Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
1998 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 8. -  Years of school completed by persons age 25 and over and 25 to 29, by race/ethnicity and sex: 1910 to 1997
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
              |                               Percent, by years of school completed
              |_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
              |         All races         |   White, non-Hispanic\1\  |  Black, non-Hispanic\1\   |          Hispanic
  Age, year,  |___________________________|___________________________|___________________________|___________________________
   and sex    |Less than|  High   | 4 or  |Less than|  High   | 4 or  |Less than|  High   | 4 or  |Less than|  High   | 4 or
              | 5 years | school  | more  | 5 years | school  | more  | 5 years | school  | more  | 5 years | school  | more
              | of ele- | comple- | years | of ele- | comple- | years | of ele- | comple- | years | of ele- | comple- | years
              | mentary | tion or |of col-| mentary | tion or |of col-| mentary | tion or |of col-| mentary | tion or |of col-
              | school  |higher\2\|lege\3\| school  |higher\2\|lege\3\| school  |higher\2\|lege\3\| school  |higher\2\|lege\3\
______________|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______
      1       |    2    |    3    |   4   |    5    |    6    |   7   |    8    |    9    |  10   |   11    |   12    |  13
______________|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______
              |                                          Males and females
              |_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 25 and over  |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
1910 \4\ .....|    23.8 |    13.5 |   2.7 |     --- |     --- |   --- |     --- |     --- |   --- |     --- |     --- |   ---
1920 \4\ .....|    22.0 |    16.4 |   3.3 |     --- |     --- |   --- |     --- |     --- |   --- |     --- |     --- |   ---
1930 \4\ .....|    17.5 |    19.1 |   3.9 |     --- |     --- |   --- |     --- |     --- |   --- |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1940 ...|    13.7 |    24.5 |   4.6 |    10.9 |    26.1 |   4.9 |    41.8 |     7.7 |   1.3 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1950 ...|    11.1 |    34.3 |   6.2 |     8.9 |    36.4 |   6.6 |    32.6 |    13.7 |   2.2 |     --- |     --- |   ---
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
April 1960 ...|     8.3 |    41.1 |   7.7 |     6.7 |    43.2 |   8.1 |    23.5 |    21.7 |   3.5 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1970 ...|     5.3 |    55.2 |  11.0 |     4.2 |    57.4 |  11.6 |    14.7 |    36.1 |   6.1 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1975 ...|     4.2 |    62.5 |  13.9 |     2.6 |    65.8 |  14.9 |    12.3 |    42.6 |   6.4 |    18.2 |    38.5 |   6.6
March 1980 ...|     3.4 |    68.6 |  17.0 |     1.9 |    71.9 |  18.4 |     9.1 |    51.4 |   7.9 |    15.8 |    44.5 |   7.6
March 1982 ...|     3.0 |    71.0 |  17.7 |     1.7 |    74.3 |  19.1 |     7.3 |    54.9 |   8.7 |    14.7 |    46.0 |   7.8
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
March 1985 ...|     2.7 |    73.9 |  19.4 |     1.4 |    77.5 |  20.8 |     6.1 |    59.9 |  11.1 |    13.5 |    47.9 |   8.5
March 1986 .. |     2.7 |    74.7 |  19.4 |     1.4 |    78.2 |  20.1 |     5.3 |    62.5 |  10.9 |    12.9 |    48.5 |   8.4
March 1987 .. |     2.4 |    75.6 |  19.9 |     1.3 |    79.0 |  20.5 |     4.9 |    63.6 |  10.8 |    11.9 |    50.9 |   8.6
March 1988 .. |     2.5 |    76.2 |  20.3 |     1.2 |    79.8 |  21.8 |     4.8 |    63.5 |  11.2 |    12.2 |    51.0 |  10.0
March 1989 .. |     2.5 |    76.9 |  21.1 |     1.2 |    80.7 |  22.8 |     5.2 |    64.7 |  11.7 |    12.2 |    50.9 |   9.9
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
March 1990 .. |     2.5 |    77.6 |  21.3 |     1.1 |    81.4 |  23.1 |     5.1 |    66.2 |  11.3 |    12.3 |    50.8 |   9.2
March 1991 .. |     2.4 |    78.4 |  21.4 |     1.1 |    82.4 |  23.3 |     4.7 |    66.8 |  11.5 |    12.5 |    51.3 |   9.7
March 1992 .. |     2.1 |    79.4 |  21.4 |     0.9 |    83.4 |  23.2 |     3.9 |    67.7 |  11.9 |    11.8 |    52.6 |   9.3
March 1993 .. |     2.1 |    80.2 |  21.9 |     0.8 |    84.1 |  23.8 |     3.7 |    70.5 |  12.2 |    11.8 |    53.1 |   9.0
March 1994 .. |     1.9 |    80.9 |  22.2 |     0.8 |    84.9 |  24.3 |     2.7 |    73.0 |  12.9 |    10.8 |    53.3 |   9.1
March 1995 ...|     1.9 |    81.7 |  23.0 |     0.7 |    85.9 |  23.4 |     2.5 |    73.8 |  13.3 |    10.6 |    53.4 |   9.3
March 1996 .. |     1.8 |    81.7 |  23.6 |     0.6 |    86.0 |  25.9 |     2.2 |    74.6 |  13.8 |    10.4 |    53.1 |   9.3
March 1997....|     1.7 |    82.1 |  23.9 |     0.6 |    86.3 |  26.2 |     2.0 |    75.3 |  13.3 |     9.4 |    54.7 |  10.3
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
25 to 29      |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
1920\4\ ......|     --- |     --- |   --- |    12.9 |    22.0 |   4.5 |    44.6 |     6.3 |   1.2 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1940 ...|     5.9 |    38.1 |   5.9 |     3.4 |    41.2 |   6.4 |    27.0 |    12.3 |   1.6 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1950 ...|     4.6 |    52.8 |   7.7 |     3.3 |    56.3 |   8.2 |    16.1 |    23.6 |   2.8 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1960 ...|     2.8 |    60.7 |  11.0 |     2.2 |    63.7 |  11.8 |     7.2 |    38.6 |   5.4 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1970 ...|     1.1 |    75.4 |  16.4 |     0.9 |    77.8 |  17.3 |     2.2 |    58.4 |  10.0 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1975 ...|     1.0 |    83.1 |  21.9 |     0.6 |    86.6 |  23.8 |     0.5 |    71.1 |  10.5 |     8.0 |    53.1 |   8.8
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
March 1980 ...|     0.8 |    85.4 |  22.5 |     0.3 |    89.2 |  25.0 |     0.7 |    76.7 |  11.6 |     6.7 |    58.0 |   7.7
March 1982 ...|     0.8 |    86.2 |  21.7 |     0.3 |    89.1 |  23.8 |     0.7 |    81.0 |  12.6 |     6.6 |    61.0 |   9.7
March 1985 ...|     0.7 |    86.1 |  22.2 |     0.2 |    89.5 |  24.4 |     0.4 |    80.5 |  11.6 |     6.0 |    60.9 |  11.1
March 1986 .. |     0.9 |    86.1 |  22.4 |     0.4 |    89.6 |  25.2 |     0.5 |    83.5 |  11.8 |     5.6 |    59.1 |   9.0
March 1987 .. |     0.9 |    86.0 |  22.0 |     0.4 |    89.4 |  24.7 |     0.4 |    83.5 |  11.5 |     4.8 |    59.8 |   8.7
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
March 1988 .. |     1.0 |    85.9 |  22.7 |     0.3 |    89.7 |  25.1 |     0.3 |    80.9 |  12.0 |     6.0 |    62.3 |  11.3
March 1989 .. |     1.0 |    85.5 |  23.4 |     0.3 |    89.3 |  26.3 |     0.5 |    82.3 |  12.7 |     5.4 |    61.0 |  10.1
March 1990 .. |     1.2 |    85.7 |  23.2 |     0.3 |    90.1 |  26.4 |     1.0 |    81.7 |  13.4 |     7.3 |    58.2 |   8.2
March 1991 .. |     1.0 |    85.4 |  23.2 |     0.3 |    89.8 |  26.7 |     0.5 |    81.8 |  11.0 |     5.8 |    56.7 |   9.2
March 1992 .. |     0.9 |    86.3 |  23.6 |     0.3 |    90.7 |  27.2 |     0.8 |    80.9 |  11.1 |     5.2 |    60.9 |   9.5
              |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
March 1993 .. |     0.7 |    86.7 |  23.7 |     0.3 |    91.2 |  27.2 |     0.2 |    82.7 |  13.3 |     4.0 |    60.9 |   8.3
March 1994 .. |     0.8 |    86.1 |  23.3 |     0.3 |    91.1 |  27.1 |     0.6 |    84.1 |  13.6 |     3.6 |    60.3 |   8.0
March 1995 .. |     1.0 |    86.9 |  24.7 |     0.3 |    92.5 |  28.8 |     0.2 |    86.7 |  15.4 |     4.9 |    57.2 |   8.9
March 1996 .. |     0.8 |    87.3 |  27.1 |     0.2 |    92.6 |  31.6 |     0.4 |    86.0 |  14.6 |     4.3 |    61.1 |  10.0
March 1997... |     0.8 |    87.4 |  27.8 |     0.1 |    92.9 |  32.6 |     0.6 |    86.9 |  14.2 |     4.2 |    61.8 |  11.0
              |_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______
