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Chapter 8. State Indicators

Elementary and Secondary Education


High School Graduates or Higher Among Individuals 25–44 Years Old


Quartiles

High school graduates or higher among individuals 25–44 years old: 2007 (Percent)
 
1st quartile
(95.8% – 91.0%)		 2nd quartile
(90.7% – 89.3%)		 3rd quartile
(89.2% – 86.2%)		 4th quartile
(85.8% – 80.8%)
 
Connecticut Alaska‡ Colorado Alabama‡
Hawaii‡ Delaware‡ Florida Arizona
Iowa District of Columbia Illinois Arkansas‡
Maine‡ Idaho‡ Indiana California
Massachusetts Kansas‡ Kentucky‡ Georgia
Minnesota Maryland Missouri Louisiana‡
Montana‡ Michigan New York Mississippi‡
New Hampshire‡ Nebraska‡ Oklahoma‡ Nevada‡
New Jersey Ohio Oregon New Mexico‡
North Dakota‡ South Dakota‡ Rhode Island‡ North Carolina
Pennsylvania Virginia South Carolina‡ Tennessee
Vermont‡ Washington Utah Texas
Wisconsin Wyoming‡ West Virginia‡
 
‡ EPSCoR state

SOURCE: Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census; Population Estimates Program; and American Community Survey. See Data Table.



Findings

  • Nationwide, 86.7% of the early- to mid-career population had at least a high school credential in 2007, an increase from the 85.0% who held such a credential in 2000.
  • Forty-six states and the District of Columbia showed an increase in the percentage of their early- to mid-career population with at least a high school credential between 2000 and 2007. Ten states had 2007 values below the 2000 national average of 85.0%, compared with 17 states and the District of Columbia in 2000.
  • In 2007, the early- to mid-career population with at least a high school credential varied greatly among states, ranging from 80.8% to 95.8%. States in close proximity to the southern border of the United States tended to rank lowest on this indicator.


Description

This indicator represents the percentage of the early- to mid-career population that has earned at least a high school credential. The indicator displays results based on where high school graduates live rather than where they were educated. High values indicate a resident population and potential workforce with widespread basic education credentials.

Estimates of educational attainment have been developed by the Census Bureau, which bases them on the 2000 Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS). The census is conducted every 10 years, but ACS provides annual data on the characteristics of the population and where they live.

In 2005, ACS became the largest household survey in the United States, with an annual sample size of about 3 million addresses. Estimates of population are developed by the Census Bureau through the Population Estimates Program, which is also based on the 2000 Decennial Census. Estimates for states with smaller populations are generally less precise than estimates for states with larger populations.

Data Table

Table 8-14
High school graduates or higher among individuals 25–44 years old, by state: 2000, 2003, and 2007
 
  Graduates 25–44 years old   Population 25–44 years old   Graduates/population
25–44 years old (%)
State 2000 2003 2007   2000 2003 2007   2000 2003 2007
 
