Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2014 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 302.20. Percentage of recent high school completers enrolled in 2- and 4-year colleges, by race/ethnicity: 1960 through 2013
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Year Percent of recent high school completers1
enrolled in college2 (annual data)
3-year moving averages3
Percent of recent high school completers1
enrolled in college2
Difference between percent enrolled
Total White Black Hispanic Asian Total White Black Hispanic Asian White-Black White-Hispanic White-Asian
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
19604 45.1 (2.13) 45.8 (2.21) (†) (†) (†) 46.6 (1.49) 47.7 (1.56) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19614 48.0 (2.09) 49.5 (2.19) (†) (†) (†) 47.4 (1.21) 48.7 (1.26) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19624 49.0 (2.05) 50.6 (2.15) (†) (†) (†) 47.4 (1.20) 48.6 (1.25) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19634 45.0 (2.09) 45.6 (2.17) (†) (†) (†) 47.5 (1.16) 48.5 (1.21) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19644 48.3 (1.89) 49.2 (1.98) (†) (†) (†) 48.5 (1.08) 49.2 (1.13) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                           
19654 50.9 (1.70) 51.7 (1.78) (†) (†) (†) 49.9 (1.02) 51.0 (1.07) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19664 50.1 (1.72) 51.7 (1.79) (†) (†) (†) 51.0 (0.99) 52.1 (1.04) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19674 51.9 (1.42) 53.0 (1.50) (†) (†) (†) 52.5 (0.81) 53.8 (0.85) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19684 55.4 (1.39) 56.6 (1.47) (†) (†) (†) 53.6 (0.80) 55.0 (0.84) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19694 53.3 (1.34) 55.2 (1.41) (†) (†) (†) 53.5 (0.79) 54.6 (0.83) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                           
19704 51.7 (1.36) 52.0 (1.44) (†) (†) (†) 52.9 (0.77) 53.8 (0.82) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
19714 53.5 (1.33) 54.0 (1.40) (†) (†) (†) 51.5 (0.77) 51.9 (0.82) (†) (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1972 49.2 (1.31) 49.7 (1.42) 44.6 (4.62) 45.0 (9.74) (†) 49.7 (0.76) 50.5 (0.81) 38.4 (3.18) 49.9 (6.64) (†) 12.1   (3.28)   (†)   (†)
1973 46.6 (1.29) 47.8 (1.40) 32.5 (4.30) 54.1 (9.01) (†) 47.8 (0.75) 48.2 (0.81) 41.4 (2.62) 48.8 (5.33) (†) 6.8 ! (2.74)   (†)   (†)
1974 47.6 (1.28) 47.2 (1.39) 47.2 (4.58) 46.9 (8.94) (†) 48.3 (0.74) 48.7 (0.80) 40.5 (2.63) 53.1 (5.09) (†) 8.3 ! (2.75)   (†)   (†)
                                                           
1975 50.7 (1.26) 51.1 (1.37) 41.7 (3.97) 58.0 (8.44) (†) 49.1 (0.74) 49.1 (0.81) 44.5 (2.29) 52.7 (4.88) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1976 48.8 (1.31) 48.8 (1.43) 44.4 (4.08) 52.7 (7.97) (†) 50.1 (0.74) 50.3 (0.81) 45.3 (2.30) 53.6 (4.68) (†) 5.0 ! (2.44)   (†)   (†)
1977 50.6 (1.29) 50.8 (1.41) 49.5 (4.65) 50.8 (7.96) (†) 49.9 (0.75) 50.1 (0.82) 46.8 (2.70) 48.8 (4.72) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1978 50.1 (1.28) 50.5 (1.41) 46.4 (4.51) 42.0 (8.44) (†) 50.0 (0.74) 50.4 (0.81) 47.5 (2.67) 46.1 (4.69) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1979 49.3 (1.28) 49.9 (1.41) 46.7 (4.69) 45.0 (7.92) (†) 49.6 (0.74) 50.1 (0.82) 45.2 (2.62) 46.3 (4.83) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                           
1980 49.3 (1.30) 49.8 (1.43) 42.7 (4.44) 52.3 (8.70) (†) 50.8 (0.75) 51.5 (0.82) 44.0 (2.61) 49.6 (4.78) (†) 7.5 ! (2.74)   (†)   (†)
1981 53.9 (1.30) 54.9 (1.44) 42.7 (4.44) 52.1 (8.19) (†) 51.3 (0.75) 52.4 (0.83) 40.3 (2.50) 48.7 (4.68) (†) 12.2   (2.64)   (†)   (†)
1982 50.6 (1.36) 52.7 (1.52) 35.8 (4.33) 43.2 (7.96) (†) 52.4 (0.79) 54.2 (0.84) 38.8 (2.57) 49.4 (4.94) (†) 15.4   (2.70)   (†)   (†)
1983 52.7 (1.39) 55.0 (1.55) 38.2 (4.34) 54.2 (8.96) (†) 52.8 (0.79) 55.5 (0.89) 38.0 (2.47) 46.7 (4.72) (†) 17.5   (2.62)   (†)   (†)
1984 55.2 (1.37) 59.0 (1.54) 39.8 (4.15) 44.3 (7.67) (†) 55.1 (0.81) 57.9 (0.91) 39.9 (2.54) 49.3 (4.89) (†) 18.0   (2.70)   (†)   (†)
                                                           
