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Digest of Education Statistics
1996 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 and sex: 1910 to 1995

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              |               All races           |             White\1\              |       Black and other races\1\
              |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------
              |Percent, by years of school|       |Percent, by years of school|       |Percent, by years of school|
              |          completed        |Median |          completed        |Median |          completed        |Median
 Age and year |---------------------------| years |---------------------------| years |---------------------------| years
              |Less than |4 years|  4 or  |  of   |Less than |4 years|  4 or  |  of   |Less than |4 years|  4 or  |  of
              |5 years of|of high|  more  |school |5 years of|of high|  more  |school |5 years of|of high|  more  |school
              |elementary|school |years of|comple-|elementary|school |years of|comple-|elementary|school |years of|comple-
              |  school  |or more|college |  ted  |  school  |or more|college |  ted  |  school  |or more|college |  ted
--------------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------
      1       |    2     |   3   |   4    |   5   |    6     |   7   |   8    |   9   |    10    |  11   |   12   |  13
--------------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------
              |                                          Males and females
              |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 and over   |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  1910 \2\ ...|     23.8 |  13.5 |    2.7 |   8.1 |      --- |   --- |    --- |   --- |      --- |   --- |    --- |   ---
  1920 \2\ ...|     22.0 |  16.4 |    3.3 |   8.2 |      --- |   --- |    --- |   --- |      --- |   --- |    --- |   ---
  1930 \2\ ...|     17.5 |  19.1 |    3.9 |   8.4 |      --- |   --- |    --- |   --- |      --- |   --- |    --- |   ---
  April 1940 .|     13.7 |  24.5 |    4.6 |   8.6 |     10.9 |  26.1 |    4.9 |   8.7 |     41.8 |   7.7 |    1.3 |   5.7
  April 1950 .|     11.1 |  34.3 |    6.2 |   9.3 |      8.9 |  36.4 |    6.6 |   9.7 |     32.6 |  13.7 |    2.2 |   6.9
              |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  April 1960 .|      8.3 |  41.1 |    7.7 |  10.5 |      6.7 |  43.2 |    8.1 |  10.8 |     23.5 |  21.7 |    3.5 |   8.2
  March 1970 .|      5.3 |  55.2 |   11.0 |  12.2 |      4.2 |  57.4 |   11.6 |  12.2 |     14.7 |  36.1 |    6.1 |  10.1
  March 1975 .|      4.2 |  62.5 |   13.9 |  12.3 |      3.3 |  64.5 |   14.5 |  12.4 |     11.7 |  46.4 |    9.2 |  11.4
  March 1980 .|      3.4 |  68.6 |   17.0 |  12.5 |      2.6 |  70.5 |   17.8 |  12.5 |      8.8 |  54.6 |   11.1 |  12.2
  March 1982 .|      3.0 |  71.0 |   17.7 |  12.6 |      2.4 |  72.8 |   18.5 |  12.6 |      7.4 |  58.1 |   12.4 |  12.3
              |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  March 1985 .|      2.7 |  73.9 |   19.4 |  12.6 |      2.2 |  75.5 |   20.0 |  12.7 |      6.0 |  63.2 |   15.4 |  12.4
  March 1986 .|      2.7 |  74.7 |   19.4 |  12.6 |      2.2 |  76.2 |   20.1 |  12.7 |      5.5 |  65.3 |   15.2 |  12.4
  March 1987 .|      2.4 |  75.6 |   19.9 |  12.7 |      2.0 |  77.0 |   20.5 |  12.7 |      5.1 |  66.7 |   15.7 |  12.4
  March 1988 .|      2.4 |  76.2 |   20.3 |  12.7 |      2.0 |  77.7 |   20.9 |  12.7 |      5.1 |  66.7 |   16.4 |  12.5
  March 1989 .|      2.5 |  76.9 |   21.1 |  12.7 |      2.0 |  78.4 |   21.8 |  12.7 |      5.6 |  67.3 |   16.9 |  12.5
