Summary

Bachelor's or higher, US states

Bachelor's or higher by state · all 52 states · hover or tap a state for every figure on this page

StatesDistrict of Columbia

Summary

Darker amber is a higher share of adults 25 and over with a bachelor's degree or higher. Puerto Rico is listed in the ranking and table but is not on this map.

A typical published area has 33.7 percent of adults 25 and over with a bachelor's degree or higher, the midpoint of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on the 2023 ACS five-year estimates. The District of Columbia leads at 63.6 percent, then Massachusetts at 46.6 percent and Colorado at 44.7 percent. West Virginia is lowest at 23.3 percent. Only the District of Columbia has a bachelor's-or-higher majority. These are each area's own ACS shares of people 25 years and over, not a national average of people.

33.7%typical published areamidpoint bachelor's or higher share, not an average

63.6%District of Columbiahighest bachelor's or higher share

46.6%Massachusettshighest of the 50 states

23.3%West Virginialowest bachelor's or higher share

1area with a bachelor's majorityonly the District of Columbia clears 50 percent

Figure 1

Bachelor's or higher, all published states

Bachelor's or higher · all 52 · ranked high to low

Summary

Every area the Census published in this table: 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, 52 in all. The District of Columbia leads at 63.6 percent, then Massachusetts at 46.6 percent and Colorado at 44.7 percent. West Virginia is lowest at 23.3 percent. The middle published area sits at 33.7 percent, the average of Nebraska at 34.1 percent and Florida at 33.2 percent. Only the District of Columbia has a bachelor's-or-higher majority. Shares are of adults 25 years and over, ACS table B15003.

Figure 2

High school or higher, all published states

High school or higher · all 52 · ranked high to low

Summary

Share of adults 25 and over with at least a high school diploma or equivalency, for every published area, 52 in all. Montana leads at 94.6 percent, then Maine and Vermont at 94.5 percent. Puerto Rico is lowest at 80.4 percent. The middle published area sits at 91.4 percent. 32 areas reach 90 percent. High school or higher includes a regular diploma or GED through a doctorate.

Figure 3

Graduate or professional degree, all published states

Graduate or professional · all 52 · ranked high to low

Summary

Share of adults 25 and over with a master's, professional or doctorate degree, for every published area, 52 in all. The District of Columbia leads at 37.5 percent, then Massachusetts at 21.4 percent and Maryland at 20.3 percent. Puerto Rico is lowest at 8.4 percent. The middle published area sits at 12.6 percent. These bars are graduate credentials only, not the bachelor's-or-higher total.

Table 1

All states

52 rows · 10 columns · sorted by bachelor's or higher, high to low

Summary

Educational attainment for every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, 52 in all, from ACS table B15003. Shares are of the population 25 years and over. Less than high school through graduate or professional are mutually exclusive highest credentials and sum to 100 percent. High school or higher and bachelor's or higher are cumulative. Sort any column or use the filter box to jump to a state by name. A midpoint of state shares is not a United States attainment rate.

All states
	?	?	?			?	?	?	?
District of Columbia	484,406	7.2%	14.5%	11.8%	2.9%	26.1%	37.5%	92.8%	63.6%
Massachusetts	4,945,630	8.6%	22.8%	14.4%	7.5%	25.3%	21.4%	91.4%	46.6%
Colorado	4,038,534	7.2%	20.1%	19.6%	8.3%	27.7%	17.1%	92.8%	44.7%
New Jersey	6,459,220	9.3%	25.7%	15.3%	6.7%	25.8%	17.1%	90.7%	42.9%
Maryland	4,272,813	9.0%	23.7%	17.7%	6.9%	22.5%	20.3%	91.0%	42.7%
Vermont	462,996	5.5%	27.3%	16.1%	8.5%	24.7%	18.0%	94.5%	42.6%
Connecticut	2,532,853	8.7%	25.5%	16.2%	7.6%	23.0%	19.0%	91.3%	41.9%
Virginia	5,958,915	8.7%	23.9%	18.2%	7.8%	23.3%	18.1%	91.3%	41.5%
New Hampshire	1,009,222	5.9%	27.0%	17.3%	10.0%	24.1%	15.7%	94.1%	39.8%
New York	13,996,138	12.1%	24.6%	14.9%	8.9%	22.0%	17.5%	87.9%	39.6%
Minnesota	3,897,590	6.1%	23.5%	19.8%	11.7%	25.3%	13.6%	93.9%	38.8%
Washington	5,409,147	7.8%	21.7%	21.7%	10.0%	23.7%	15.1%	92.2%	38.8%
Rhode Island	776,505	10.5%	26.5%	17.6%	8.1%	22.2%	15.1%	89.5%	37.3%
Illinois	8,738,607	9.7%	25.3%	19.5%	8.3%	22.3%	14.9%	90.3%	37.2%
Utah	2,003,084	6.7%	22.5%	24.1%	9.8%	24.3%	12.6%	93.3%	36.9%
California	26,941,198	15.4%	20.4%	19.8%	7.9%	22.4%	14.1%	84.6%	36.5%
Oregon	3,021,010	8.3%	22.4%	24.0%	9.2%	22.3%	13.9%	91.7%	36.2%
Hawaii	1,027,351	7.1%	26.7%	19.8%	11.0%	22.5%	13.0%	92.9%	35.5%
Delaware	710,442	8.6%	29.0%	18.7%	8.4%	20.3%	15.0%	91.4%	35.3%
Maine	1,016,630	5.5%	30.5%	18.2%	10.4%	22.0%	13.3%	94.5%	35.3%
Kansas	1,933,293	8.1%	25.6%	22.1%	9.0%	22.0%	13.1%	91.9%	35.2%
North Carolina	7,261,810	10.3%	25.0%	20.0%	10.1%	21.8%	12.9%	89.7%	34.7%
Montana	770,335	5.4%	27.9%	22.4%	9.7%	22.8%	11.7%	94.6%	34.5%
Pennsylvania	9,153,146	8.1%	33.2%	15.3%	8.9%	20.6%	13.9%	91.9%	34.5%
Georgia	7,253,060	11.0%	26.9%	19.5%	8.3%	20.7%	13.5%	89.0%	34.2%
Nebraska	1,290,256	7.9%	25.1%	21.9%	11.0%	22.2%	11.9%	92.1%	34.1%
Florida	15,850,299	10.4%	27.4%	18.9%	10.1%	20.7%	12.5%	89.6%	33.2%
Texas	19,294,631	14.3%	24.3%	20.6%	7.7%	21.1%	11.9%	85.7%	33.1%
Wisconsin	4,069,583	6.6%	29.7%	19.8%	11.2%	21.6%	11.1%	93.4%	32.8%
Arizona	4,990,633	10.9%	23.5%	23.8%	9.2%	20.0%	12.6%	89.1%	32.6%
North Dakota	509,149	6.2%	25.7%	21.8%	14.0%	22.7%	9.6%	93.8%	32.3%
Missouri	4,217,432	8.4%	30.3%	21.0%	8.3%	19.6%	12.3%	91.6%	31.9%
Michigan	6,967,452	8.1%	28.2%	22.2%	9.7%	19.3%	12.5%	91.9%	31.8%
South Carolina	3,610,374	10.4%	28.2%	19.9%	9.9%	19.4%	12.0%	89.6%	31.5%
Alaska	487,903	6.5%	28.9%	24.2%	9.1%	19.6%	11.6%	93.5%	31.2%
Idaho	1,244,319	8.3%	25.9%	24.8%	9.8%	20.8%	10.4%	91.7%	31.2%
South Dakota	596,137	7.0%	29.5%	20.2%	12.2%	21.5%	9.6%	93.0%	31.1%
Iowa	2,140,476	6.8%	30.4%	19.9%	12.1%	20.6%	10.2%	93.2%	30.9%
Ohio	8,123,344	8.4%	32.3%	19.4%	9.0%	19.0%	11.9%	91.6%	30.9%
Tennessee	4,805,533	10.4%	31.4%	20.0%	7.8%	19.0%	11.4%	89.6%	30.4%
New Mexico	1,450,999	12.3%	25.7%	22.6%	9.2%	16.6%	13.6%	87.7%	30.2%
Wyoming	395,504	5.9%	27.8%	24.5%	11.8%	18.8%	11.1%	94.1%	29.9%
Puerto Rico	2,412,064	19.6%	27.8%	11.8%	11.7%	20.7%	8.4%	80.4%	29.1%
Indiana	4,559,304	9.8%	32.8%	19.5%	9.1%	18.3%	10.5%	90.2%	28.8%
Alabama	3,448,302	11.9%	30.3%	21.1%	9.0%	17.0%	10.8%	88.1%	27.8%
Oklahoma	2,641,325	10.9%	30.7%	22.3%	8.3%	18.1%	9.7%	89.1%	27.8%
Nevada	2,196,081	12.6%	27.4%	23.8%	8.7%	17.8%	9.6%	87.4%	27.4%
Kentucky	3,078,157	11.5%	32.7%	20.0%	8.9%	15.9%	11.1%	88.5%	27.0%
Louisiana	3,110,254	13.1%	32.5%	20.7%	7.1%	16.8%	9.8%	86.9%	26.6%
Arkansas	2,043,779	11.4%	34.4%	21.1%	8.0%	15.9%	9.2%	88.6%	25.1%
Mississippi	1,970,298	13.4%	29.9%	21.8%	10.8%	14.7%	9.4%	86.6%	24.2%
West Virginia	1,269,202	11.4%	39.5%	17.6%	8.2%	13.9%	9.4%	88.6%	23.3%

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Bachelor's or higher, US states

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Bachelor's or higher, all published states

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High school or higher, all published states

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Figure 4

Graduate or professional degree, all published states

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Table 1

All states

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About this data

Educational attainment is the highest credential completed among people 25 years and over (ACS table B15003). A person with a master's degree is counted only there, not again as a bachelor's holder. Bachelor's or higher sums bachelor's, master's, professional and doctorate. High school or higher sums a regular diploma or GED through a doctorate.
A state share is that area's own ACS estimate. The midpoint of the 52 published areas is not a national figure, because states differ in population.
The Census published 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. None of the attainment counts were suppressed.
The map covers the 48 contiguous states with Alaska and Hawaii inset. Puerto Rico stays in the ranking and table but is not shaded on the map.

In short

Bachelor's or higher, US states

Bachelor's or higher, all published states

High school or higher, all published states

Graduate or professional degree, all published states

All states

About this data