              |                                                  Males
              |_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
25 and over   |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
April 1940 ...|    15.1 |    22.7 |   5.5 |    12.0 |    24.2 |   5.9 |    46.2 |     6.9 |   1.4 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1950 ...|    12.2 |    32.6 |   7.3 |     9.8 |    34.6 |   7.9 |    36.9 |    12.6 |   2.1 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1960 ...|     9.4 |    39.5 |   9.7 |     7.4 |    41.6 |  10.3 |    27.7 |    20.0 |   3.5 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1970 ...|     5.9 |    55.0 |  14.1 |     4.5 |    57.2 |  15.0 |    17.9 |    35.4 |   6.8 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1980 ...|     3.6 |    69.2 |  20.9 |     2.0 |    72.4 |  22.8 |    11.3 |    51.2 |   7.7 |    16.5 |    44.9 |   9.2
March 1990 .. |     2.7 |    77.7 |  24.4 |     1.3 |    81.6 |  26.7 |     6.4 |    65.8 |  11.9 |    12.9 |    50.3 |   9.8
March 1994 .. |     2.1 |    81.1 |  25.1 |     0.8 |    85.1 |  27.8 |     3.9 |    71.8 |  12.7 |    11.4 |    53.4 |   9.6
March 1995 .. |     2.0 |    81.7 |  26.0 |     0.8 |    86.0 |  28.9 |     3.4 |    73.5 |  13.7 |    10.8 |    52.9 |  10.1
March 1996 .. |     1.9 |    81.9 |  26.0 |     0.7 |    86.1 |  28.8 |     2.9 |    74.6 |  12.5 |    10.2 |    53.0 |  10.3
March 1997... |     1.8 |    82.0 |  26.2 |     0.6 |    86.3 |  29.0 |     2.9 |    73.8 |  12.5 |     9.2 |    54.9 |  10.6
              |_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______
              |                                                 Females
              |_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
25 and over   |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |       |         |         |
April 1940 ...|    12.4 |    26.3 |   3.8 |     9.8 |    28.1 |   4.0 |    37.5 |     8.4 |   1.2 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1950 ...|    10.0 |    36.0 |   5.2 |     8.1 |    38.2 |   5.4 |    28.6 |    14.7 |   2.4 |     --- |     --- |   ---
April 1960 ...|     7.4 |    42.5 |   5.8 |     6.0 |    44.7 |   6.0 |    19.7 |    23.1 |   3.6 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1970 ...|     4.7 |    55.4 |   8.2 |     3.9 |    57.7 |   8.6 |    11.9 |    36.6 |   5.6 |     --- |     --- |   ---
March 1980 ...|     3.2 |    68.1 |  13.6 |     1.8 |    71.5 |  14.4 |     7.4 |    51.5 |   8.1 |    15.3 |    44.2 |   6.2
March 1990 .. |     2.2 |    77.5 |  18.4 |     1.0 |    81.3 |  19.8 |     4.1 |    66.5 |  10.8 |    11.7 |    51.3 |   8.7
March 1994 .. |     1.7 |    80.8 |  19.6 |     0.7 |    84.7 |  21.1 |     1.8 |    73.9 |  13.1 |    10.3 |    53.2 |   8.6
March 1995 .. |     1.7 |    81.6 |  20.2 |     0.6 |    85.8 |  22.2 |     1.8 |    74.1 |  13.0 |    10.4 |    53.8 |   8.4
March 1996 .. |     1.7 |    81.6 |  21.4 |     0.5 |    85.9 |  23.2 |     1.6 |    74.6 |  14.8 |    10.6 |    53.3 |   8.3
March 1997... |     1.6 |    82.2 |  21.7 |     0.5 |    86.3 |  23.7 |     1.3 |    76.5 |  14.0 |     9.5 |    54.6 |  10.1
______________|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______|_________|_________|_______

\1\Includes persons of Hispanic origin for years prior to 1980.
\2\Data for years prior to 1993 include all persons with at least 4 years of high school.
\3\Data for 1993 and later years are for persons with a bachelor's degree or higher.
\4\Estimates based on Bureau of the Census retrojection of 1940 Census data on education by age.
---Data not available.

NOTE.--Data for 1980 and subsequent years are for the noninstitutional population.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Census of Population, 1960, Vol. 1, part 1; Current Population Reports, Series P-20 and unpublished data; and 1960 Census Monograph, "Education of the American Population," by John K. Folger and Charles B. Nam. (This table was prepared July 1998.)


1998 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest