Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 104.20. Percentage of persons 25 to 29 years old with selected levels of educational attainment, by race/ethnicity and sex: Selected years, 1920 through 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Sex, selected level of educational attainment, and year Total White1 Black1 Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander American Indian/
Alaska Native
Two or more races
Total Asian Pacific Islander
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Total                                                      
High school completion
      or higher2
                                                     
19203   (†) 22.0   (—) 6.3   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1940 38.1   (—) 41.2   (—) 12.3   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1950 52.8   (—) 56.3   (—) 23.6   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1960 60.7   (—) 63.7   (—) 38.6   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1970 75.4   (—) 77.8   (—) 58.4   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
1980 85.4   (0.40) 89.2   (0.40) 76.7   (1.64) 58.0   (2.59)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1990 85.7   (0.38) 90.1   (0.37) 81.7   (1.37) 58.2   (1.94) 91.5   (2.09)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1995 86.8   (0.39) 92.5   (0.36) 86.7   (1.23) 57.1   (1.80) 90.8   (2.26)   (†)   (†) 81.5   (6.97)   (†)
2000 88.1   (0.37) 94.0   (0.33) 86.8   (1.13) 62.8   (1.22) 93.7   (1.27)   (†)   (†) 79.2   (5.19)   (†)
2003 86.5   (0.27) 93.7   (0.25) 88.5   (0.78) 61.7   (0.75) 96.3   (0.67) 97.3   (0.60) 81.8   (5.61) 80.5   (4.33) 91.7   (2.18)
2005 86.2   (0.42) 92.8   (0.39) 87.0   (1.03) 63.3   (1.32) 95.6   (0.88) 95.5   (0.92)   (†) 80.2   (4.77) 91.4   (1.93)
                                                       
2006 86.4   (0.36) 93.4   (0.35) 86.3   (1.09) 63.2   (1.17) 96.4   (0.88) 96.6   (0.86)   (†) 79.8   (5.19) 89.3   (2.70)
2007 87.0   (0.36) 93.5   (0.33) 87.7   (1.16) 65.0   (1.06) 96.8   (0.91) 97.5   (0.73)   (†) 84.5   (4.41) 90.5   (2.19)
2008 87.8   (0.36) 93.7   (0.38) 87.5   (1.29) 68.3   (1.16) 95.9   (0.86) 95.8   (0.91)   (†) 86.7   (3.36) 94.2   (1.72)
2009 88.6   (0.36) 94.6   (0.33) 88.9   (0.98) 68.9   (1.16) 95.4   (0.91) 95.8   (0.95) 91.6   (3.46) 81.1   (4.26) 88.5   (2.40)
2010 88.8   (0.32) 94.5   (0.31) 89.6   (0.93) 69.4   (1.22) 93.7   (1.18) 94.0   (1.24) 89.7   (5.05) 89.9   (2.98) 88.5   (2.76)
                                                       
2011 89.0   (0.34) 94.4   (0.34) 88.1   (0.98) 71.5   (1.12) 95.4   (0.87) 95.3   (0.91)   (†) 84.9   (3.95) 90.7   (2.15)
2012 89.7   (0.38) 94.6   (0.37) 88.5   (0.96) 75.0   (1.16) 96.2   (0.73) 96.1   (0.77) 98.6   (0.83) 84.5   (3.94) 92.8   (2.22)
2013 89.9   (0.35) 94.1   (0.35) 90.3   (0.92) 75.8   (1.10) 95.4   (0.77) 95.4   (0.81) 95.5   (2.72) 84.7   (3.47) 97.4   (1.11)
2014 90.8   (0.39) 95.6   (0.41) 91.9   (0.93) 74.7   (1.31) 96.6   (0.76) 96.6   (0.79)   (†) 83.9   (4.67) 96.0   (2.01)
2015 91.2   (0.31) 95.4   (0.32) 92.5   (0.78) 77.1   (1.02) 95.3   (0.92) 95.8   (0.87) 87.2   (6.60) 86.7   (2.65) 94.9   (1.54)
2016 91.7   (0.34) 95.2   (0.33) 91.1   (0.92) 80.6   (1.01) 96.7   (0.68) 96.8   (0.68) 94.0   (3.90) 84.5   (4.13) 94.8   (1.49)
                                                       
Associate’s or higher
      degree
                                                     
1995 33.0   (0.54) 38.3   (0.67) 22.5   (1.52) 13.0   (1.23) 51.1   (3.91)   (†)   (†) 11.6 ! (5.75)   (†)
2000 37.7   (0.55) 43.7   (0.70) 26.0   (1.47) 15.4   (0.91) 60.8   (2.55)   (†)   (†) 29.7   (5.84)   (†)
2003 36.7   (0.39) 44.3   (0.52) 23.7   (1.04) 15.3   (0.56) 64.9   (1.69) 67.1   (1.72) 30.3   (6.68) 13.6   (3.74) 35.3   (3.76)
2005 37.3   (0.56) 43.9   (0.77) 26.5   (1.43) 17.3   (0.91) 66.4   (2.14) 68.7   (2.17) 17.8 ! (6.08) 24.4   (4.13) 36.8   (3.99)
                                                       
