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List of U.S. states and territories by educational attainment

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This list of U.S. states and territories by educational attainment covers the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Puerto Rico and their populations' educational attainment for all people of at least 25 years of age. The four other inhabited U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are listed separately.

The data source for the main list is the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2021.[1] The data source for the territories table is from 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data, because those territories are excluded from the American Community Survey.[2][3] The American Community Survey is a large demographic survey collected throughout the year using mailed questionnaires, telephone interviews, and visits from Census Bureau field representatives to about 3.5 million household addresses annually, regardless of their legal immigration status. The survey does not measure graduation rates from different educational institutions, but instead, it measures the percentage of adult residents with a high school diploma.[4]

Overall, 90.3% of Americans over the age of 25 had graduated from high school in 2021, with the highest level found in the state of Massachusetts at 96.1% and the lowest in the state of California at 84.4%. In Puerto Rico, the proportion was even lower, though, at 79.6%.[1]

34.9% of Americans over the age of 25 had educational attainment of having a bachelor's degree or higher in 2019. The state with the highest percentage of people having a bachelor's degree or higher educational attainment was Massachusetts at 50.6%, and the lowest was West Virginia at 24.1%. The District of Columbia had a percentage significantly higher than that of any U.S. state at 63.0%.[1]

Advanced Degrees, such as Master's Degrees and Doctorates were held by 16.7% of Americans at least 25 years old in 2019. Advanced Degrees were most common in Massachusetts, with 26.3% of Massachusetts residents holding an advanced degree of any type since 2019 (it is regarded as the best state for Higher Education), and they were least common in Mississippi, with 9.3% of Mississippi residents holding an advanced degree. The District of Columbia had a percentage of 37.8%, higher than that of any state, while in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 7.9% of Americans had an advanced degree, a proportion lower than any state in the U.S.[1]

As of the 2010 census, four U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) had educational attainment numbers below every U.S. state (and the District of Columbia). In the U.S. Virgin Islands, 68.9% had attained a high school degree or higher; in American Samoa, 9.9% had attained a bachelor's degree or higher.[2][3]

List

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In the list below, one can find the population in each state and territory of the U.S. who has attained a specific education level (out of people 25 years or over), and the percentage of the population who has attained that education level. The list is initially sorted in Alphabetical order but one can click the table headers to sort by any column.[1]

