Educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary was 49.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary in United States, 1995–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
United States recorded 49.8% for educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary in 2024. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary in United States peaked at 49.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 30.4%, in 1995.
United States ranks 16th of 110 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 30.4% | — |
| 1996 | 31.0% | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 31.5% | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 32.3% | +2.5% |
| 1999 | 33.2% | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 33.8% | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 34.4% | +2.1% |
| 2002 | 35.2% | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 35.8% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 37.8% | +5.8% |
| 2017 | 44.7% | +18.0% |
| 2019 | 46.3% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 47.9% | +3.4% |
| 2023 | 49.1% | +2.6% |
| 2024 | 49.8% | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 31.7% | 30.4% | 33.2% | 5 |
| 2000s | 35.4% | 33.8% | 37.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 45.5% | 44.7% | 46.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 49.0% | 47.9% | 49.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near United States
More education data for United States
- 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 post-secondary non-tertiary in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary in United States was 49.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 49.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.4% in 1995.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary?
- United States ranks 16th out of 110 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed post-secondary non-tertiary rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.6%. 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 post-secondary non-tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release