Educational attainment rate, completed … Bachelor urban both in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed … Bachelor urban both was 41.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed Bachelor's or equivalent in United States, 2005–2024
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 41.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 22.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent in United States peaked at 41.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 30.4%, in 2005.
That places United States 8th out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed … Bachelor urban both in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 30.4% | — |
| 2006 | 31.0% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 31.7% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 32.0% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 32.2% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 32.6% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 33.0% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 33.6% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 34.0% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 34.1% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 34.6% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 35.5% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 37.1% | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 37.2% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 38.7% | +4.1% |
| 2020 | 39.8% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 40.3% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 39.9% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 41.3% | +3.6% |
| 2024 | 41.7% | +0.9% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 41.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 33.6%, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.5% | 30.4% | 32.2% | 5 |
| 2010s | 35.1% | 32.6% | 38.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 40.6% | 39.8% | 41.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 5 Switzerland 42.9% compare
- 6 Australia 42.5% compare
- 7 Mongolia 42.5% compare
- 9 United Kingdom 40.2% compare
- 10 Latvia 39.7% compare
- 11 South Korea 39.5% 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 41.7% 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 41.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.4% in 2005.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed bachelor's or equivalent?
- United States ranks 8th out of 89 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 22.3%. 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, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release