2006 37.6   (0.51) 45.1   (0.75) 25.3   (1.48) 16.1   (0.77) 66.7   (2.27) 68.6   (2.33) 33.5   (8.26) 18.2   (5.17) 31.6   (3.67)
2007 38.6   (0.55) 45.8   (0.77) 27.3   (1.36) 18.1   (0.77) 66.2   (2.08) 68.0   (2.11) 37.1   (8.93) 14.6   (4.27) 35.3   (3.80)
2008 39.7   (0.55) 47.6   (0.72) 27.6   (1.39) 18.7   (0.90) 65.1   (2.21) 66.9   (2.19) 35.3   (7.53) 20.9   (3.60) 33.5   (3.84)
2009 39.3   (0.58) 47.1   (0.83) 27.8   (1.43) 18.4   (0.89) 63.0   (2.21) 66.7   (2.23) 20.9   (5.84) 20.8   (4.05) 35.6   (3.76)
2010 41.1   (0.51) 48.9   (0.69) 29.4   (1.41) 20.5   (0.99) 60.5   (2.33) 63.4   (2.45) 22.0 ! (7.92) 28.9   (6.19) 36.9   (3.57)
                                                       
2011 42.1   (0.65) 50.1   (0.85) 29.8   (1.50) 20.6   (0.87) 63.6   (2.36) 64.6   (2.35) 39.7   (9.75) 25.0   (4.52) 42.0   (4.33)
2012 42.8   (0.58) 49.9   (0.80) 31.6   (1.40) 22.7   (1.01) 66.3   (1.96) 68.3   (2.01) 32.4   (6.33) 23.6   (4.32) 47.6   (3.76)
2013 43.2   (0.57) 51.0   (0.79) 29.5   (1.42) 23.1   (0.87) 65.5   (1.93) 67.2   (1.96) 37.3   (7.84) 26.3   (5.70) 44.2   (3.81)
2014 44.1   (0.75) 51.9   (1.01) 32.0   (1.98) 23.4   (1.18) 67.8   (2.35) 70.3   (2.40)   (†) 18.2   (4.23) 40.8   (4.46)
2015 45.7   (0.53) 54.0   (0.78) 31.1   (1.41) 25.7   (1.01) 68.9   (2.09) 71.7   (2.13) 24.9   (6.58) 22.3   (3.65) 38.4   (3.56)
2016 46.1   (0.62) 54.3   (0.82) 31.7   (1.46) 27.0   (1.19) 69.5   (2.07) 71.5   (2.15) 28.6   (8.03) 16.5   (3.47) 41.3   (4.10)
                                                       
Bachelor’s or higher
      degree4
                                                     
19203   (†) 4.5   (—) 1.2   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1940 5.9   (—) 6.4   (—) 1.6   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1950 7.7   (—) 8.2   (—) 2.8   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1960 11.0   (—) 11.8   (—) 5.4   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1970 16.4   (—) 17.3   (—) 10.0   (—)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
1980 22.5   (0.47) 25.0   (0.55) 11.6   (1.24) 7.7   (1.39)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1990 23.2   (0.46) 26.4   (0.55) 13.4   (1.20) 8.1   (1.07) 43.0   (3.71)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1995 24.7   (0.49) 28.8   (0.62) 15.4   (1.31) 8.9   (1.04) 43.1   (3.87)   (†)   (†) 8.4 ! (4.98)   (†)
2000 29.1   (0.52) 34.0   (0.67) 17.8   (1.28) 9.7   (0.75) 54.3   (2.60)   (†)   (†) 15.9   (4.68)   (†)
2003 28.4   (0.36) 34.2   (0.49) 17.5   (0.93) 10.0   (0.47) 60.0   (1.74) 62.1   (1.77) 26.1   (6.38) 10.0 ! (3.28) 22.3   (3.28)
2005 28.8   (0.55) 34.5   (0.78) 17.6   (1.21) 11.2   (0.81) 60.0   (2.20) 62.1   (2.25)   (†) 16.4   (3.56) 28.0   (3.79)
                                                       
2006 28.4   (0.52) 34.3   (0.78) 18.7   (1.33) 9.5   (0.66) 59.6   (2.39) 61.9   (2.44)   (†) 9.5 ! (4.26) 23.3   (3.14)
2007 29.6   (0.54) 35.5   (0.75) 19.5   (1.21) 11.6   (0.61) 59.4   (2.24) 61.5   (2.26)   (†) 6.4 ! (2.99) 26.3   (3.44)
2008 30.8   (0.51) 37.1   (0.70) 20.4   (1.35) 12.4   (0.69) 57.9   (2.26) 60.2   (2.32)   (†) 14.3   (3.17) 26.6   (3.75)
2009 30.6   (0.57) 37.2   (0.85) 18.9   (1.36) 12.2   (0.80) 56.4   (2.25) 60.3   (2.28) 12.5 ! (4.44) 15.9   (3.73) 29.7   (3.84)
2010 31.7   (0.51) 38.6   (0.72) 19.4   (1.20) 13.5   (0.80) 52.5   (2.32) 55.8   (2.47) 10.0 ! (4.40) 18.6   (4.80) 29.8   (3.22)
                                                       
