Educational attainment in the United States

Learning in the United States

In the United States, learning means how much school a person has finished. Most people finish secondary education, which is school up to about age 18. More people are going to college now than before.

People have been collecting information about school levels since 1940. We learn about school levels by age, gender, race, and where people live. We also learn about different parts of the country and each state.

Having more education helps people earn more money. This shows how important school is for a person’s future.

Finishing School

In 2018, about 90 percent of adults aged 25 or older had finished high school or earned a special diploma called a GED. Over 35 percent had earned at least a college degree called a bachelor's degree. These numbers are the highest ever recorded.

Since 1983, the share of people who finished high school or earned a GED has grown from 85 percent to 90 percent. The biggest jumps in education levels happened in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Today, about 90 percent of adults aged 25 to 30 have either finished high school or earned a GED.

Boys and Girls

Over the past fifty years, how boys and girls do in school in the United States has changed a lot. Today, girls usually get better grades and are more likely to finish college. But boys often do better on tests and are more likely to choose jobs that pay well, like in science, technology, engineering, and math.

More education helps both boys and girls get jobs. Girls have also done better than boys in reading and writing for a long time. This difference starts small in elementary school but gets bigger as students get older. By the time students are in 12th grade, girls are often much ahead of boys in these subjects.

Overall, more girls than boys finish high school and earn college degrees. In recent years, women have earned most associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees.

Where People Live

The education levels of people aged 25 and older vary a bit depending on where they live in the United States. The Northeastern United States has the most people who finished high school and college. The western United States has the most people who started college or earned a two-year degree. The South has the lowest education levels at every stage. The Midwest has the highest percentage of high school graduates.