Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's … Bachelor s male was 37.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in United States, 1994–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States is 37.6%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States peaked at 37.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 25.4%, in 1994.
That places United States 8th out of 112 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 … Bachelor s male in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 25.4% | — |
| 1995 | 26.0% | +2.5% |
| 1996 | 26.4% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 26.6% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 27.2% | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 28.0% | +2.8% |
| 2000 | 28.1% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 28.3% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 28.8% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 29.2% | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 29.4% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 29.2% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 29.6% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 30.1% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 30.4% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 30.4% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 30.4% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 30.7% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 31.3% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 32.0% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 31.9% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 32.3% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 33.2% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 31.4% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 34.6% | +10.5% |
| 2019 | 35.3% | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 36.7% | +3.9% |
| 2021 | 33.9% | -7.5% |
| 2022 | 36.2% | +6.8% |
| 2023 | 37.4% | +3.3% |
| 2024 | 37.6% | +0.4% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 37.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 26.4%, 1.4× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 26.6% | 25.4% | 28.0% | 6 |
| 2000s | 29.4% | 28.1% | 30.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.3% | 30.4% | 35.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.4% | 33.9% | 37.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 5 Ireland 39.3% compare
- 6 United Kingdom 38.2% compare
- 7 Singapore 38.2% compare
- 9 Netherlands 37.2% compare
- 10 Saudi Arabia 35.9% compare
- 11 Belgium 35.3% compare
More education data for United States
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 96.21 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 96.02 (2022)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 1.74 million (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 419,732 (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 4.34 million (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 4.14 million (2023)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 25.35 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 23.83 million (2023)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 1.33 % change on previous year (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States 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?
- 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?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.4% in 1994.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- United States ranks 8th out of 112 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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, 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