2011 32.2   (0.62) 39.2   (0.88) 20.1   (1.25) 12.8   (0.73) 56.0   (2.50) 57.2   (2.52)   (†) 17.3   (4.45) 32.4   (3.85)
2012 33.5   (0.58) 39.8   (0.78) 23.2   (1.38) 14.8   (0.90) 59.6   (2.17) 61.7   (2.24) 25.5   (6.12) 10.4   (2.87) 32.9   (3.72)
2013 33.6   (0.55) 40.4   (0.77) 20.5   (1.38) 15.7   (0.82) 58.0   (2.16) 60.1   (2.18) 24.7 ! (7.54) 16.6   (4.89) 29.6   (3.45)
2014 34.0   (0.75) 40.8   (1.05) 22.4   (1.82) 15.1   (0.97) 60.8   (2.44) 63.2   (2.50)   (†) 5.6 ! (2.24) 32.4   (4.12)
2015 35.6   (0.55) 43.0   (0.83) 21.3   (1.33) 16.4   (0.78) 62.8   (2.25) 66.0   (2.27) 11.4 ! (4.64) 15.3   (3.21) 29.6   (3.62)
2016 36.1   (0.61) 42.9   (0.87) 22.7   (1.26) 18.7   (1.06) 63.5   (2.11) 65.6   (2.20) 20.4   (6.62) 10.2   (2.57) 28.3   (3.76)
                                                       
Master’s or higher
      degree
                                                     
1995 4.5   (0.24) 5.3   (0.31) 1.8   (0.48) 1.6   (0.46) 10.9   (1.85)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 5.4   (0.26) 5.8   (0.33) 3.7   (0.63) 2.1   (0.36) 15.5   (1.70)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2003 5.7   (0.19) 6.6   (0.26) 2.6   (0.39) 1.4   (0.18) 18.4   (1.37) 19.1   (1.44)   (†)   (†) 4.4   (1.61)
2005 6.3   (0.31) 7.5   (0.45) 2.6   (0.44) 2.1   (0.38) 16.9   (1.93) 17.5   (2.01)   (†)   (†) 7.0 ! (2.49)
                                                       
2006 6.4   (0.29) 7.5   (0.42) 3.2   (0.58) 1.5   (0.25) 20.1   (2.00) 21.1   (2.10)   (†)   (†) 7.1   (1.83)
2007 6.3   (0.30) 7.6   (0.42) 3.5   (0.59) 1.5   (0.25) 17.5   (1.84) 18.5   (1.93)   (†)   (†) 6.2 ! (2.38)
2008 7.0   (0.28) 8.2   (0.40) 4.4   (0.64) 2.0   (0.28) 19.9   (1.84) 21.0   (1.96)   (†)   (†) 6.9 ! (2.57)
2009 7.4   (0.30) 8.9   (0.45) 4.2   (0.54) 1.9   (0.26) 21.1   (1.98) 22.9   (2.16)   (†)   (†) 6.5 ! (2.02)
2010 6.8   (0.26) 7.7   (0.38) 4.7   (0.60) 2.5   (0.37) 17.9   (1.87) 19.2   (1.99)   (†)   (†) 5.3 ! (1.63)
                                                       
2011 6.9   (0.32) 8.1   (0.45) 4.0   (0.52) 2.7   (0.37) 16.7   (1.78) 17.5   (1.85)   (†)   (†) 6.1   (1.59)
2012 7.2   (0.35) 8.2   (0.51) 5.1   (0.66) 2.7   (0.36) 17.8   (1.85) 18.9   (1.92)   (†) 2.6 ! (1.28) 4.1 ! (1.49)
2013 7.4   (0.31) 8.6   (0.50) 3.3   (0.50) 3.0   (0.37) 20.6   (1.73) 21.8   (1.79) #   (†)   (†) 4.8 ! (1.54)
2014 7.6   (0.41) 9.0   (0.58) 3.9   (0.77) 2.9   (0.43) 17.9   (1.84) 18.8   (1.92)   (†) #   (†) 7.1 ! (2.32)
2015 8.7   (0.33) 10.1   (0.51) 5.0   (0.60) 3.2   (0.41) 21.6   (1.85) 22.8   (1.97)   (†)   (†) 7.8   (1.79)
2016 9.2   (0.33) 10.5   (0.52) 5.2   (0.69) 4.1   (0.49) 23.8   (1.95) 24.9   (2.01)   (†) 2.1 ! (0.85) 5.3 ! (1.74)
                                                       
Males                                                      
High school completion
      or higher2
                                                     
1980 85.4   (0.49) 89.1   (0.48) 74.7   (1.97) 57.0   (3.45)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1990 84.4   (0.56) 88.6   (0.57) 81.4   (2.03) 56.6   (2.69) 95.3   (1.78)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1995 86.3   (0.56) 92.0   (0.53) 88.4   (1.72) 55.7   (2.51) 90.5   (2.37)   (†)   (†) 83.6   (9.73)   (†)
2000 86.7   (0.55) 92.9   (0.51) 87.6   (1.67) 59.2   (1.76) 92.1   (1.83)   (†)   (†) 68.5   (9.40)   (†)
2003 84.9   (0.41) 92.8   (0.38) 87.4   (1.21) 59.6   (1.02) 96.1   (0.99) 97.7   (0.80) 73.0   (9.07) 83.6   (6.06) 94.8   (2.49)
2005 85.0   (0.58) 91.8   (0.53) 86.6   (1.76) 63.2   (1.72) 96.8   (1.09) 96.7   (1.15)   (†)   (†) 89.1   (3.07)
                                                       
