TL;DR

Educational attainment varies significantly by state, ranging from 48.3% of adults with bachelor's degrees or higher in Massachusetts to 24.4% in West Virginia. States with the highest college graduation rates are concentrated in the Northeast and Mountain West, while states with lower rates are primarily in the South and Appalachian regions.

Key Facts

Highest attainment: Massachusetts (48.3%), Colorado (47.8%), and Vermont (45.1%) have the highest percentages of adults with bachelor's degrees or higher
Lowest attainment: West Virginia (24.4%), Mississippi (27.0%), and Arkansas (27.1%) have the lowest percentages
National average: 36.8% of adults aged 25+ have a bachelor's degree or higher (2024 ACS 1-year)
Gender gap: 35.4% of men vs 38.3% of women hold a bachelor's degree or higher nationally
Gap between highest and lowest: 23.9 percentage points separates Massachusetts from West Virginia
State variation: 3 states exceed 45% bachelor's degree attainment, while 8 states fall below 30%

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Top 10 States: Highest Educational Attainment

Insight: Massachusetts leads all states with 48.3% of adults holding bachelor's degrees or higher, 11.5 percentage points above the national average of 36.8%.

Evidence: The top 10 states range from 41.0% to 48.3% bachelor's degree attainment. Leaders include Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, Maryland, and New Jersey in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with Virginia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and Washington also in the top tier.

Why it matters: High educational attainment correlates with stronger economies, higher median incomes, and greater innovation capacity. States with higher attainment rates tend to have more diverse, knowledge-based economies.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2024. Data for adults aged 25 and older with bachelor's degree or higher.

Bottom 10 States: Lowest Educational Attainment

Insight: West Virginia has the lowest educational attainment rate at 24.4%, 12.4 percentage points below the national average.

Evidence: The bottom 10 states range from 24.4% to 31.8% bachelor's degree attainment. These states are concentrated in the South and Appalachia (West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma) and parts of the Mountain West (Nevada, New Mexico), with Indiana also in the lower tier.

Why it matters: Lower educational attainment rates present both challenges and opportunities. States with lower rates may benefit from targeted investments in higher education access, workforce development programs, and economic diversification to improve educational outcomes.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2024. Data for adults aged 25 and older with bachelor's degree or higher.

Educational Attainment by Region

Insight: The Northeast and West regions have higher educational attainment rates (41.5% and 38.0% respectively) compared to the South (34.9%) and Midwest (34.8%).

Evidence: Regional differences reflect historical patterns of educational investment, economic structure, and migration. The Northeast's rate (41.5%) reflects dense university systems and knowledge industries. The West (38.0%) benefits from tech hubs and public university capacity.

Why it matters: Regional disparities highlight the need for region-specific policies to improve educational access and outcomes. Understanding these patterns helps policy makers identify successful strategies and areas needing investment.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2024. Regional averages weighted by state population. Data for adults aged 25 and older with bachelor's degree or higher.

Educational Attainment by State: Complete Rankings

Full state-by-state breakdown of educational attainment levels. Data shows the percentage of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Rank	State	Bachelor's Degree or Higher (%)	High School or Higher (%)	Master's Degree or Higher (%)	Men — Bachelor's+ (%)	Women — Bachelor's+ (%)
1	Massachusetts	48.3	91.4	22.6	46.6	49.8
2	Colorado	47.8	93.2	18.7	46.8	48.7
3	Vermont	45.1	94.7	19.2	41.1	49.0
4	Maryland	44.7	91.4	21.5	42.8	46.4
5	New Jersey	44.5	90.4	18.2	43.6	45.4
6	Virginia	43.3	91.7	19.2	42.0	44.6
7	Connecticut	42.6	91.8	19.3	41.0	44.0
8	New Hampshire	41.5	95.0	16.6	39.9	43.1
9	New York	41.2	88.0	18.4	39.2	43.0
10	Washington	41.0	92.3	16.6	39.7	42.3
11	Minnesota	40.0	94.2	14.0	37.7	42.3
12	Illinois	39.2	90.7	15.9	37.6	40.8
13	Utah	39.1	93.6	13.7	40.1	38.1
14	Rhode Island	39.0	90.4	16.5	36.4	41.4
15	California	38.1	84.8	14.9	37.1	39.1
16	Hawaii	37.8	93.7	13.9	35.7	39.7
17	Oregon	37.8	92.3	14.9	36.1	39.5
18	Maine	37.1	94.8	14.6	33.8	40.2
19	North Carolina	37.1	90.9	14.5	35.3	38.8
20	Pennsylvania	36.4	92.4	15.1	34.9	37.7
21	Georgia	36.3	89.8	14.8	34.6	37.9
22	Montana	36.3	94.6	12.0	33.3	39.4
23	Delaware	36.0	91.8	16.0	33.9	37.9
24	Kansas	36.0	92.0	13.6	33.6	38.5
25	Florida	35.8	90.4	13.7	35.0	36.6
26	Nebraska	35.4	92.6	13.0	32.7	38.0
27	Texas	35.2	86.7	13.1	34.0	36.3
28	Arizona	34.7	89.7	13.8	33.9	35.5
29	Wisconsin	34.6	93.7	12.0	31.9	37.2
30	South Dakota	34.2	94.0	11.2	32.1	36.3
31	North Dakota	34.0	94.1	10.5	29.6	38.5
32	Missouri	33.5	92.0	13.3	31.4	35.4
33	Michigan	33.3	92.2	13.1	32.0	34.6
34	South Carolina	33.3	91.0	13.0	32.0	34.6
35	Idaho	33.0	92.5	11.2	32.6	33.4
36	Alaska	32.8	93.4	13.1	29.6	36.3
37	Ohio	32.4	92.2	12.5	30.8	33.8
38	Tennessee	32.4	90.6	12.4	31.1	33.6
39	Wyoming	32.3	94.4	12.0	30.5	34.1
40	Iowa	32.1	93.0	10.9	30.2	33.9
41	New Mexico	31.8	87.9	14.0	29.9	33.6
42	Indiana	30.7	90.6	11.2	28.9	32.4
43	Alabama	29.9	89.6	11.8	28.4	31.1
44	Oklahoma	29.3	90.2	10.5	27.4	31.2
45	Nevada	28.5	87.7	10.1	27.0	30.1
46	Kentucky	27.9	89.0	11.8	25.4	30.4
47	Louisiana	27.8	88.2	10.5	25.2	30.3
48	Arkansas	27.1	89.3	10.0	25.1	29.0
49	Mississippi	27.0	88.0	10.7	24.2	29.5
50	West Virginia	24.4	90.1	9.6	22.1	26.6

