Educational attainment rate … both short-cycle tertiary urban in United States
United States: Educational attainment rate … both short-cycle tertiary urban was 52.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States is 52.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 18.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States peaked at 52.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 23.6%, in 1970.
That places United States 10th out of 101 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate … both short-cycle tertiary urban in United States, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 23.6% | — |
| 2004 | 40.6% | +72.2% |
| 2005 | 38.2% | -5.8% |
| 2006 | 39.6% | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 40.2% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 40.2% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 40.5% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 41.2% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 41.9% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 42.6% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 43.7% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 43.9% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 44.2% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 45.3% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 46.9% | +3.4% |
| 2018 | 47.0% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 48.6% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 50.0% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 50.1% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 50.0% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 51.5% | +3.0% |
| 2024 | 52.1% | +1.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 52.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.2%, 1.3× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Educational attainment rate … both short-cycle tertiary urban in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +72.2% | 23.6% | 40.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.6% | 23.6% | 23.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 39.9% | 38.2% | 40.6% | 6 |
| 2010s | 44.5% | 41.2% | 48.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.7% | 50.0% | 52.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
- 7 South Korea 52.9% compare
- 8 Armenia 52.4% compare
- 9 Canada 52.1% compare
- 11 Lithuania 49.7% compare
- 12 Luxembourg 49.3% compare
- 13 United Kingdom 49.1% 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 short-cycle tertiary education in United States?
- Educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education in United States was 52.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 52.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.6% in 1970.
- How does United States rank for educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education?
- United States ranks 10th out of 101 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed short-cycle tertiary education rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.6%. 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 short-cycle tertiary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release