2006 84.4   (0.54) 92.3   (0.52) 84.2   (2.02) 60.5   (1.64) 97.2   (1.01) 97.2   (1.06)   (†)   (†) 89.2   (3.81)
2007 84.9   (0.50) 92.7   (0.48) 87.4   (1.65) 60.5   (1.59) 95.9   (1.13) 96.3   (1.10)   (†)   (†) 92.9   (2.64)
2008 85.8   (0.54) 92.6   (0.58) 85.7   (1.99) 65.6   (1.55) 95.6   (1.23) 95.4   (1.31)   (†)   (†) 92.7   (2.68)
2009 87.5   (0.51) 94.4   (0.46) 88.8   (1.56) 66.2   (1.54) 96.4   (1.17) 96.2   (1.25)   (†)   (†) 92.0   (3.01)
2010 87.4   (0.44) 94.6   (0.42) 87.9   (1.52) 65.7   (1.52) 93.8   (1.83) 93.5   (1.95)   (†) 93.2   (3.47) 87.9   (4.32)
                                                       
2011 87.5   (0.49) 93.4   (0.48) 88.0   (1.43) 69.2   (1.62) 94.2   (1.30) 93.9   (1.36)   (†) 84.5   (5.28) 86.2   (4.41)
2012 88.4   (0.51) 93.8   (0.50) 86.2   (1.58) 73.3   (1.57) 96.1   (1.04) 96.0   (1.09)   (†)   (†) 91.0   (3.58)
2013 88.3   (0.52) 93.3   (0.53) 87.8   (1.60) 73.1   (1.64) 94.4   (1.13) 94.3   (1.21)   (†)   (†) 96.8   (1.77)
2014 90.1   (0.53) 95.4   (0.60) 93.5   (1.18) 72.4   (1.76) 96.1   (1.10) 96.1   (1.14)   (†)   (†) 96.9   (2.02)
2015 90.5   (0.45) 95.1   (0.45) 91.8   (1.22) 75.7   (1.41) 95.9   (1.23) 97.1   (0.96) 75.8   (12.49) 83.2   (4.73) 98.0   (1.27)
2016 90.9   (0.46) 94.8   (0.44) 91.7   (1.19) 78.3   (1.34) 96.0   (1.06) 96.2   (1.05)   (†) 84.4   (5.70) 98.1   (1.22)
                                                       
Associate’s or higher
      degree
                                                     
1995 32.1   (0.76) 37.1   (0.94) 23.5   (2.28) 11.6   (1.62) 49.8   (5.30)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 35.3   (0.78) 40.7   (0.98) 24.1   (2.16) 13.0   (1.20) 60.7   (3.68)   (†)   (†) 17.6 ! (7.71)   (†)
2003 33.3   (0.53) 40.5   (0.72) 22.4   (1.52) 13.1   (0.70) 63.8   (2.47) 66.5   (2.50) 24.8 ! (8.82)   (†) 31.2   (5.20)
2005 33.4   (0.74) 39.6   (1.05) 22.7   (1.77) 16.1   (1.12) 64.0   (3.16) 66.7   (3.19) 18.5 ! (7.78) 19.9 ! (7.06) 31.0   (5.10)
                                                       
2006 33.8   (0.67) 41.5   (0.97) 21.3   (2.02) 12.8   (1.02) 65.4   (3.32) 67.9   (3.37) 25.6 ! (9.90) 18.9 ! (6.54) 28.4   (5.26)
2007 34.1   (0.76) 40.8   (1.01) 26.4   (2.06) 13.8   (0.96) 64.5   (3.04) 66.3   (3.12) 27.8 ! (12.03) 14.9 ! (6.39) 30.8   (5.22)
2008 34.7   (0.72) 42.2   (0.98) 24.2   (2.16) 15.2   (1.05) 61.5   (3.23) 62.8   (3.21) 41.3   (11.71) 22.0 ! (6.95) 29.9   (4.62)
2009 34.5   (0.66) 41.8   (1.04) 21.9   (1.97) 15.9   (1.16) 63.0   (2.86) 66.6   (2.99) 17.4 ! (8.42) 17.1 ! (7.26) 31.7   (5.35)
2010 36.1   (0.68) 44.5   (0.98) 22.9   (2.16) 16.0   (1.20) 57.4   (3.12) 61.1   (3.27)   (†) 30.1   (8.14) 31.5   (5.23)
                                                       
2011 37.0   (0.88) 45.2   (1.17) 25.9   (2.24) 16.1   (1.18) 57.9   (3.40) 58.8   (3.48) 42.9   (12.13) 22.0   (5.29) 38.4   (7.04)
2012 38.2   (0.81) 44.8   (1.11) 25.3   (1.92) 20.6   (1.45) 63.4   (3.00) 65.5   (2.94) 28.8 ! (10.22) 15.7 ! (5.97) 46.3   (5.90)
2013 38.5   (0.69) 46.0   (1.03) 24.8   (1.76) 20.0   (1.20) 61.2   (2.74) 62.6   (2.80) 39.3   (11.03) 27.5   (7.59) 42.8   (5.00)
2014 39.4   (0.95) 47.4   (1.35) 28.9   (2.66) 18.2   (1.40) 63.5   (3.37) 66.0   (3.41)   (†) 23.7 ! (8.06) 33.5   (6.67)
2015 41.3   (0.73) 49.3   (1.15) 24.6   (2.00) 22.7   (1.32) 67.1   (3.01) 69.5   (2.93) 26.0 ! (9.45) 17.7 ! (5.36) 37.7   (5.16)
2016 41.8   (0.87) 49.9   (1.19) 28.3   (2.21) 23.4   (1.56) 66.1   (2.83) 68.2   (2.90)   (†) 13.7 ! (4.53) 27.7   (5.03)
                                                       