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2024. Data for adults aged 25 and older. Bachelor's-or-higher and master's-or-higher are cumulative tiers (subset of high-school-or-higher).

Educational Attainment by Sex and Race/Ethnicity

Insight: Nationally, 38.3% of women age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher vs 35.4% of men—a gap that varies by state.

Evidence: Race and ethnicity show wider spreads: 59.1% among Asian adults vs 21.5% among Hispanic adults in 2024 ACS 1-year estimates (mutually exclusive race groups where noted by Census).

Why it matters: State rankings reflect total population mixes. Comparing attainment within demographic groups helps separate composition effects from access and completion patterns.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-Year 2024, Table C15002 (national). Adults aged 25 and older.

Group	Bachelor's Degree or Higher (%)
White alone	40.1
Black or African American alone	26.9
Asian alone	59.1
Hispanic or Latino	21.5

Race/ethnicity categories follow Census definitions for Table C15002. Hispanic origin may overlap with racial categories in other tables.

Methodology

This analysis uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), specifically the 1-year estimates for 2024, which provide comprehensive state-level data on educational attainment.

Data Source

American Community Survey (ACS): Conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ACS provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data for states, counties, and other geographic areas
Data Year: 2024 (1-year estimates)
Geographic Coverage: All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia

Definitions

Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Includes all individuals with a bachelor's degree, master's degree, professional degree, or doctoral degree
High School or Higher: Includes individuals with a high school diploma, GED, or any higher level of education
Master's Degree or Higher: Includes individuals with a master's degree, professional degree, or doctoral degree
Sex breakdown: Table B15002 (male and female totals age 25+)
Race/ethnicity breakdown: Table C15002 national groups (White alone, Black alone, Asian alone, Hispanic or Latino)

Population Scope

Age Range: Adults aged 25 and older (standard age range for educational attainment analysis)
Residence: Data reflects state of residence, not state where education was obtained
Regional averages: Population-weighted bachelor's-or-higher rate across Census regions
Rounding: Percentages rounded to one decimal place from ACS published counts
Regional averages: Population-weighted bachelor's-or-higher rate across Census regions
Rounding: Percentages rounded to one decimal place from ACS published counts
Regional averages: Population-weighted bachelor's-or-higher rate across Census regions
Rounding: Percentages rounded to one decimal place from ACS published counts
Regional averages: Population-weighted bachelor's-or-higher rate across Census regions
Rounding: Percentages rounded to one decimal place from ACS published counts

Limitations

Data reflects self-reported educational attainment and may be subject to reporting errors
State-level data may have larger margins of error than national estimates, particularly for smaller states
Data represents state of residence, which may differ from state where education was completed
Migration patterns may influence state-level statistics (educated workers may move to certain states)

Analysis & insights

State totals come from ACS 1-year Table B15003 for adults age 25+. Rankings describe residence, not where a degree was earned, and migration can shift state shares. The demographics section adds national sex splits (B15002) and race/ethnicity splits (C15002); the state table includes male and female bachelor's-or-higher rates where available.

FAQ

Educational attainment & mobility

What does educational attainment measure?

Attainment statistics describe the highest credential completed by a population (national, state, or demographic slice). They do not show quality of learning or later enrollment.

Why use Census or ACS data alongside education department releases?

Census surveys capture population-wide attainment and workforce participation; NCES and Scorecard focus on formal institutions. Together they explain context but cannot be merged without harmonizing age cohorts.

How should mobility statistics be read?

Mobility metrics compare earnings or status across generations or geography; confounding factors include local labor markets and migration—avoid causal claims from aggregates alone.

Using this page

What does this page cover on “Educational Attainment by State”?

State rankings and regional averages for adults age 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher, plus national and state sex splits and national race/ethnicity attainment from ACS 2024. Confirm mission-critical figures in the Census data portal.

Which sources power the numbers here?

All figures on this page come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year 2024 release: Table B15003 (state attainment), B15002 (sex), and C15002 (race/ethnicity). See Methodology and Data Sources for variable definitions.

Why might these figures differ from another chart or headline?

If another outlet shows a different total, check whether the cohort (all borrowers vs undergraduates only), academic year, and data source match. Mixing definitions is the most common reason charts appear to conflict.

How often is this page updated?

We refresh when upstream federal releases change and the site rebuild ships new CSV/JSON extracts. The Last updated line points to the latest editorial pass on this HTML.

Data Sources

U.S. Census Bureau - American Community Survey (ACS)
- 1-Year Estimates, 2024
- Educational attainment statistics by state
- Source: census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/data.html
- Data Tool: data.census.gov
Source: nces.ed.gov