio - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over reached a record high of 63.50 in November of 1997 and a record low of 45.20 in April of 2020. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Employment-Population Ratio - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

Historical Dataset of U. S. Grant High School is provided by PublicSchoolReview and contain statistics on metrics:Total Students Trends Over Years (1987-2023),Total Classroom Teachers Trends Over Years (1987-2023),Distribution of Students By Grade Trends,Student-Teacher Ratio Comparison Over Years (1987-2023),American Indian Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Asian Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1990-2014),Hispanic Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Black Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),White Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Two or More Races Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (2017-2023),Diversity Score Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Free Lunch Eligibility Comparison Over Years (1995-2023),Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility Comparison Over Years (2003-2023),Reading and Language Arts Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2011-2022),Math Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2012-2023),Science Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2021-2022),Overall School Rank Trends Over Years (2012-2023),Graduation Rate Comparison Over Years (2013-2021)

Graph and download economic data for Labor Force Participation Rate - Less Than a High School Diploma, 25 Yrs. & over (LNU01327659) from Jan 1992 to Jul 2025 about secondary schooling, secondary, 25 years +, participation, civilian, education, labor force, labor, household survey, rate, and USA.

United States - Unemployment Rate - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over was 3.80% in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Unemployment Rate - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over reached a record high of 17.00 in April of 2020 and a record low of 3.00 in October of 1999. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Unemployment Rate - High School Graduates, No College, 25 Yrs. & over - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on September of 2025.

This statistic shows the percentage of the Black, non-Hispanic population aged between 25 and 29 years with a high school diploma or higher in the United States from 1975 to 2022, by gender. In 2022, about **** percent of Black, non-Hispanic females had attained at least a high school diploma in the United States compared to **** percent of Black, non-Hispanic males.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Unit Characteristics: Percent High School (9-12) by Education: High School Graduate with Some College (CXU980300LB1305M) from 1995 to 2009 about schools, no college, consumer unit, secondary schooling, secondary, education, percent, and USA.