Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population in United States
United States: Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population was 15.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population in United States, 1994–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in cumulative.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population in United States is 15.0%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.5% on the previous year and up 27.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population in United States peaked at 15.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.5%, in 1994.
United States ranks 19th of 81 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population in United States, year by year
| Year | cumulative | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 7.5% | — |
| 1995 | 7.8% | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 7.9% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 8.0% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 8.3% | +4.0% |
| 1999 | 8.6% | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 8.7% | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 8.9% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 9.1% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 9.4% | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 9.6% | +1.9% |
| 2005 | 9.7% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 9.9% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 10.3% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 10.5% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 10.9% | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 11.2% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 11.6% | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 11.8% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 12.0% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 12.6% | +5.2% |
| 2017 | 12.8% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 13.1% | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 13.4% | +3.0% |
| 2020 | 14.1% | +5.2% |
| 2021 | 14.2% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 14.2% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 14.8% | +4.0% |
| 2024 | 15.0% | +1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.0% | 7.5% | 8.6% | 6 |
| 2000s | 9.6% | 8.7% | 10.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 10.6% | 13.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.5% | 14.1% | 15.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 1.06 % change on previous year (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.56 million (2023)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 223,288 (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 10.46 million (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 0.1542 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 7.59 million (2023)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 2.34 % change on previous year (2023)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population in United States?
- Educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population in United States was 15.0% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 15.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.5% in 1994.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population?
- United States ranks 19th out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment, at least master's or equivalent, population rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Educational attainment, at least Master's or equivalent, population 25+, total (%) (cumulative). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of population ages 25 and over that attained or completed Master's or equivalent.