  March 1990 .|      2.4 |  77.6 |   21.3 |  12.7 |      2.0 |  79.1 |   22.0 |  12.7 |      5.4 |  68.7 |   16.5 |  12.5
  March 1991 .|      2.4 |  78.4 |   21.4 |  12.7 |      2.0 |  79.9 |   22.2 |  12.8 |      5.0 |  69.6 |   16.7 |  12.5
  March 1992 .|      2.8 |  80.8 |   21.4 |  12.8 |      1.8 |  82.2 |   22.1 |  12.9 |      4.1 |  72.9 |   17.2 |  12.6
  March 1993 .|      2.1 |  81.5 |   21.9 |  12.9 |      1.7 |  82.7 |   22.6 |  12.9 |      4.1 |  74.7 |   17.7 |  12.7
  March 1994 .|      1.9 |  80.9 |   22.2 |   --- |      1.7 |  82.0 |   22.9 |   --- |      3.3 |  74.5 |   18.1 |   ---
  March 1995 .|      1.8 |  81.7 |   23.0 |   --- |      1.6 |  83.0 |   24.0 |   --- |      3.3 |  74.2 |   17.4 |   ---
              |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
25 to 29      |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  1920\2\ ....|      --- |   --- |    --- |   --- |     12.9 |  22.0 |    4.5 |   8.5 |     44.6 |   6.3 |    1.2 |   5.4
  April 1940 .|      5.9 |  38.1 |    5.9 |  10.3 |      3.4 |  41.2 |    6.4 |  10.7 |     27.0 |  12.3 |    1.6 |   7.1
  April 1950 .|      4.6 |  52.8 |    7.7 |  12.1 |      3.3 |  56.3 |    8.2 |  12.2 |     16.1 |  23.6 |    2.8 |   8.7
  April 1960 .|      2.8 |  60.7 |   11.0 |  12.3 |      2.2 |  63.7 |   11.8 |  12.3 |      7.2 |  38.6 |    5.4 |  10.8
  March 1970 .|      1.1 |  75.4 |   16.4 |  12.6 |      0.9 |  77.8 |   17.3 |  12.6 |      2.2 |  58.4 |   10.0 |  12.2
  March 1975 .|      1.0 |  83.1 |   21.9 |  12.8 |      1.0 |  84.4 |   22.8 |  12.8 |      0.7 |  73.8 |   15.4 |  12.6
              |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  March 1980 .|      0.8 |  85.4 |   22.5 |  12.9 |      0.8 |  86.9 |   23.7 |  12.9 |      1.0 |  77.0 |   15.2 |  12.7
  March 1982 .|      0.8 |  86.2 |   21.7 |  12.8 |      0.8 |  86.9 |   22.7 |  12.9 |      0.7 |  82.2 |   15.8 |  12.8
  March 1985 .|      0.7 |  86.1 |   22.2 |  12.9 |      0.8 |  86.8 |   23.2 |  12.9 |      0.5 |  82.4 |   16.7 |  12.8
  March 1986 .|      0.9 |  86.1 |   22.4 |  12.9 |      0.9 |  86.5 |   23.5 |  12.9 |      0.9 |  84.3 |   16.3 |  12.8
  March 1987 .|      0.9 |  86.0 |   22.0 |  12.8 |      0.8 |  86.3 |   23.0 |  12.9 |      1.1 |  84.1 |   16.9 |  12.8
              |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  March 1988 .|      1.0 |  85.9 |   22.7 |  12.8 |      1.0 |  86.6 |   23.5 |  12.9 |      1.2 |  82.0 |   18.1 |  12.6
  March 1989 .|      1.0 |  85.5 |   23.4 |  12.9 |      0.9 |  86.0 |   24.4 |  12.9 |      1.2 |  83.1 |   18.1 |  12.8
  March 1990 .|      1.2 |  85.7 |   23.2 |  12.9 |      1.2 |  86.3 |   24.2 |  12.9 |      1.1 |  82.5 |   18.2 |  12.8
  March 1991 .|      1.0 |  85.4 |   23.2 |  12.9 |      1.0 |  85.8 |   24.6 |  12.9 |      0.6 |  83.1 |   16.4 |  12.8
  March 1992 .|      0.9 |  88.1 |   23.6 |  13.0 |      0.9 |  88.5 |   25.0 |  13.0 |      0.9 |  85.7 |   16.9 |  12.8
  March 1993 .|      0.7 |  88.2 |   23.7 |  13.0 |      0.7 |  88.5 |   24.7 |  13.0 |      0.5 |  87.0 |   18.7 |  12.9
  March 1994 .|      0.8 |  86.1 |   23.3 |   --- |      0.8 |  86.5 |   24.2 |   --- |      0.9 |  84.2 |   19.1 |   ---
  March 1995 .|      0.9 |  86.8 |   24.7 |   --- |      1.0 |  87.4 |   26.0 |   --- |      0.8 |  84.6 |   19.4 |   ---
              |----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------
              |                                                  Males
              |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 and over   |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  April 1940 .|     15.1 |  22.7 |    5.5 |   8.6 |     12.0 |  24.2 |    5.9 |   8.7 |     46.2 |   6.9 |    1.4 |   5.4
