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

This is a list of U.S. states and territories by educational attainment. This article presents a list of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the 5 inhabited territories of the United States sorted by educational attainment for persons 25 years of age and older. The list is based on the responses to the 2013-2017 American Community Survey for the 50 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico,[1] and based on the 2010 U.S. Census for the other 4 U.S. territories (the latest data available for those 4 territories).[2] [note 1] Educational attainment is lower in the U.S. territories than it is in the states and the District of Columbia. 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 a state's high schools, rather, it measures the percentage of adult residents with a high school diploma.^A

Overall, the percent of people with a high school degree (or higher) is highest in Montana (93%), and lowest in the U.S. Virgin Islands (68.9%).[1][2] The percent with a bachelor's degree or higher is highest in the District of Columbia (56.6%) and lowest in American Samoa (9.9%).[1][2]

List

State, federal district, or territory	Bachelor's rank	% Bachelor's degree or higher	High School rank	% High school graduate or higher	Advanced rank	% Advanced degree
Montana	21	30.7%	1	93.0%	33	10.1%
New Hampshire	9	36.0%	2	92.8%	10	13.8%
Minnesota	11	34.8%	3	92.8%	18	11.8%
Wyoming	41	26.7%	4	92.8%	39	9.3%
Alaska	28	29.0%	5	92.4%	29	10.4%
North Dakota	29	28.9%	6	92.3%	51	7.8%
Vermont	8	36.8%	7	92.3%	7	15.0%
Maine	23	30.3%	8	92.1%	24	10.9%
Iowa	36	27.7%	9	91.8%	42	9.0%
Utah	16	32.5%	10	91.8%	23	11.0%
Wisconsin	27	29.0%	11	91.7%	35	9.9%
Hawaii	19	32.0%	12	91.6%	25	10.8%
South Dakota	35	27.8%	13	91.4%	45	8.3%
Colorado	3	39.4%	14	91.1%	9	14.6%
Nebraska	22	30.6%	15	90.9%	31	10.2%
Washington	12	34.5%	16	90.8%	14	12.7%
Kansas	17	32.3%	17	90.5%	20	11.7%
District of Columbia	1	56.6%	18	90.3%	1	32.8%
Massachusetts	2	42.1%	19	90.3%	2	18.7%
Idaho	40	26.8%	20	90.2%	43	8.5%
Michigan	34	28.1%	21	90.2%	22	11.0%
Connecticut	5	38.4%	22	90.2%	4	17.0%
Oregon	18	32.3%	23	90.2%	16	12.2%
Pennsylvania	24	30.1%	24	89.9%	19	11.8%
Maryland	4	39.0%	25	89.8%	3	18.0%
Ohio	37	27.2%	26	89.8%	32	10.2%
Delaware	20	31.0%	27	89.3%	13	12.9%
Missouri	33	28.2%	28	89.2%	26	10.7%
New Jersey	6	38.1%	29	89.2%	8	14.7%
Virginia	7	37.6%	30	89.0%	5	16.1%
Illinois	13	33.4%	31	88.6%	12	13.0%
Indiana	43	25.3%	32	88.3%	40	9.2%
Florida	31	28.5%	33	87.6%	30	10.3%
Oklahoma	45	24.8%	34	87.5%	44	8.3%
Rhode Island	14	33.0%	35	87.3%	11	13.1%
United States		30.9%		87.3%		11.8%
North Carolina	26	29.9%	36	86.9%	28	10.6%
South Carolina	38	27.0%	37	86.5%	36	9.8%
Tennessee	42	26.1%	38	86.5%	37	9.6%
Arizona	32	28.4%	39	86.5%	27	10.7%
Georgia	25	29.9%	40	86.3%	21	11.4%
New York	10	35.3%	41	86.1%	6	15.4%
West Virginia	54	19.9%	42	85.9%	49	7.9%
Nevada	50	23.7%	43	85.8%	47	8.1%
Arkansas	47	22.0%	44	85.6%	50	7.9%
Alabama	46	24.5%	45	85.3%	41	9.1%
Kentucky	49	23.2%	46	85.2%	38	9.6%
New Mexico	39	26.9%	47	85.0%	17	11.8%
Louisiana	48	23.4%	48	84.3%	46	8.1%
Mississippi	51	21.3%	49	83.4%	48	8.0%
Texas	30	28.7%	50	82.8%	34	9.9%
California	15	32.6%	51	82.5%	15	12.2%
Northern Mariana Islands	53	20.2%	52	82.4%	55	3.7%
American Samoa	56	9.9%	53	82.1%	56	3.5%
Guam	52	20.4%	54	79.4%	54	5.2%
Puerto Rico	44	24.9%	55	74.7%	53	7.1%
U.S. Virgin Islands	55	19.2%	56	68.9%	52	7.4%

Visual

Map of states percentage of population 25 years old with Advanced Degree in 2009. Territories of the United States are not on the map.

Map of states percentage of population 25 years old with bachelor's degree or Higher in 2009. Territories of the United States are not on the map.

Notes

^A (NB 2017 data)[1]

1. Data is collected between decennial Census years in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, whereas data for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands is only collected once every 10 years. Among U.S. territories, only Puerto Rico is part of the American Community Survey program.

References

1. Bureau, U.S. Census. "2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
2. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPAS_ASDP2&prodType=table%5B%5D
   https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPGU_GUDP2&prodType=table/%5B%5D
   https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPMP_MPDP2&prodType=tableArchived+2019-07-03+at+the+Wayback+Machine
   https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPVI_VIDP2&prodType=table Archived 2017-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
   American FactFinder. Profile of Selected Social Characteristics: 2010. 2010 American Samoa / Guam / Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands / U.S. Virgin Islands Demographic Profile Data. Retrieved July 3, 2019.

External links