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Most educated states: bachelor's degree rate by state
Educational attainment of adults age 25 and older: the share with at least a bachelor's degree, the share with a graduate or professional degree, and the share who finished high school.
Data vintage: American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates (table S1501), compared with 2023. Last checked 2026-10-27 by The CompareTheData team.
Data: Census Bureau ACS 2024 1-year (S1501). Jump to sources · Methodology
Key takeaways
- 36.8% of U.S. adults 25 and older held a bachelor's degree or higher in 2024, up from 36.2% in 2023.
- Most educated by this measure: District of Columbia (65.5%), Massachusetts (48.3%), Colorado (47.8%) and Vermont (45.1%).
- Lowest: West Virginia (24.4%), Mississippi (27.0%) and Arkansas (27.1%).
- Graduate degrees: 14.7% nationally, highest in the District of Columbia (38.3%).
- High school completion is 89.9% nationally and lowest in California (84.8%), Texas (86.7%) and Nevada (87.7%).
Bachelor's degree or higher by state chart
States ranked by education level
Click a column heading to sort. Download this table (CSV).
| Rank | State | Bachelor's or higher | Graduate degree | High school or higher | Bachelor's 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 65.5% | 38.3% | 92.0% | 65.9% | −0.4 pts |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 48.3% | 22.6% | 91.4% | 47.8% | +0.5 pts |
| 3 | Colorado | 47.8% | 18.7% | 93.2% | 46.4% | +1.4 pts |
| 4 | Vermont | 45.1% | 19.2% | 94.7% | 43.7% | +1.4 pts |
| 5 | Maryland | 44.7% | 21.5% | 91.4% | 43.7% | +1.0 pts |
| 6 | New Jersey | 44.5% | 18.2% | 90.4% | 43.8% | +0.7 pts |
| 7 | Virginia | 43.3% | 19.2% | 91.7% | 42.4% | +0.9 pts |
| 8 | Connecticut | 42.6% | 19.3% | 91.8% | 42.9% | −0.3 pts |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 41.5% | 16.6% | 95.0% | 40.7% | +0.8 pts |
| 10 | New York | 41.2% | 18.4% | 88.0% | 40.6% | +0.6 pts |
| 11 | Washington | 41.0% | 16.6% | 92.3% | 40.5% | +0.5 pts |
| 12 | Minnesota | 40.0% | 14.0% | 94.2% | 40.0% | +0.0 pts |
| 13 | Illinois | 39.2% | 15.9% | 90.7% | 38.3% | +0.9 pts |
| 14 | Utah | 39.1% | 13.7% | 93.6% | 38.4% | +0.7 pts |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 39.0% | 16.5% | 90.4% | 39.0% | +0.0 pts |
| 16 | California | 38.1% | 14.9% | 84.8% | 37.5% | +0.6 pts |
| 17 | Hawaii | 37.8% | 13.9% | 93.7% | 37.0% | +0.8 pts |
| 18 | Oregon | 37.8% | 14.9% | 92.3% | 37.7% | +0.1 pts |
| 19 | Maine | 37.1% | 14.6% | 94.8% | 37.0% | +0.1 pts |
| 20 | North Carolina | 37.1% | 14.5% | 90.9% | 36.8% | +0.3 pts |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | 36.4% | 15.1% | 92.4% | 35.3% | +1.1 pts |
| 22 | Georgia | 36.3% | 14.8% | 89.8% | 35.4% | +0.9 pts |
| 23 | Montana | 36.3% | 12.0% | 94.6% | 34.6% | +1.7 pts |
| 24 | Delaware | 36.0% | 16.0% | 91.8% | 36.5% | −0.5 pts |
| 25 | Kansas | 36.0% | 13.6% | 92.0% | 35.8% | +0.2 pts |
| 26 | Florida | 35.8% | 13.7% | 90.4% | 34.9% | +0.9 pts |
| 27 | Nebraska | 35.4% | 13.0% | 92.6% | 35.3% | +0.1 pts |
| 28 | Texas | 35.2% | 13.1% | 86.7% | 34.2% | +1.0 pts |
| 29 | Arizona | 34.7% | 13.8% | 89.7% | 33.5% | +1.2 pts |
| 30 | Wisconsin | 34.6% | 12.0% | 93.7% | 33.8% | +0.8 pts |
| 31 | South Dakota | 34.2% | 11.2% | 94.0% | 33.3% | +0.9 pts |
| 32 | North Dakota | 34.0% | 10.5% | 94.1% | 33.6% | +0.4 pts |
| 33 | Missouri | 33.5% | 13.3% | 92.0% | 33.2% | +0.3 pts |
| 34 | Michigan | 33.3% | 13.1% | 92.2% | 32.7% | +0.6 pts |
| 35 | South Carolina | 33.3% | 13.0% | 91.0% | 32.9% | +0.4 pts |
| 36 | Idaho | 33.0% | 11.2% | 92.5% | 32.1% | +0.9 pts |
| 37 | Alaska | 32.8% | 13.1% | 93.4% | 32.2% | +0.6 pts |
| 38 | Ohio | 32.4% | 12.5% | 92.2% | 32.0% | +0.4 pts |
| 39 | Tennessee | 32.4% | 12.4% | 90.6% | 31.7% | +0.7 pts |
| 40 | Wyoming | 32.3% | 12.0% | 94.4% | 30.4% | +1.9 pts |
| 41 | Iowa | 32.1% | 10.9% | 93.0% | 31.5% | +0.6 pts |
| 42 | New Mexico | 31.8% | 14.0% | 87.9% | 31.6% | +0.2 pts |
| 43 | Indiana | 30.7% | 11.2% | 90.6% | 30.2% | +0.5 pts |
| 44 | Alabama | 29.9% | 11.8% | 89.6% | 28.9% | +1.0 pts |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 29.3% | 10.5% | 90.2% | 28.7% | +0.6 pts |
| 46 | Nevada | 28.5% | 10.1% | 87.7% | 28.7% | −0.2 pts |
| 47 | Kentucky | 27.9% | 11.8% | 89.0% | 27.8% | +0.1 pts |
| 48 | Louisiana | 27.8% | 10.5% | 88.2% | 27.0% | +0.8 pts |
| 49 | Arkansas | 27.1% | 10.0% | 89.3% | 26.2% | +0.9 pts |
| 50 | Mississippi | 27.0% | 10.7% | 88.0% | 25.5% | +1.5 pts |
| 51 | West Virginia | 24.4% | 9.6% | 90.1% | 24.0% | +0.4 pts |
What changed from 2023 to 2024
The national bachelor's rate rose 0.6 points. 45 jurisdictions rose; the biggest gains were in Wyoming (+1.9 pts), Montana (+1.7 pts) and Mississippi (+1.5 pts). Year-to-year moves of under a point are usually within sampling error.
How to read these numbers
- “Most educated” here means degree attainment only. It says nothing about school quality, test scores or skills.
- D.C. is included but is an all-urban district, so it is not comparable to a state.
- ACS figures are survey estimates; neighboring ranks are often statistically tied.
Common questions
What is the most educated state?
Massachusetts has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree among the 50 states (48.3%); D.C. is higher still at 65.5%.
What is the least educated state?
By bachelor's attainment, West Virginia (24.4%).
What percent of Americans have a college degree?
36.8% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher (ACS 2024).
Sources
Figures computed by CompareTheData.com from the official files below; the raw downloads are archived with the build. Where D.C. is included it is ranked alongside the states.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2024 and 2023 (summary file table S1501). 2024 1-year release, September 2025.