State or Territory Population over the age of 25 With a High School Diploma or higher With a Bachelor's Degree or higher With an Advanced Degree
Population Pct Population Pct Population Pct
  Alabama 3,451,208 3,034,741 87.93% 946,766 27.43% 374,490 10.85%
  Alaska 485,779 453,289 93.31% 159,290 32.79% 57,868 11.91%
  Arizona 4,980,297 4,430,934 88.97% 1,615,081 32.43% 629,408 12.64%
  Arkansas 2,037,763 1,806,873 88.67% 515,034 25.27% 190,897 9.37%
  California 26,909,869 22,724,990 84.45% 9,737,817 36.19% 3,779,787 14.05%
  Colorado 4,044,182 3,738,208 92.43% 1,796,240 44.42% 688,931 17.04%
  Connecticut 2,534,376 2,309,185 91.11% 1,067,671 42.13% 479,981 18.94%
  Delaware 711,104 649,638 91.36% 253,292 35.62% 106,997 15.05%
  District of Columbia 478,774 444,233 92.79% 301,852 63.05% 181,081 37.82%
  Florida 15,762,122 14,153,579 89.79% 5,226,846 33.16% 1,978,625 12.55%
  Georgia 7,234,271 6,436,394 88.97% 2,505,076 34.63% 991,062 13.70%
  Hawaii 1,021,687 949,476 92.93% 360,681 35.30% 133,832 13.10%
  Idaho 1,257,566 1,147,653 91.26% 386,264 30.72% 132,502 10.54%
  Illinois 8,730,697 7,872,693 90.17% 3,242,579 37.14% 1,310,297 15.01%
  Indiana 4,559,631 4,132,897 90.64% 1,316,787 28.88% 473,718 10.39%
  Iowa 2,137,261 1,994,595 93.32% 652,742 30.54% 210,864 9.87%
  Kansas 1,942,133 1,784,711 91.89% 687,452 35.40% 259,988 13.39%
  Kentucky 3,077,867 2,708,147 87.99% 830,414 26.98% 341,868 11.11%
  Louisiana 3,117,186 2,701,889 86.68% 824,369 26.45% 300,894 9.65%
  Maine 1,015,078 959,533 94.53% 365,305 35.99% 140,318 13.82%
  Maryland 4,273,260 3,892,442 91.09% 1,818,202 48.55% 861,669 24.16%
  Massachusetts 4,934,755 4,495,563 96.10% 2,300,423 50.62% 1,049,675 28.27%
  Michigan 6,971,895 6,411,597 91.96% 2,208,170 31.67% 870,008 12.48%
  Minnesota 3,898,742 3,669,895 94.13% 1,516,426 38.90% 522,543 13.40%
  Mississippi 1,968,167 1,702,178 86.49% 487,663 24.78% 184,007 9.35%
  Missouri 4,226,634 3,871,249 91.59% 1,340,643 31.72% 517,428 12.24%
  Montana 766,758 723,450 94.35% 266,820 34.80% 95,443 12.45%
  Nebraska 1,292,536 1,191,221 92.16% 445,261 34.45% 158,751 12.28%
  Nevada 2,192,826 1,911,173 87.16% 604,626 27.57% 211,418 9.64%
  New Hampshire 1,008,318 952,238 94.44% 405,815 40.98% 158,459 15.72%
  New Jersey 6,474,427 5,890,494 90.98% 2,790,646 43.10% 1,126,293 17.40%
  New Mexico 1,450,549 1,268,955 87.48% 435,930 30.05% 204,185 14.08%
  New York 13,987,094 12,313,514 88.03% 5,583,687 40.90% 2,477,848 17.72%
  North Carolina 7,245,632 6,499,145 89.70% 2,529,657 34.91% 955,976 13.19%
  North Dakota 506,739 474,432 93.62% 160,847 31.74% 47,533 9.38%
  Ohio 8,117,973 7,447,659 91.74% 2,493,910 30.72% 957,286 11.79%
  Oklahoma 2,639,889 2,341,875 88.71% 737,183 27.92% 254,015 9.62%
  Oregon 3,030,635 2,784,373 91.87% 1,101,061 36.33% 420,755 13.88%
  Pennsylvania 9,161,945 8,418,661 95.89% 3,164,985 36.54% 1,277,263 16.94%
  Puerto Rico 2,401,409 1,912,629 79.65% 683,894 28.48% 190,538 7.93%
  Rhode Island 773,464 689,448 89.14% 282,326 36.50% 120,732 15.61%
  South Carolina 3,598,398 3,224,401 89.61% 1,134,636 31.53% 429,896 11.95%
  South Dakota 590,377 549,364 93.05% 186,946 31.67% 59,688 10.11%
  Tennessee 4,814,533 4,320,485 89.74% 1,467,481 30.48% 543,077 11.28%
  Texas 19,224,688 16,415,784 85.39% 6,366,437 33.12% 2,288,616 11.90%
  Utah 2,010,727 1,873,479 93.17% 740,097 36.81% 255,215 12.69%
  Vermont 462,705 437,478 94.55% 205,621 44.44% 85,248 18.42%
  Virginia 5,942,672 5,430,700 91.38% 2,484,460 41.81% 1,089,585 18.33%
  Washington 5,401,149 4,987,844 92.35% 2,104,662 40.97% 817,197 15.13%
  West Virginia 1,265,439 1,123,971 88.82% 305,188 24.12% 125,812 9.94%
  Wisconsin 4,076,339 3,804,265 93.33% 1,326,478 32.54% 450,011 11.04%
  Wyoming 395,348 369,992 93.59% 115,618 29.24% 42,363 10.72%
  United States 230,594,873 205,833,612 90.3% 80,587,357 34.9% 31,611,941 16.7%

U.S. territories

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Below is a table of the educational attainment of four U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[2][3] The data in the table below is from the 2010 census because these territories are not included in the American Community Survey. Puerto Rico is not included in this table because Puerto Rico is included in the American Community Survey (with the name "Puerto Rico Community Survey")[5] — Puerto Rico is included in the table above.

The data below is for people 25 years and older.

Territory % High school
graduate
or higher
(2010 census)		 % Bachelor's
degree
or higher
(2010 census)		 % Advanced
degree
(2010 census)		 Total population
(2010 census)		 Population with
high school degree
or higher
(2010 census)		 Population with
bachelor's degree
or higher
(2010 census)		 Population with
advanced degree
(2010 census)
  American Samoa 82.1% 9.9% 3.5% 25,907 21,265 4,940 906
  Guam 79.4% 20.4% 5.2% 89,253 70,905 18,179 4,666
  Northern Mariana Islands 82.4% 20.2% 3.7% 32,602 26,865 6,585 1,202
  U.S. Virgin Islands 68.9% 19.2% 7.4% 70,813 48,791 5,450 5,229

Maps

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Proportion of Americans with a high school diploma or higher in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2021 American Community Survey
 
Proportion of Americans with a bachelor's degree or higher in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2021 American Community Survey
 
Proportion of Americans with an advanced degree (e.g. Master's, Doctorate) in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2021 American Community Survey
 
US bachelor's degree by county in the United States

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "SEX BY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FOR THE POPULATION 25 YEARS AND OVER in Guam". data.census.gov. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "SEX BY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FOR THE POPULATION 25 YEARS AND OVER in Virgin Islands". data.census.gov. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  4. ^ Bureau, US Census. "American Community Survey (ACS)". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2022. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Bureau, US Census. "About the Puerto Rico Community Survey". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2022. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
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