United States 72,241,876 71,684,426 72,358,114   85,040,251 84,216,990 83,483,659   85.0 85.1 86.7
Alabama 1,064,945 1,027,964 1,036,147   1,288,527 1,241,184 1,234,350   82.6 82.8 83.9
Alaska 186,160 167,805 176,847   203,522 194,823 197,222   91.5 86.1 89.7
Arizona 1,232,818 1,286,915 1,462,672   1,511,469 1,599,029 1,781,045   81.6 80.5 82.1
Arkansas 622,698 608,116 637,072   750,972 738,579 755,981   82.9 82.3 84.3
California 8,286,071 8,529,909 8,581,683   10,714,403 10,832,873 10,581,536   77.3 78.7 81.1
Colorado 1,242,919 1,239,272 1,283,903   1,400,850 1,417,501 1,448,632   88.7 87.4 88.6
Connecticut 926,614 903,677 847,351   1,032,689 999,800 925,266   89.7 90.4 91.6
Delaware 207,799 204,842 207,161   236,441 233,356 230,359   87.9 87.8 89.9
District of Columbia 157,077 160,782 173,875   189,439 188,758 192,511   82.9 85.2 90.3
Florida 3,840,710 3,924,625 4,166,135   4,569,347 4,676,558 4,812,179   84.1 83.9 86.6
Georgia 2,238,995 2,280,061 2,404,616   2,652,764 2,723,720 2,834,749   84.4 83.7 84.8
Hawaii 333,762 316,491 334,898   362,336 352,806 353,251   92.1 89.7 94.8
Idaho 316,815 323,260 362,468   362,401 370,690 401,380   87.4 87.2 90.3
Illinois 3,265,416 3,267,787 3,188,986   3,795,544 3,727,314 3,600,910   86.0 87.7 88.6
Indiana 1,567,100 1,494,212 1,528,485   1,791,828 1,748,331 1,734,016   87.5 85.5 88.1
Iowa 740,397 709,299 697,233   808,259 775,320 753,784   91.6 91.5 92.5
Kansas 687,268 675,316 656,852   769,204 743,961 727,170   89.3 90.8 90.3
Kentucky 1,009,246 1,013,026 1,023,568   1,210,773 1,182,970 1,188,087   83.4 85.6 86.2
Louisiana 1,044,255 1,014,054 949,440   1,293,128 1,230,819 1,159,582   80.8 82.4 81.9
Maine 339,227 325,208 312,986   370,597 358,691 337,652   91.5 90.7 92.7
Maryland 1,487,216 1,454,663 1,409,457   1,664,677 1,641,907 1,568,230   89.3 88.6 89.9
Massachusetts 1,795,438 1,763,262 1,651,537   1,989,783 1,922,446 1,794,769   90.2 91.7 92.0
Michigan 2,630,713 2,551,652 2,421,941   2,960,544 2,840,435 2,683,585   88.9 89.8 90.3
Minnesota 1,395,170 1,374,938 1,330,265   1,497,320 1,465,370 1,423,704   93.2 93.8 93.4
Mississippi 650,242 645,671 629,509   807,170 782,327 766,714   80.6 82.5 82.1
Missouri 1,426,806 1,399,485 1,397,472   1,626,302 1,587,931 1,579,645   87.7 88.1 88.5
Montana 225,105 213,382 216,166   245,220 232,735 235,309   91.8 91.7 91.9
Nebraska 441,527 432,446 415,179   487,107 471,024 457,810   90.6 91.8 90.7
Nevada 508,173 538,622 624,384   628,572 679,392 761,550   80.8 79.3 82.0
New Hampshire 350,744 340,140 326,094   381,240 373,644 351,263   92.0 91.0 92.8
New Jersey 2,313,820 2,254,281 2,184,317   2,624,146 2,578,072 2,400,533   88.2 87.4 91.0
New Mexico 425,745 400,847 433,949   516,100 506,956 516,167   82.5 79.1 84.1
New York 4,926,064 4,912,059 4,698,849   5,831,622 5,667,484 5,383,101   84.5 86.7 87.3
North Carolina 2,117,289 2,096,022 2,187,835   2,500,535 2,507,025 2,552,793   84.7 83.6 85.7
North Dakota 164,893 157,062 148,753   174,891 160,522 155,217   94.3 97.8 95.8
Ohio 2,965,744 2,840,789 2,754,008   3,325,210 3,172,294 3,054,756   89.2 89.5 90.2
Oklahoma 836,030 796,708 827,697   975,169 946,358 955,471   85.7 84.2 86.6
Oregon 861,602 880,905 907,879   997,269 1,003,698 1,034,933   86.4 87.8 87.7
Pennsylvania 3,136,195 2,966,827 2,895,587   3,508,562 3,343,434 3,182,590   89.4 88.7 91.0
Rhode Island 265,033 262,340 248,540   310,636 306,459 281,590   85.3 85.6 88.3
South Carolina 990,207 1,002,730 1,026,577   1,185,955 1,167,347 1,185,520   83.5 85.9 86.6
South Dakota 188,052 182,643 177,251   206,399 197,386 197,197   91.1 92.5 89.9
Tennessee 1,439,729 1,446,735 1,480,790   1,718,428 1,684,796 1,725,854   83.8 85.9 85.8
Texas 5,115,457 5,136,496 5,598,948   6,484,321 6,644,003 6,926,932   78.9 77.3 80.8
Utah 555,513 602,199 672,439   626,600 648,111 753,898   88.7 92.9 89.2
Vermont 162,109 153,679 147,144   176,456 168,392 157,657   91.9 91.3 93.3
Virginia 1,962,040 1,911,347 1,971,608   2,237,655 2,227,978 2,204,242   87.7 85.8 89.4
Washington 1,617,766 1,607,576 1,637,950   1,816,217 1,803,610 1,834,696   89.1 89.1 89.3
West Virginia 420,900 400,998 411,722   501,343 479,781 473,410   84.0 83.6 87.0
Wisconsin 1,429,331 1,369,084 1,369,475   1,581,690 1,537,180 1,499,802   90.4 89.1 91.3
Wyoming 126,931 116,217 122,414   138,619 131,810 135,059   91.6 88.2 90.6
                       
Puerto Rico 794,579 NA 874,101   1,049,995 1,069,617 NA   75.7 NA NA
 

NA = not available

SOURCES: Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census; Population Estimates Program (various years); and American Community Survey (various years).

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010
Source Data
 

Science and Engineering Indicators 2010   Arlington, VA (NSB 10-01) | January 2010