1985 57.7 (1.45) 60.1 (1.62) 42.2 (4.78) 51.0 (9.76) (†) 55.5 (0.82) 58.6 (0.92) 39.5 (2.55) 46.1 (5.18) (†) 19.1   (2.71) 12.5 ! (5.27)   (†)
1986 53.8 (1.43) 56.8 (1.62) 36.9 (4.38) 44.0 (8.85) (†) 56.1 (0.84) 58.5 (0.94) 43.5 (2.71) 42.3 (5.20) (†) 15.0   (2.87) 16.2 ! (5.28)   (†)
1987 56.8 (1.46) 58.6 (1.65) 52.2 (4.82) 33.5 (8.25) (†) 56.5 (0.83) 58.8 (0.95) 44.2 (2.65) 45.0 (5.04) (†) 14.6   (2.82) 13.8 ! (5.13)   (†)
1988 58.9 (1.57) 61.1 (1.79) 44.4 (4.91) 57.1 (10.14) (†) 58.4 (0.92) 60.1 (0.96) 49.7 (2.98) 48.5 (5.99) (†) 10.4 ! (3.13)   (†)   (†)
1989 59.6 (1.64) 60.7 (1.85) 53.4 (5.27) 55.1 (10.51) (†) 59.5 (0.94) 61.6 (1.06) 48.0 (2.98) 52.7 (6.33) (†) 13.6   (3.16)   (†)   (†)
                                                           
1990 60.1 (1.60) 63.0 (1.80) 46.8 (5.08) 42.7 (10.82) (†) 60.7 (0.92) 63.0 (1.08) 48.9 (2.97) 52.5 (5.70) (†) 14.0   (3.16)   (†)   (†)
1991 62.5 (1.62) 65.4 (1.82) 46.4 (5.25) 57.2 (9.58) (†) 61.5 (0.92) 64.2 (1.05) 47.2 (2.93) 52.6 (5.52) (†) 17.0   (3.11) 11.7 ! (5.62)   (†)
1992 61.9 (1.58) 64.3 (1.84) 48.2 (4.92) 55.0 (8.50) (†) 62.3 (0.92) 64.2 (1.06) 50.0 (2.98) 58.2 (5.04) (†) 14.2   (3.16)   (†)   (†)
1993 62.6 (1.59) 62.9 (1.85) 55.6 (5.28) 62.2 (8.22) (†) 62.1 (0.91) 63.9 (1.04) 51.3 (2.97) 55.7 (4.97) (†) 12.6   (3.14)   (†)   (†)
1994 61.9 (1.43) 64.5 (1.61) 50.8 (4.42) 49.1 (6.28) (†) 62.1 (0.83) 64.0 (1.03) 52.4 (2.52) 55.0 (3.23) (†) 11.5   (2.72) 8.9 ! (3.39)   (†)
                                                           
1995 61.9 (1.41) 64.3 (1.64) 51.2 (4.20) 53.7 (4.92) (†) 63.0 (0.81) 65.4 (0.93) 52.9 (2.40) 51.6 (3.18) (†) 12.5   (2.57) 13.8   (3.31)   (†)
1996 65.0 (1.42) 67.4 (1.67) 56.0 (4.03) 50.8 (5.79) (†) 64.7 (0.82) 66.6 (0.93) 55.4 (2.41) 57.6 (2.96) (†) 11.3   (2.58) 9.0 ! (3.10)   (†)
1997 67.0 (1.38) 68.2 (1.64) 58.5 (4.12) 65.6 (4.53) (†) 65.9 (0.80) 68.1 (0.95) 58.8 (2.35) 55.3 (2.93) (†) 9.3   (2.53) 12.8   (3.08)   (†)
1998 65.6 (1.38) 68.5 (1.61) 61.9 (4.05) 47.4 (4.92) (†) 65.2 (0.80) 67.7 (0.94) 59.8 (2.31) 51.9 (2.79) (†) 7.9 ! (2.50) 15.7   (2.94)   (†)
1999 62.9 (1.38) 66.3 (1.64) 58.9 (3.86) 42.3 (4.76) (†) 64.0 (0.80) 66.8 (0.94) 58.6 (2.31) 47.4 (2.84) (†) 8.3 ! (2.50) 19.5   (2.99)   (†)
                                                           