Bachelor’s or higher
      degree4
                                                     
1980 24.0   (0.59) 26.8   (0.69) 10.5   (1.39) 8.4   (1.94)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1990 23.7   (0.65) 26.6   (0.79) 15.1   (1.87) 7.3   (1.41) 47.6   (4.19)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1995 24.5   (0.70) 28.4   (0.88) 17.4   (2.04) 7.8   (1.35) 42.0   (3.98)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 27.9   (0.73) 32.3   (0.93) 18.4   (1.96) 8.3   (0.98) 55.5   (3.37)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2003 26.0   (0.50) 31.4   (0.68) 17.7   (1.39) 8.4   (0.58) 59.2   (2.52) 61.7   (2.58) 21.7 ! (8.41)   (†) 17.5   (4.27)
2005 25.5   (0.68) 30.7   (0.98) 14.2   (1.57) 10.2   (0.99) 58.5   (3.11) 61.0   (3.17)   (†)   (†) 24.5   (4.93)
                                                       
2006 25.3   (0.67) 31.4   (0.98) 15.2   (1.66) 6.9   (0.70) 58.7   (3.46) 60.9   (3.52)   (†)   (†) 20.8   (4.65)
2007 26.3   (0.72) 31.9   (0.98) 18.9   (1.86) 8.6   (0.71) 58.5   (3.45) 60.4   (3.54)   (†)   (†) 23.3   (4.88)
2008 26.8   (0.64) 32.6   (0.89) 19.0   (1.94) 10.0   (0.86) 54.1   (3.41) 55.8   (3.53)   (†)   (†) 25.7   (4.45)
2009 26.6   (0.66) 32.6   (1.04) 14.8   (1.82) 11.0   (1.04) 55.2   (3.07) 59.2   (3.24)   (†)   (†) 24.6   (5.77)
2010 27.8   (0.68) 34.8   (0.96) 15.0   (1.72) 10.8   (1.06) 49.0   (3.12) 52.3   (3.31)   (†) 18.9 ! (7.12) 24.9   (4.91)
                                                       
2011 28.4   (0.82) 35.5   (1.16) 17.0   (1.83) 9.6   (0.90) 50.8   (3.42) 52.1   (3.55)   (†) 15.4 ! (4.80) 34.1   (6.62)
2012 29.8   (0.82) 36.0   (1.06) 19.1   (1.74) 12.5   (1.20) 55.0   (3.15) 56.9   (3.16)   (†)   (†) 30.4   (5.44)
2013 30.2   (0.68) 37.1   (1.00) 17.4   (1.63) 13.1   (1.06) 53.0   (3.03) 55.1   (3.13)   (†)   (†) 29.3   (4.61)
2014 30.9   (0.93) 37.7   (1.36) 20.8   (2.40) 12.4   (1.22) 56.9   (3.55) 59.0   (3.59)   (†)   (†) 26.4   (6.13)
2015 32.4   (0.74) 39.5   (1.12) 17.6   (1.83) 14.5   (1.04) 60.9   (3.13) 63.8   (3.12)   (†)   (†) 26.7   (5.07)
2016 32.7   (0.80) 39.5   (1.20) 20.4   (1.87) 16.2   (1.31) 59.0   (2.86) 61.4   (2.98)   (†) 7.8 ! (3.17) 19.7   (4.52)
                                                       
Master’s or higher
      degree
                                                     
1995 4.9   (0.35) 5.6   (0.45) 2.2 ! (0.80) 2.0 ! (0.70) 12.6   (2.68)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 4.7   (0.34) 4.9   (0.43) 2.1 ! (0.72) 1.5   (0.43) 17.2   (2.56)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2003 5.0   (0.25) 5.8   (0.34) 1.6   (0.46) 1.2   (0.22) 19.3   (2.03) 20.6   (2.15)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2005 5.2   (0.38) 6.2   (0.55) 1.1 ! (0.43) 1.7   (0.46) 19.7   (3.13) 20.5   (3.30)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
2006 5.1   (0.37) 5.8   (0.51) 1.7 ! (0.52) 1.1   (0.32) 20.5   (2.68) 21.8   (2.83)   (†)   (†) 5.9 ! (2.66)
2007 5.0   (0.39) 5.7   (0.50) 3.3   (0.99) 0.6 ! (0.19) 18.4   (2.89) 19.3   (3.00)   (†)   (†) 9.8 ! (4.28)
2008 5.3   (0.34) 5.9   (0.49) 3.4   (0.90) 1.2   (0.32) 20.9   (2.94) 22.1   (3.07)   (†)   (†) 7.8 ! (2.85)
2009 6.1   (0.37) 7.4   (0.60) 3.2   (0.73) 1.2   (0.28) 20.4   (2.48) 22.0   (2.69)   (†)   (†) 5.0 ! (2.38)
2010 5.2   (0.32) 6.3   (0.50) 2.9   (0.69) 1.5   (0.39) 15.0   (2.19) 16.2   (2.36)   (†)   (†) #   (†)
                                                       
2011 5.1   (0.38) 5.9   (0.49) 1.9   (0.54) 1.8   (0.41) 18.0   (2.58) 19.1   (2.71)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2012 5.6   (0.42) 6.3   (0.59) 2.7   (0.72) 2.4   (0.50) 16.2   (2.46) 17.2   (2.60)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2013 5.7   (0.38) 6.3   (0.53) 1.5 ! (0.56) 2.1   (0.43) 20.8   (2.49) 22.1   (2.60)   (†)   (†) 5.9 ! (2.47)
2014 5.9   (0.51) 7.0   (0.72) 2.6 ! (0.82) 2.2   (0.52) 15.9   (2.56) 16.6   (2.65)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2015 7.0   (0.40) 8.2   (0.62) 2.5   (0.75) 2.3   (0.56) 21.1   (2.65) 22.4   (2.78)   (†)   (†) 5.6 ! (2.37)
2016 7.2   (0.43) 8.7   (0.68) 3.9   (0.87) 2.1   (0.43) 19.7   (2.73) 20.6   (2.85)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
Females                                                      
High school completion
      or higher2
                                                     
1980 85.5   (0.48) 89.2   (0.48) 78.3   (1.71) 58.9   (3.38)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1990 87.0   (0.51) 91.7   (0.49) 82.0   (1.85) 59.9   (2.79) 85.1   (2.82)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1995 87.4   (0.54) 93.0   (0.50) 85.3   (1.75) 58.7   (2.60) 91.2   (2.50)   (†)   (†) 79.6   (9.88)   (†)
2000 89.4   (0.49) 95.2   (0.43) 86.2   (1.53) 66.4   (1.69) 95.2   (1.39)   (†)   (†) 86.3   (5.68)   (†)
2003 88.2   (0.37) 94.5   (0.33) 89.4   (1.01) 64.2   (1.11) 96.5   (0.90) 96.9   (0.88) 90.8   (5.99) 78.0   (6.07) 88.6   (3.50)
2005 87.4   (0.44) 93.8   (0.47) 87.3   (1.22) 63.4   (1.54) 94.6   (1.36) 94.4   (1.41)   (†)   (†) 94.2   (2.26)
                                                       
2006 88.5   (0.44) 94.6   (0.41) 88.0   (1.14) 66.6   (1.41) 95.6   (1.44) 96.0   (1.31)   (†)   (†) 89.4   (3.81)
2007 89.1   (0.45) 94.2   (0.44) 87.9   (1.46) 70.7   (1.30) 97.7   (1.05) 98.5   (0.68)   (†) 90.2   (4.49) 87.9   (3.82)
2008 89.9   (0.39) 94.7   (0.44) 89.2   (1.43) 71.9   (1.34) 96.1   (1.12) 96.2   (1.18)   (†) 84.2   (4.68) 95.9   (2.44)
2009 89.8   (0.41) 94.8   (0.44) 89.0   (1.12) 72.5   (1.34) 94.5   (1.20) 95.3   (1.18)   (†) 83.4   (4.81) 84.8   (3.57)
2010 90.2   (0.39) 94.4   (0.42) 91.1   (0.96) 74.1   (1.53) 93.6   (1.25) 94.5   (1.27)   (†) 86.8   (4.80) 89.1   (3.55)
                                                       
2011 90.7   (0.36) 95.5   (0.42) 88.2   (1.24) 74.3   (1.26) 96.6   (0.89) 96.6   (0.92)   (†) 85.3   (6.02) 94.0   (2.52)
2012 91.1   (0.44) 95.3   (0.46) 90.6   (1.11) 76.9   (1.39) 96.3   (0.98) 96.1   (1.04)   (†) 85.8   (4.53) 94.7   (2.35)
2013 91.5   (0.38) 94.9   (0.43) 92.5   (0.95) 78.8   (1.17) 96.2   (0.96) 96.3   (1.01)   (†) 82.0   (5.40) 98.2   (1.15)
2014 91.5   (0.50) 95.9   (0.54) 90.5   (1.62) 77.4   (1.56) 97.1   (0.96) 97.1   (0.99)   (†) 84.1   (6.05) 95.2   (3.44)
2015 91.8   (0.39) 95.8   (0.41) 93.2   (0.90) 78.6   (1.34) 94.8   (1.18) 94.6   (1.25) 96.7   (1.86) 89.3   (3.52) 91.5   (2.99)
2016 92.5   (0.40) 95.7   (0.41) 90.7   (1.33) 83.2   (1.22) 97.4   (0.76) 97.4   (0.79)   (†) 84.6   (5.34) 91.5   (2.76)
                                                       
Associate’s or higher
      degree
                                                     
1995 34.0   (0.77) 39.5   (0.95) 21.6   (2.03) 14.6   (1.86) 52.6   (5.77)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 40.1   (0.78) 46.6   (1.00) 27.5   (1.99) 17.7   (1.37) 60.8   (3.54)   (†)   (†) 37.7   (8.00)   (†)
2003 40.1   (0.56) 48.0   (0.73) 24.7   (1.42) 18.1   (0.89) 65.8   (2.32) 67.6   (2.36) 36.0   (9.94) 17.0 ! (5.50) 39.3   (5.38)
2005 41.3   (0.72) 48.2   (0.99) 29.8   (1.81) 18.8   (1.23) 68.5   (2.86) 70.4   (2.90)   (†) 28.7   (6.96) 43.7   (6.04)
                                                       
