Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America
United States of America: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent was 37.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America, 1994–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America stood at 37.6%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America peaked at 37.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 25.2%, in 1994.
That places United States of America 2nd out of 41 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 25.2% | — |
| 1995 | 26.0% | +3.3% |
| 1996 | 26.3% | +1.0% |
| 1997 | 26.4% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 27.1% | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 27.8% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 28.0% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 28.1% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 28.7% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 29.2% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 29.5% | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 29.2% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 29.7% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 30.3% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 30.5% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 30.5% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 30.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 30.9% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 31.4% | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 32.0% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 32.2% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 33.1% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 33.6% | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 34.2% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 34.8% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 35.2% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 36.3% | +3.3% |
| 2021 | 36.5% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 36.9% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 37.5% | +1.5% |
| 2024 | 37.6% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 26.5% | 25.2% | 27.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 29.4% | 28.0% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.8% | 30.6% | 35.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.0% | 36.3% | 37.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 1 Switzerland 47.1% compare
- 3 Netherlands 37.3% compare
- 4 Germany 36.4% compare
- 5 Belgium 35.9% compare
More education data for United States of America
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 1.78 million (2023)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 64.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 96.97 (2022)
- School enrollment, primary 97.0% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States of America was 37.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 37.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.2% in 1994.
- How does United States of America rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- United States of America ranks 2nd out of 41 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent education or higher, population 25+ years, non-immigrant background, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release