2000 63.3 (1.41) 65.7 (1.66) 54.9 (4.11) 52.9 (5.03) (†) 62.7 (0.82) 65.4 (0.97) 56.4 (2.33) 48.6 (2.96) (†) 9.1   (2.53) 16.9   (3.11)   (†)
2001 61.8 (1.48) 64.3 (1.72) 55.0 (4.17) 51.7 (5.63) (†) 63.5 (0.82) 66.3 (0.97) 56.4 (2.39) 52.8 (2.93) (†) 10.0   (2.58) 13.5   (3.09)   (†)
2002 65.2 (1.31) 69.1 (1.55) 59.4 (3.90) 53.6 (4.46) (†) 63.7 (0.78) 66.5 (0.97) 57.3 (2.33) 54.8 (2.75) (†) 9.3   (2.52) 11.7   (2.92)   (†)
20035 63.9 (1.35) 66.2 (1.61) 57.5 (4.25) 58.6 (4.61) 84.1 (5.10) 65.3 (0.77) 68.0 (0.91) 59.9 (2.29) 57.7 (2.66) 80.0 (3.99) 8.1 ! (2.46) 10.3   (2.81) -11.9 ! (4.10)
20045 66.7 (1.31) 68.8 (1.57) 62.5 (3.77) 61.8 (4.76) 75.6 (6.13) 66.4 (0.77) 69.4 (0.91) 58.8 (2.34) 57.7 (2.60) 81.6 (3.37) 10.6   (2.51) 11.7   (2.75) -12.2   (3.49)
                                                           
20055 68.6 (1.31) 73.2 (1.52) 55.7 (4.15) 54.0 (4.18) 86.7 (5.99) 67.1 (0.76) 70.2 (0.90) 58.2 (2.35) 57.5 (2.52) 80.9 (3.64) 12.0   (2.52) 12.6   (2.67) -10.7 ! (3.75)
20065 66.0 (1.33) 68.5 (1.60) 55.5 (4.33) 57.9 (4.18) 82.3 (5.32) 67.2 (0.75) 70.4 (0.89) 55.6 (2.35) 58.5 (2.43) 85.1 (3.64) 14.7   (2.51) 11.9   (2.59) -14.7   (3.74)
20075 67.2 (1.26) 69.5 (1.49) 55.7 (3.78) 64.0 (4.22) 88.8 (6.26) 67.3 (0.73) 70.0 (0.87) 55.7 (2.27) 62.0 (2.33) 85.8 (3.45) 14.3   (2.43) 8.0 ! (2.48) -15.8   (3.56)
20085 68.6 (1.21) 71.7 (1.44) 55.7 (3.78) 63.9 (3.72) 88.4 (5.08) 68.6 (0.71) 70.8 (0.86) 60.3 (2.15) 62.3 (2.25) 90.1 (3.01) 10.5   (2.31) 8.6   (2.41) -19.2   (3.13)
20095 70.1 (1.23) 71.3 (1.53) 69.5 (3.51) 59.3 (3.80) 92.1 (3.90) 68.9 (0.70) 71.2 (0.86) 62.4 (2.09) 60.9 (2.14) 88.1 (2.85) 8.8   (2.26) 10.3   (2.31) -16.9   (2.98)
                                                           
20105,6 68.1 (1.49) 70.5 (1.68) 62.0 (4.81) 59.7 (4.18) 84.7 (5.27) 68.8 (0.71) 70.1 (0.90) 66.1 (2.01) 62.3 (2.01) 87.4 (2.78)   (†) 7.8   (2.21) -17.3   (2.92)
20115,6 68.2 (1.45) 68.3 (1.86) 67.1 (4.01) 66.6 (3.50) 86.1 (4.25) 67.5 (0.89) 68.2 (1.03) 62.1 (2.86) 66.1 (2.17) 83.9 (2.79) 6.1 ! (3.04)   (†) -15.7   (2.97)
20125,6 66.2 (1.59) 65.7 (1.94) 56.4 (4.84) 70.3 (3.22) 81.5 (5.15) 66.8 (0.94) 67.6 (1.12) 60.5 (2.64) 65.9 (1.99) 82.3 (3.59) 7.1 ! (2.87)   (†) -14.7   (3.76)
20135,6 65.9 (1.58) 68.8 (1.90) 56.7 (5.59) 59.8 (3.62) 80.1 (6.52) 66.1 (1.07) 67.2 (1.35) 56.5 (3.51) 65.6 (2.39) 80.8 (4.32) 10.7 ! (3.76)   (†) -13.6 ! (4.53)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.
1 Individuals ages 16 to 24 who graduated from high school or completed a GED during the calendar year.
2 Enrollment in college as of October of each year for individuals ages 16 to 24 who completed high school during the calendar year.
3 A 3-year moving average is a weighted average of the year indicated, the year immediately preceding, and the year immediately following. For the first and final years of available data, a 2-year moving average is used: The moving average for 1960 reflects an average of 1960 and 1961; for Black and Hispanic data, the moving average for 1972 reflects an average of 1972 and 1973; for Asian data, the moving average for 2003 reflects an average of 2003 and 2004; and the moving average for 2013 reflects an average of 2012 and 2013. Moving averages are used to produce more stable estimates.
4 Prior to 1972, White data include persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
5 White, Black, and Asian data exclude persons identifying themselves as two or more races.
6 Beginning in 2010, standard errors were computed using replicate weights, which produced more precise values than the generalized variance function methodology used in prior years.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity except where otherwise noted. Total includes persons of other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown.
SOURCE: American College Testing Program, unpublished tabulations, derived from statistics collected by the Census Bureau, 1960 through 1969. U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), October, 1970 through 2013. (This table was prepared July 2014.)

2014 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest