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U.S. states ranked by educational attainment of adults 25+: Bachelor's degree or higher

All 50 states and District of Columbia with data in Educational attainment of adults 25+ by state, ranked from highest to lowest. Reference period: 2024.

Licence: Public domain (U.S. federal government work).
Data last updated: 2026-10-26

National value: 36.8 (United States).

Small states, hard to see on the map:

DC 65.5 %
RI 39 %
DE 36 %
CT 42.6 %
NJ 44.5 %
MD 44.7 %
MA 48.3 %
VT 45.1 %
NH 41.5 %

Lowest: 24.4 to 32.1 %
Group 2: 32.1 to 34.2 %
Group 3: 34.2 to 36.4 %
Group 4: 36.4 to 41 %
Highest: 41 to 65.5 %

The map is a visual summary; every value is in the table below, which is the keyboard and screen-reader path. Groups are quintiles of the values shown (a derived grouping). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain), simplified. Alaska and Hawaii are shown as insets, not to scale.

Rank is derived by Quadranac: 1 = highest value; ties share a rank. Values are as published in the source table.


1	District of Columbia	65.5
2	Massachusetts	48.3
3	Colorado	47.8
4	Vermont	45.1
5	Maryland	44.7
6	New Jersey	44.5
7	Virginia	43.3
8	Connecticut	42.6
9	New Hampshire	41.5
10	New York	41.2
11	Washington	41
12	Minnesota	40
13	Illinois	39.2
14	Utah	39.1
15	Rhode Island	39
16	California	38.1
17	Hawaii	37.8
17	Oregon	37.8
19	Maine	37.1
19	North Carolina	37.1
21	Pennsylvania	36.4
22	Georgia	36.3
22	Montana	36.3
24	Delaware	36
24	Kansas	36
26	Florida	35.8
27	Nebraska	35.4
28	Texas	35.2
29	Arizona	34.7
30	Wisconsin	34.6
31	South Dakota	34.2
32	North Dakota	34
33	Missouri	33.5
34	Michigan	33.3
34	South Carolina	33.3
36	Idaho	33
37	Alaska	32.8
38	Ohio	32.4
38	Tennessee	32.4
40	Wyoming	32.3
41	Iowa	32.1
42	New Mexico	31.8
43	Indiana	30.7
44	Alabama	29.9
45	Oklahoma	29.3
46	Nevada	28.5
47	Kentucky	27.9
48	Louisiana	27.8
49	Arkansas	27.1
50	Mississippi	27
51	West Virginia	24.4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Table S1501: Educational Attainment. Reference period: 2024.

Cite this ranking

U.S. states ranked by educational attainment of adults 25+: Bachelor's degree or higher (2024). Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 1-year estimates, Table S1501; rank derived by Quadranac. Data last updated 2026-10-26. https://quadranac.com/rankings/us-states-by-educational-attainment-of-adults-25-plus-bachelors-degree-or-higher/

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