High school attainment by state (2024)

High school attainment by state

New Hampshire has the highest estimate (95.0%); California has the lowest (84.8%). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, 2024.

Data year: 2024Source released Sept. 11, 2025Last updated Oct. 23, 2026GCT1501

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is 91.75%: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

4 other states are statistically tied with New Hampshire at 90% confidence: Maine, Vermont, Montana and Wyoming. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

Are high school and college attainment ordered alike?

These states’ ranks change the most between high school attainment and bachelor’s degree attainment. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

State	High school attainment	Bachelor’s degree attainment
New York	88.0% · #45	41.2% · #9
California	84.8% · #50	38.1% · #15
Wyoming	94.4% · #5	32.3% · #39

High school attainment · 2024 · Percent
Rank	State / jurisdiction	Value	90% margin of error	Difference from previous rank
1	New Hampshire	95.0%	± 0.4%	Highest estimate
2	Maine	94.8%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
3	Vermont	94.7%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
4	Montana	94.6%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
5	Wyoming	94.4%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
6	Minnesota	94.2%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
7	North Dakota	94.1%	± 0.6%	Not distinguishable at 90%
8	South Dakota	94.0%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
9	Hawaii	93.7%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
9	Wisconsin	93.7%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
11	Utah	93.6%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
12	Alaska	93.4%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
13	Colorado	93.2%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
14	Iowa	93.0%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
15	Nebraska	92.6%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
16	Idaho	92.5%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
17	Pennsylvania	92.4%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
18	Oregon	92.3%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
18	Washington	92.3%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
20	Michigan	92.2%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
20	Ohio	92.2%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
22	Kansas	92.0%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
22	Missouri	92.0%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
24	Connecticut	91.8%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
24	Delaware	91.8%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
26	Virginia	91.7%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
27	Maryland	91.4%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
27	Massachusetts	91.4%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
29	South Carolina	91.0%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
30	North Carolina	90.9%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
31	Illinois	90.7%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
32	Indiana	90.6%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
32	Tennessee	90.6%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
34	Florida	90.4%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
34	New Jersey	90.4%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
34	Rhode Island	90.4%	± 0.7%	Not distinguishable at 90%
37	Oklahoma	90.2%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
38	West Virginia	90.1%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
39	Georgia	89.8%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
40	Arizona	89.7%	± 0.3%	Not distinguishable at 90%
41	Alabama	89.6%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
42	Arkansas	89.3%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
43	Kentucky	89.0%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
44	Louisiana	88.2%	± 0.4%	Different at 90%
45	Mississippi	88.0%	± 0.4%	Not distinguishable at 90%
45	New York	88.0%	± 0.2%	Not distinguishable at 90%
47	New Mexico	87.9%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
48	Nevada	87.7%	± 0.5%	Not distinguishable at 90%
49	Texas	86.7%	± 0.2%	Different at 90%
50	California	84.8%	± 0.1%	Different at 90%
Ref.	District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states	92.0%	± 1.0%	Reference jurisdiction
Ref.	Puerto RicoNot ranked among states	81.9%	± 0.5%	Reference jurisdiction

High school attainment · 2024 · Percent

Rank

State / jurisdiction

Value

90% margin of error

Difference from previous rank

New Hampshire

95.0%

± 0.4%

Highest estimate

Maine

94.8%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Vermont

94.7%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Montana

94.6%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Wyoming

94.4%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Minnesota

94.2%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

North Dakota

94.1%

± 0.6%

Not distinguishable at 90%

South Dakota

94.0%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Hawaii

93.7%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Wisconsin

93.7%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Utah

93.6%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Alaska

93.4%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Colorado

93.2%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Iowa

93.0%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Nebraska

92.6%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Idaho

92.5%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Pennsylvania

92.4%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Oregon

92.3%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Washington

92.3%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Michigan

92.2%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Ohio

92.2%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Kansas

92.0%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Missouri

92.0%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Connecticut

91.8%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Delaware

91.8%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Virginia

91.7%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Maryland

91.4%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Massachusetts

91.4%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

South Carolina

91.0%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

North Carolina

90.9%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Illinois

90.7%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Indiana

90.6%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Tennessee

90.6%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Florida

90.4%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

New Jersey

90.4%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Rhode Island

90.4%

± 0.7%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Oklahoma

90.2%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

West Virginia

90.1%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Georgia

89.8%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Arizona

89.7%

± 0.3%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Alabama

89.6%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Arkansas

89.3%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Kentucky

89.0%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Louisiana

88.2%

± 0.4%

Different at 90%

Mississippi

88.0%

± 0.4%

Not distinguishable at 90%

New York

88.0%

± 0.2%

Not distinguishable at 90%

New Mexico

87.9%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Nevada

87.7%

± 0.5%

Not distinguishable at 90%

Texas

86.7%

± 0.2%

Different at 90%

California

84.8%

± 0.1%

Different at 90%

Ref.

District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states

92.0%

± 1.0%

Reference jurisdiction

Ref.

Puerto RicoNot ranked among states

81.9%

± 0.5%

Reference jurisdiction

What this ranking measures

Adults age 25 and older who have completed high school or an equivalency, including those with higher degrees.

Adult attainment is not a current high school graduation rate and does not directly rate school quality.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 10.2 percentage points. The U.S. benchmark is 89.9%. It is not a simple average of the states.

38 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 12 below it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Each estimate has a 90% margin of error published by the Census Bureau. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Why adult attainment does not measure school quality.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer: U.S. Census Bureau
Product / file: ACS 1-year · GCT1501
Period: 2024
Unit: Percent
Calculation: Published estimate; no transformation of the value. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage: The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence: Annual. 2025 ACS 1-year estimates scheduled for October 29, 2026 (Census ACS updates page); adoption follows editorial review.
Independence: Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

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Suggested citation

Rank the States. High school attainment, 2024. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-year, GCT1501; released 2025-09-11. Edition 2026-10-23. https://rankthestates.com/data/editions/2026-10-23/high-school-attainment.csv

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Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

High school attainment by state

State distribution and comparisons

Are high school and college attainment ordered alike?

The state-by-state view

What this ranking measures

The size of the gap

How much should you read into a rank?

Keep exploring

Source and method

Download, cite, or embed

Updates and corrections

Related rankings

Most and least educated states (college degrees)

Advanced degree attainment

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