  April 1950 .|     12.2 |  32.6 |    7.3 |   9.0 |      9.8 |  34.6 |    7.9 |   9.3 |     36.9 |  12.6 |    2.1 |   6.4
  April 1960 .|      9.4 |  39.5 |    9.7 |  10.3 |      7.4 |  41.6 |   10.3 |  10.6 |     27.7 |  20.0 |    3.5 |   7.9
  March 1970 .|      5.9 |  55.0 |   14.1 |  12.2 |      4.5 |  57.2 |   15.0 |  12.2 |     17.9 |  35.4 |    6.8 |   9.9
  March 1980 .|      3.6 |  69.2 |   20.9 |  12.6 |      2.7 |  71.0 |   22.1 |  12.6 |     10.3 |  55.3 |   11.9 |  12.2
  March 1990 .|      2.7 |  77.7 |   24.4 |  12.8 |      2.2 |  79.1 |   25.3 |  12.8 |      5.9 |  69.1 |   18.3 |  12.6
  March 1991 .|      2.7 |  78.5 |   24.3 |  12.8 |      2.2 |  79.8 |   25.4 |  12.8 |      6.0 |  70.1 |   17.8 |  12.6
  March 1992 .|      2.3 |  81.0 |   24.3 |  12.9 |      1.9 |  82.3 |   25.2 |  12.9 |      4.5 |  73.0 |   18.8 |  12.6
  March 1993 .|      2.2 |  81.8 |   24.8 |  12.9 |      1.8 |  83.0 |   25.7 |  13.0 |      4.7 |  74.9 |   19.0 |  12.7
  March 1994 .|      2.1 |  81.0 |   25.1 |   --- |      1.8 |  82.1 |   26.1 |   --- |      4.0 |  74.5 |   19.0 |   ---
  March 1995 .|      2.0 |  81.7 |   26.0 |   --- |      1.7 |  83.0 |   27.2 |   --- |      3.9 |  74.3 |   18.6 |   ---
              |----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------
              |                                                 Females
              |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 and over   |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |       |          |       |        |
  April 1940 .|     12.4 |  26.3 |    3.8 |   8.7 |      9.8 |  28.1 |    4.0 |   8.8 |     37.5 |   8.4 |    1.2 |   6.1
  April 1950 .|     10.0 |  36.0 |    5.2 |   9.6 |      8.1 |  38.2 |    5.4 |  10.0 |     28.6 |  14.7 |    2.4 |   7.2
  April 1960 .|      7.4 |  42.5 |    5.8 |  10.7 |      6.0 |  44.7 |    6.0 |  11.0 |     19.7 |  23.1 |    3.6 |   8.5
  March 1970 .|      4.7 |  55.4 |    8.2 |  12.1 |      3.9 |  57.7 |    8.6 |  12.2 |     11.9 |  36.6 |    5.6 |  10.3
  March 1980 .|      3.2 |  68.1 |   13.6 |  12.4 |      2.5 |  70.1 |   14.0 |  12.5 |      7.6 |  54.1 |   10.4 |  12.1
  March 1990 .|      2.2 |  77.5 |   18.4 |  12.7 |      1.8 |  79.0 |   19.0 |  12.7 |      5.0 |  68.4 |   15.1 |  12.5
  March 1991 .|      2.1 |  78.3 |   18.8 |  12.7 |      1.8 |  79.9 |   19.3 |  12.7 |      4.1 |  69.1 |   15.8 |  12.5
  March 1992 .|      2.0 |  80.6 |   18.6 |  12.8 |      1.7 |  82.0 |   19.1 |  12.8 |      3.8 |  72.9 |   15.9 |  12.6
  March 1993 .|      2.0 |  81.3 |   19.2 |  12.8 |      1.7 |  82.5 |   19.7 |  12.8 |      3.5 |  74.5 |   16.5 |  12.7
  March 1994 .|      1.7 |  80.7 |   19.6 |   --- |      1.5 |  81.9 |   20.0 |   --- |      2.8 |  74.6 |   17.4 |   ---
  March 1995 .|      1.7 |  81.6 |   20.2 |   --- |      1.5 |  83.0 |   21.0 |   --- |      2.8 |  74.2 |   16.3 |   ---
--------------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------|----------|-------|--------|-------

\1\Persons of Hispanic origin are included, as appropriate, in the "white" or in the "black and other races" category.

\2\Estimates based on retrojection, by the Bureau of the Census, of 1940 census data on education by age.

---Data not available.

NOTE.--Data for 1975 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; Series P-19, No. 4; 1960 Census Monograph, "Education of the American Population," by John K. Folger and Charles B. Nam; and unpublished data from the Current Population Survey; and U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, "Educational Attainment of Workers, March 1991," and unpublished data. (This table was prepared June 1996.)


1996 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest