U.S. High School Diploma Rate by State 2026: Statistics & Charts
Adult high school diploma rate is measured here as the share of residents age 25 and over with a high school graduate credential or higher educational attainment.
The 2026 label reflects the publication year. The latest full state-level source used here is the 2024 ACS 1-year release from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Adult High School Attainment Statistics
Rates represent adults age 25 and over who have completed high school or a higher level of education.
Highest Adult High School Attainment Rates
Top 15 jurisdictions by share of adults age 25 and over with high school graduate or higher attainment.
The chart is a visual summary of the highest-rate jurisdictions. The full 51-row ranking appears in the table.
Chart analysis
- New Hampshire leads the ranking at 95.1%.
- The 15 highest jurisdictions all report rates of 92.7% or higher.
- New Hampshire is the only jurisdiction at or above 95.0%.
- The top 15 include 6 Western, 6 Midwestern, and 3 Northeastern jurisdictions.
- No Southern jurisdiction appears in the first 15 positions.
Full State High School Diploma Rate Table
Ranking is based on the rounded ACS 2024 1-year estimate for high school graduate or higher attainment among adults age 25 and over.
| Rank | State | Code | Region | HS graduate or higher | Age 25+ count | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | NH | Northeast | 95.1% | 986,612 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 2 | Maine | ME | Northeast | 94.8% | 994,955 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 3 | Vermont | VT | Northeast | 94.7% | 449,234 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 4 | Montana | MT | West | 94.6% | 760,097 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 5 | Wyoming | WY | West | 94.4% | 386,514 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 6 | Minnesota | MN | Midwest | 94.2% | 3,751,387 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 7 | North Dakota | ND | Midwest | 94.2% | 500,114 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 8 | South Dakota | SD | Midwest | 94.0% | 586,059 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 9 | Hawaii | HI | West | 93.7% | 971,764 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 10 | Wisconsin | WI | Midwest | 93.7% | 3,910,355 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 11 | Utah | UT | West | 93.6% | 2,015,798 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 12 | Alaska | AK | West | 93.4% | 465,092 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 13 | Colorado | CO | West | 93.2% | 3,917,493 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 14 | Iowa | IA | Midwest | 93.0% | 2,038,609 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 15 | Nebraska | NE | Midwest | 92.7% | 1,229,269 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 16 | Idaho | ID | West | 92.5% | 1,235,112 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | PA | Northeast | 92.4% | 8,556,816 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 18 | Oregon | OR | West | 92.3% | 2,847,453 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 19 | Washington | WA | West | 92.3% | 5,196,048 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 20 | Michigan | MI | Midwest | 92.2% | 6,551,317 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 21 | Ohio | OH | Midwest | 92.2% | 7,607,705 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 22 | District of Columbia | DC | South | 92.0% | 461,026 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 23 | Kansas | KS | Midwest | 92.0% | 1,827,651 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 24 | Missouri | MO | Midwest | 92.0% | 3,959,346 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 25 | Connecticut | CT | Northeast | 91.8% | 2,392,646 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 26 | Delaware | DE | South | 91.8% | 685,650 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 27 | Virginia | VA | South | 91.7% | 5,606,143 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 28 | Maryland | MD | South | 91.4% | 3,989,793 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 29 | Massachusetts | MA | Northeast | 91.4% | 4,637,695 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 30 | South Carolina | SC | South | 91.0% | 3,479,792 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 31 | North Carolina | NC | South | 90.9% | 6,947,037 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 32 | Illinois | IL | Midwest | 90.7% | 8,028,089 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 33 | Indiana | IN | Midwest | 90.6% | 4,244,133 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 34 | Tennessee | TN | South | 90.6% | 4,525,310 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 35 | Florida | FL | South | 90.4% | 15,337,477 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 36 | New Jersey | NJ | Northeast | 90.4% | 6,015,420 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 37 | Rhode Island | RI | Northeast | 90.4% | 720,699 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 38 | Oklahoma | OK | South | 90.2% | 2,460,648 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 39 | West Virginia | WV | South | 90.1% | 1,142,711 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 40 | Georgia | GA | South | 89.8% | 6,813,223 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 41 | Arizona | AZ | West | 89.7% | 4,728,815 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 42 | Alabama | AL | South | 89.6% | 3,170,126 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 43 | Arkansas | AR | South | 89.3% | 1,873,987 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 44 | Kentucky | KY | South | 89.0% | 2,799,522 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 45 | Louisiana | LA | South | 88.2% | 2,749,670 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 46 | Mississippi | MS | South | 88.0% | 1,745,605 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 47 | New York | NY | Northeast | 88.0% | 12,430,128 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 48 | New Mexico | NM | West | 87.9% | 1,305,348 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 49 | Nevada | NV | West | 87.7% | 2,032,703 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 50 | Texas | TX | South | 86.7% | 17,837,644 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
| 51 | California | CA | West | 84.9% | 23,227,841 | 2024 ACS 1-year |
Table analysis
- New Hampshire ranks first at 95.1%.
- California ranks 51st at 84.9%.
- The top-to-bottom spread is 10.2 percentage points.
- 24 jurisdictions report rates of 92.0% or higher.
- 4 jurisdictions are below 88.0%: New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and California.
- California has the largest count of adults age 25+ with high school graduate or higher attainment, at 23,227,841.
- Texas has the second-largest count at 17,837,644 while ranking 50th by rate.
- Ranks use rounded ACS percentages, so small differences may fall within survey margins of error.
Regional and Rate Band Summaries
Regional averages are simple averages across jurisdictions, not population-weighted rates.
Average Rate by Census Region
Simple average of state and jurisdiction rates within each U.S. Census region.
The Midwest has the highest simple regional average, while the South has the lowest among the four Census regions.
Chart analysis
- Midwest has the highest simple average at 92.6%.
- South has the lowest simple average at 90.0%.
- The regional average gap between Midwest and South is 2.6 percentage points.
- Regional averages are not weighted by adult population size.
| Region | Jurisdictions | Average rate | Highest | Lowest | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | 9 | 92.1% | New Hampshire (95.1%) | New York (88.0%) | 7.1 points |
| Midwest | 12 | 92.6% | Minnesota (94.2%) | Indiana (90.6%) | 3.6 points |
| South | 17 | 90.0% | District of Columbia (92.0%) | Texas (86.7%) | 5.3 points |
| West | 13 | 91.6% | Montana (94.6%) | California (84.9%) | 9.7 points |
Table analysis
- West has the widest regional spread at 9.7 points.
- Midwest has the narrowest regional spread at 3.6 points.
- The South includes 17 jurisdictions, the largest regional count in the table.
- New Hampshire, Minnesota, District of Columbia, and Montana are the regional high points.
| Rate band | Jurisdictions | Range | States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95.0% or higher | 1 | 95.1%–95.1% | New Hampshire |
| 94.0% to 94.9% | 7 | 94.0%–94.8% | Maine, Vermont, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota |
| 92.0% to 93.9% | 16 | 92.0%–93.7% | Hawaii, Wisconsin, Utah, Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, Ohio, District of Columbia, Kansas, Missouri |
| 90.0% to 91.9% | 15 | 90.1%–91.8% | Connecticut, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, West Virginia |
| 88.0% to 89.9% | 8 | 88.0%–89.8% | Georgia, Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York |
| Below 88.0% | 4 | 84.9%–87.9% | New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, California |
Table analysis
- 1 jurisdiction is at or above 95.0%.
- 24 jurisdictions are at or above 92.0%.
- 15 jurisdictions fall between 90.0% and 91.9%.
- 4 jurisdictions fall below 88.0%.
Diploma Rate Interpretation Notes
The ranking compares adult attainment rates. It should not be read as a current high school graduation ranking.
Adult attainment measure
The rate covers residents age 25 and over. It includes adults whose highest credential is high school, GED or equivalent, some college, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or graduate degree.
Not a cohort graduation rate
The metric is different from the adjusted cohort graduation rate used for public high school accountability reporting.
Population size affects counts
Large states can rank lower by rate while still reporting the largest adult counts with high school graduate or higher attainment.
Rounded estimates
Rates are shown to one decimal place. Ranking uses the rounded published estimate, with alphabetical ordering where rounded values match closely.
Survey margin
ACS values are estimates and include margins of error. Small rank differences should be interpreted with that survey context.
2026 publication label
The state comparison uses the latest available full ACS 1-year state data. It is not a 2026 survey year.
Source and Methodology
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates.
ACS S1501 Educational Attainment and ACS B15003 Educational Attainment.
Percent of population age 25 and over with high school graduate or higher attainment.
50 states and the District of Columbia.
State-level ACS geographies, including the District of Columbia as a jurisdiction.
Rates are rounded to one decimal place. Counts are shown as whole-person estimates.
State rows were ranked by the ACS high school graduate or higher percentage for adults age 25 and over. Regional averages were calculated as simple, unweighted averages of state and jurisdiction rates.
Census Reporter values are sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau and were used as the state profile extraction layer. The published Census ACS table remains the official federal source.
This ranking measures adult educational attainment, not current public high school completion for a single student cohort. ACS estimates should not be used alone to judge school quality, district performance, or recent graduation policy outcomes.