2006 41.5   (0.72) 48.8   (1.00) 28.8   (1.91) 20.3   (1.17) 68.0   (2.60) 69.4   (2.65) 42.4   (11.56) 17.6 ! (6.91) 34.7   (5.09)
2007 43.2   (0.72) 50.8   (1.02) 28.0   (1.61) 23.5   (1.25) 67.7   (2.73) 69.6   (2.88) 42.5   (11.79) 14.5 ! (5.53) 40.2   (5.87)
2008 44.9   (0.77) 53.0   (1.00) 30.7   (1.79) 23.2   (1.43) 68.5   (2.80) 70.8   (2.82) 29.5 ! (9.83) 20.2   (4.14) 37.6   (5.73)
2009 44.4   (0.75) 52.5   (1.02) 33.0   (1.79) 21.7   (1.22) 63.0   (3.19) 66.8   (3.13) 23.6 ! (8.47) 23.3   (5.09) 39.8   (5.19)
2010 46.3   (0.71) 53.5   (0.92) 35.2   (1.77) 26.2   (1.48) 63.3   (2.68) 65.6   (2.80) 31.4 ! (13.43) 27.7   (8.27) 41.8   (5.08)
                                                       
2011 47.4   (0.74) 55.2   (1.00) 33.3   (1.92) 26.2   (1.29) 69.1   (2.50) 70.2   (2.48) 34.2 ! (12.63) 28.7   (7.46) 44.5   (5.08)
2012 47.4   (0.68) 55.0   (0.94) 37.0   (1.80) 25.1   (1.23) 69.1   (2.22) 71.0   (2.29) 36.1   (9.80) 29.2   (6.04) 49.0   (5.15)
2013 47.9   (0.77) 56.1   (0.99) 33.6   (1.99) 26.8   (1.30) 69.2   (2.29) 71.2   (2.33) 35.5   (10.28) 25.6   (7.48) 46.0   (6.22)
2014 48.9   (0.99) 56.5   (1.28) 34.8   (2.77) 29.4   (1.67) 71.5   (3.14) 74.1   (3.18)   (†) 15.7 ! (5.27) 48.2   (6.06)
2015 50.1   (0.72) 58.7   (0.98) 36.9   (1.78) 29.0   (1.47) 70.7   (2.55) 73.8   (2.61) 24.0 ! (9.77) 25.8   (4.73) 39.2   (5.20)
2016 50.5   (0.71) 58.7   (0.95) 34.8   (1.73) 31.0   (1.51) 72.6   (2.49) 74.5   (2.56)   (†) 18.9   (4.75) 54.5   (5.59)
                                                       
Bachelor’s or higher
      degree4
                                                     
1980 21.0   (0.56) 23.2   (0.65) 12.4   (1.36) 6.9   (1.74)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1990 22.8   (0.64) 26.2   (0.78) 11.9   (1.56) 9.1   (1.64) 37.4   (3.83)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
1995 24.9   (0.70) 29.2   (0.89) 13.7   (1.70) 10.1   (1.59) 44.5   (4.38)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 30.1   (0.73) 35.8   (0.96) 17.4   (1.69) 11.0   (1.12) 53.1   (3.26)   (†)   (†) 19.1 ! (6.48)   (†)
2003 30.9   (0.53) 37.1   (0.71) 17.4   (1.25) 12.0   (0.75) 60.7   (2.39) 62.4   (2.44) 30.6 ! (9.54) 13.9 ! (5.07) 26.9   (4.89)
2005 32.2   (0.75) 38.2   (1.00) 20.5   (1.68) 12.4   (1.07) 61.4   (3.06) 63.1   (3.11)   (†)   (†) 32.1   (5.70)
                                                       
2006 31.6   (0.70) 37.2   (0.99) 21.7   (1.77) 12.8   (1.05) 60.4   (2.76) 62.8   (2.82)   (†)   (†) 25.7   (4.72)
2007 33.0   (0.72) 39.2   (1.03) 20.0   (1.38) 15.4   (1.10) 60.3   (2.83) 62.5   (2.88)   (†)   (†) 29.6   (5.17)
2008 34.9   (0.71) 41.7   (0.98) 21.6   (1.57) 15.5   (1.11) 61.6   (2.67) 64.4   (2.71)   (†) 12.2 ! (3.69) 27.7   (5.57)
2009 34.8   (0.78) 42.0   (1.12) 22.6   (1.75) 13.8   (1.09) 57.6   (3.00) 61.3   (3.03)   (†) 16.3   (4.42) 35.0   (5.07)
2010 35.7   (0.68) 42.4   (0.96) 23.3   (1.72) 16.8   (1.20) 55.8   (2.93) 58.9   (3.00)   (†) 18.4 ! (6.68) 34.0   (4.96)
                                                       
2011 36.1   (0.71) 43.0   (1.03) 22.9   (1.62) 16.8   (1.10) 61.0   (2.74) 62.0   (2.75)   (†) 19.7 ! (6.64) 31.2   (4.36)
2012 37.2   (0.69) 43.6   (0.97) 26.7   (1.78) 17.4   (1.10) 64.0   (2.38) 66.2   (2.46)   (†) 14.0 ! (4.55) 35.5   (5.50)
2013 37.0   (0.71) 43.8   (0.95) 23.2   (2.03) 18.6   (1.10) 62.4   (2.51) 64.3   (2.54)   (†) 16.4 ! (6.57) 30.0   (5.26)
2014 37.2   (1.00) 43.9   (1.36) 23.8   (2.61) 18.3   (1.40) 64.3   (3.23) 66.9   (3.29)   (†)   (†) 38.4   (5.96)
2015 38.9   (0.74) 46.6   (1.06) 24.6   (1.72) 18.5   (1.21) 64.5   (2.74) 68.1   (2.73)   (†) 21.8   (4.51) 32.9   (5.20)
2016 39.5   (0.75) 46.3   (1.03) 24.9   (1.55) 21.5   (1.44) 67.7   (2.66) 69.6   (2.72)   (†) 12.2 ! (4.00) 36.8   (5.55)
                                                       
Master’s or higher
      degree
                                                     
1995 4.1   (0.32) 5.0   (0.42) 1.4 ! (0.59) 1.2 ! (0.58) 8.9   (2.50)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2000 6.2   (0.38) 6.7   (0.50) 4.9   (0.96) 2.7   (0.58) 13.9   (2.26)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2003 6.4   (0.28) 7.4   (0.38) 3.3   (0.59) 1.7   (0.30) 17.5   (1.86) 17.7   (1.93)   (†)   (†) 7.3 ! (2.86)
2005 7.3   (0.44) 8.8   (0.64) 4.0   (0.70) 2.6   (0.51) 14.4   (2.08) 15.0   (2.15)   (†)   (†) 10.0 ! (4.26)
                                                       
2006 7.8   (0.42) 9.2   (0.63) 4.5   (0.93) 2.0   (0.41) 19.7   (2.33) 20.4   (2.44)   (†)   (†) 8.3 ! (2.89)
2007 7.6   (0.43) 9.4   (0.63) 3.7   (0.66) 2.6   (0.53) 16.5   (2.39) 17.7   (2.54)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2008 8.7   (0.44) 10.4   (0.64) 5.2   (0.87) 2.9   (0.46) 18.9   (2.30) 19.9   (2.44)   (†)   (†)   (†)
2009 8.8   (0.45) 10.4   (0.66) 5.1   (0.80) 2.7   (0.43) 21.7   (2.45) 23.7   (2.70)   (†)   (†) 7.9 ! (2.84)
2010 8.5   (0.39) 9.2   (0.56) 6.2   (0.94) 3.8   (0.56) 20.6   (2.60) 21.8   (2.75)   (†)   (†) 10.0 ! (3.06)
                                                       
2011 8.8   (0.48) 10.4   (0.72) 5.8   (0.85) 3.8   (0.63) 15.4   (1.98) 15.9   (2.03)   (†)   (†) 9.9   (2.61)
2012 8.8   (0.45) 10.0   (0.67) 7.1   (1.00) 3.0   (0.45) 19.3   (2.23) 20.4   (2.31)   (†)   (†) 6.3 ! (2.49)
2013 9.2   (0.44) 10.8   (0.71) 4.8   (0.74) 4.0   (0.59) 20.4   (1.91) 21.6   (2.00)   (†)   (†) 3.3 ! (1.56)
2014 9.3   (0.56) 11.1   (0.84) 5.0   (1.17) 3.6   (0.63) 19.7   (2.33) 20.8   (2.47)   (†) #   (†) 7.5 ! (3.00)
2015 10.4   (0.51) 12.0   (0.73) 7.2   (0.98) 4.1   (0.60) 22.0   (2.51) 23.2   (2.67)   (†)   (†) 10.2 ! (3.20)
2016 11.2   (0.51) 12.3   (0.74) 6.3   (1.02) 6.3   (0.89) 27.5   (2.51) 28.8   (2.58)   (†)   (†) 8.2   (3.17)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Includes persons of Hispanic ethnicity for years prior to 1980.
2 Data for years prior to 1993 are for persons with 4 or more years of high school. Data for later years are for high school completers--i.e., those persons who graduated from high school with a diploma as well as those who completed high school through equivalency programs, such as a GED program.
3 Estimates based on Census Bureau reverse projection of 1940 census data on education by age.
4 Data for years prior to 1993 are for persons with 4 or more years of college.
NOTE: Beginning in 2005, standard errors were computed using replicate weights, which produced more precise values than the generalized variance function methodology used in prior years. For 1960 and prior years, data were collected in April. For later years, data were collected in March. Data are based on sample surveys of the noninstitutionalized population, which excludes persons living in institutions (e.g., prisons or nursing facilities); data include military personnel who live in households with civilians, but exclude those who live in military barracks. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity except where otherwise noted. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, U.S. Census of Population: 1960, Vol. I, Part 1; J.K. Folger and C.B. Nam, Education of the American Population (1960 Census Monograph); Current Population Reports, Series P-20, various years; and Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 1970 through 2016. (This table was prepared November 2016.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest