High school graduation rates by state

Where the national rate sits among the states

The rates run from 76% in the District of Columbia to 91% in West Virginia. Most states sit in a narrow band around the national figure: 18 states are above it, 25, counting DC, are below it, and six match it exactly. The median state is at 86%¹, a point under the national rate.

The gap between the median and the national rate reflects state size. The national figure pools students, so large states count for more than small ones. Five of the six most populous states, California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, are each at 87%, the same as the US, and the sixth, Texas³, is 3.0 percentage points above the US figure (87%)¹. Many of the states below the line are smaller: Wyoming, South Dakota and Alaska are all among the ten lowest.

The West: one state above the line

The clearest regional pattern is in the West. Utah, at 88%, is the only western state above the national rate; California equals it, and every other western state with a published rate is below it. Utah's rate is higher than every bordering state (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming)¹.

The lower end of the national list is mostly western. Arizona has the lowest rate of any state, 77%, lower than every bordering state (California, Nevada and Utah). Idaho (80%) is lower than every bordering state (Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming). Oregon (81%) is higher than Idaho; lower than California, Nevada and Washington, and Colorado (82%) is lower than Kansas, Nebraska and Utah; the same as Wyoming. Alaska, with no bordering state, is 3rd lowest at 78%, 9.0 percentage points below the US figure (87%)¹.

United States87%

Rhode Island83%

Vermont83%

Colorado82%

Nevada82%

South Dakota82%

Wyoming82%

Michigan81%

Oregon81%

Idaho80%

Alaska78%

Arizona77%

District of Columbia76%

Source: Department of Education, NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 219.46. Period: 2021-22.

Show the numbers

State	Graduation rate
United States	87%
Rhode Island	83%
Vermont	83%
Colorado	82%
Nevada	82%
South Dakota	82%
Wyoming	82%
Michigan	81%
Oregon	81%
Idaho	80%
Alaska	78%
Arizona	77%
District of Columbia	76%

The South: the top state and the bottom place

West Virginia leads the country at 91% and is higher than every bordering state (Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia). Several other southern states are near the top: Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas at 90%, Mississippi and Virginia at 89%, and Alabama, Arkansas and Delaware at 88%. Texas is higher than every bordering state (Arkansas and Louisiana); Mississippi is higher than Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana; lower than Tennessee¹.

The same region also holds the lowest figure. The District of Columbia, at 76%, is lower than every bordering state (Maryland and Virginia). Further south, Louisiana (83%), Georgia and South Carolina (both 84%¹) are below the national rate.

The Midwest and Northeast: high leaders, wide gaps

In the Midwest, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin are all at 90%, while Michigan is at 81%, lower than every bordering state (Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin). Minnesota (84%) is higher than Michigan and South Dakota; lower than Iowa, North Dakota and Wisconsin¹.

In the Northeast, Massachusetts (90%) is higher than every bordering state (Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont). Vermont (83%) is lower than every bordering state (Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York)¹, and Rhode Island is at the same rate.

Students today, adults in the state: two different lists

The graduation rate follows one group of students through four years of public high school. The Census Bureau's survey measures something else: the share of all adults 25 and older living in the state who have a high school diploma, a GED or more, whenever and wherever they finished. The two lists often disagree.

Texas is tied for 2nd highest¹ on the graduation rate, but its adult share, 87.8% (±0.5 percentage points), is 2nd lowest and 2.8 percentage points below the US figure (90.6%). California's students graduate at the national rate, while its adult share is the lowest in the nation. The reverse holds in the North and West: Alaska's adult share is 94.1% (±2.4 percentage points), 3.5 percentage points above the US figure (90.6%), and Vermont's is 95.4%, 4.8 percentage points above the US figure (90.6%)², though both states are in the bottom third on the graduation rate.

The adult measure counts GEDs, diplomas earned after more than four years, private schooling and people who moved in from other states or countries. The graduation rate counts none of these. A low rate for one cohort of students and a high share of adults with a diploma can both be accurate at the same time. The full adult ranking is on the educational attainment page.

How the rate is calculated

The figures are the adjusted cohort graduation rate, published by the National Center for Education Statistics for public schools. As NCES explains, each state identifies the students who started ninth grade for the first time in a given year, then adjusts that group by adding students who transfer in or immigrate later and removing those who transfer out, emigrate or die. The rate is the share of that adjusted group who graduate within four years.

Only a regular diploma counts, or a state-defined alternate diploma for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. A student who finishes in a fifth year, earns a GED or leaves with a certificate is not a graduate on this measure.

Reading the ranking with care

• Many ties. Rates are shown as whole percentages, so seven states share second place and six share the national figure. A one-point difference is a small gap, and states with the same rate share a rank.
• Two states missing. NCES did not publish 2021–22 rates for New Mexico and Oklahoma, so the table covers 49¹ places.
• One school year. The ranking uses the 2021–22 rate, the latest year in the NCES table used here. NCES notes that some states changed diploma requirements during the pandemic, which makes the 2019–20 rates less comparable with other years.
• Public schools only. Private school and home-schooled students are outside the measure.
• DC is a city. The District of Columbia is a single urban school system, not a whole state with rural districts.
• Not a school quality score. The rate counts who finished on time. It does not measure test scores, course content or what graduates do next, and states set their own diploma requirements.