Introduction
Education is often a large factor in the determination of how developed a country is. Education directly correlates with median incomes; on average, the more educated one is, the higher their average salary typically is. According to the Census Bureau, those with only a high school diploma have the lowest median income while staying above the poverty line.
While educational attainment is based on multiple factors, socio-economic status is one of the chief factors determining how much education a person will receive. For primary education, those of lower socio-economic means historically would not graduate so they could join the workforce and provide for the family as early as they could. Meanwhile, for secondary education, rising tuition costs lead many students to face the difficult situation of not being able to afford higher education, leading them to either not pursue higher education, or take out a loan for thousands of dollars in the hopes of receiving a degree.
Learn for yourself how education attainment differs by state by browsing the data in the charts.
| # | State | No High School Diploma Rate | High School Graduation Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | 6% | 86.6% |
| 2 | Wyoming | 6.4% | 82.1% |
| 3 | Vermont | 6.5% | 84.5% |
| 4 | Minnesota | 6.7% | 83.7% |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 6.7% | 88.4% |
| 6 | Maine | 6.8% | 87.4% |
| 7 | Alaska | 6.9% | 80.4% |
| 8 | North Dakota | 6.9% | 88.3% |
| 9 | Utah | 7% | 87.4% |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 7.4% | 90.1% |
| 11 | Iowa | 7.5% | 91.6% |
| 12 | Hawaii | 7.6% | 85.2% |
| 13 | South Dakota | 7.8% | 84.1% |
| 14 | Colorado | 7.9% | 81.1% |
| 15 | District of Columbia | 8.1% | 68.9% |
| 16 | Washington | 8.3% | 81.1% |
| 17 | Nebraska | 8.4% | 88.4% |
| 18 | Idaho | 8.7% | 80.8% |
| 19 | Kansas | 8.7% | 87.2% |
| 20 | Michigan | 8.7% | 81.4% |
| 21 | Oregon | 8.8% | 80% |
| 22 | Massachusetts | 8.9% | 88% |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 9% | 86.5% |
| 24 | Connecticut | 9.1% | 88.5% |
| 25 | Ohio | 9.2% | 82% |
| 26 | Delaware | 9.4% | 89% |
| 27 | Missouri | 9.4% | 89.7% |
| 28 | Maryland | 9.5% | 86.9% |
| 29 | Virginia | 9.7% | 87.5% |
| 30 | New Jersey | 9.8% | 90.6% |
| 31 | Illinois | 10.3% | 86.2% |
| 32 | Indiana | 10.7% | 87.2% |
| 33 | Rhode Island | 10.8% | 83.9% |
| 34 | Florida | 11.5% | 87.2% |
| 35 | North Carolina | 11.5% | 86.5% |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 11.5% | 84.9% |
| 37 | South Carolina | 11.7% | 81.1% |
| 38 | Tennessee | 11.8% | 90.5% |
| 39 | Arizona | 12.1% | 77.8% |
| 40 | Georgia | 12.2% | 82% |
| 41 | West Virginia | 12.4% | 91.3% |
| 42 | Arkansas | 12.8% | 87.6% |
| 43 | Kentucky | 12.8% | 90.6% |
| 44 | New York | 12.8% | 82.8% |
| 45 | Nevada | 13% | 84.1% |
| 46 | Alabama | 13.1% | 91.7% |
| 47 | New Mexico | 13.5% | 75.1% |
| 48 | Louisiana | 14.2% | 80.1% |
| 49 | Mississippi | 14.7% | 85% |
| 50 | Texas | 15.6% | 90% |
| 51 | California | 16.1% | 84.5% |
No High School Diploma Rate by State
Alabama
No High School Diploma Rate
13.1%
Ranked in the US
#46
Ranked in the US
#1
Alaska
No High School Diploma Rate
6.9%
Ranked in the US
#7
Ranked in the US
#46
Arizona
No High School Diploma Rate
12.1%
Ranked in the US
#39
Ranked in the US
#49
Arkansas
No High School Diploma Rate
12.8%
Ranked in the US
#42
Ranked in the US
#16
California
No High School Diploma Rate
16.1%
Ranked in the US
#51
Ranked in the US
#31
Colorado
No High School Diploma Rate
7.9%
Ranked in the US
#14
Ranked in the US
#42
Connecticut
No High School Diploma Rate
9.1%
Ranked in the US
#24
Ranked in the US
#11
Delaware
No High School Diploma Rate
9.4%
Ranked in the US
#26
Ranked in the US
#10
District of Columbia
No High School Diploma Rate
8.1%
Ranked in the US
#15
Ranked in the US
#51
Florida
No High School Diploma Rate
11.5%
Ranked in the US
#34
Ranked in the US
#20
Georgia
No High School Diploma Rate
12.2%
Ranked in the US
#40
Ranked in the US
#39
Hawaii
No High School Diploma Rate
7.6%
Ranked in the US
#12
Ranked in the US
#28
Idaho
No High School Diploma Rate
8.7%
Ranked in the US
#18
Ranked in the US
#45
Illinois
No High School Diploma Rate
10.3%
Ranked in the US
#31
Ranked in the US
#27
Indiana
No High School Diploma Rate
10.7%
Ranked in the US
#32
Ranked in the US
#21
Iowa
No High School Diploma Rate
7.5%
Ranked in the US
#11
Ranked in the US
#2
Kansas
No High School Diploma Rate
8.7%
Ranked in the US
#19
Ranked in the US
#22
Kentucky
No High School Diploma Rate
12.8%
Ranked in the US
#43
Ranked in the US
#4
Louisiana
No High School Diploma Rate
14.2%
Ranked in the US
#48
Ranked in the US
#47
Maine
No High School Diploma Rate
6.8%
Ranked in the US
#6
Ranked in the US
#18
Maryland
No High School Diploma Rate
9.5%
Ranked in the US
#28
Ranked in the US
#23
Massachusetts
No High School Diploma Rate
8.9%
Ranked in the US
#22
Ranked in the US
#15
Michigan
No High School Diploma Rate
8.7%
Ranked in the US
#20
Ranked in the US
#41
Minnesota
No High School Diploma Rate
6.7%
Ranked in the US
#4
Ranked in the US
#36
Mississippi
No High School Diploma Rate
14.7%
Ranked in the US
#49
Ranked in the US
#29
Missouri
No High School Diploma Rate
9.4%
Ranked in the US
#27
Ranked in the US
#9
Montana
No High School Diploma Rate
6%
Ranked in the US
#1
Ranked in the US
#24
Nebraska
No High School Diploma Rate
8.4%
Ranked in the US
#17
Ranked in the US
#12
Nevada
No High School Diploma Rate
13%
Ranked in the US
#45
Ranked in the US
#33
New Hampshire
No High School Diploma Rate
6.7%
Ranked in the US
#5
Ranked in the US
#13
New Jersey
No High School Diploma Rate
9.8%
Ranked in the US
#30
Ranked in the US
#5
New Mexico
No High School Diploma Rate
13.5%
Ranked in the US
#47
Ranked in the US
#50
New York
No High School Diploma Rate
12.8%
Ranked in the US
#44
Ranked in the US
#37
North Carolina
No High School Diploma Rate
11.5%
Ranked in the US
#35
Ranked in the US
#25
North Dakota
No High School Diploma Rate
6.9%
Ranked in the US
#8
Ranked in the US
#14
Ohio
No High School Diploma Rate
9.2%
Ranked in the US
#25
Ranked in the US
#40
Oklahoma
No High School Diploma Rate
11.5%
Ranked in the US
#36
Ranked in the US
#30
Oregon
No High School Diploma Rate
8.8%
Ranked in the US
#21
Ranked in the US
#48
Pennsylvania
No High School Diploma Rate
9%
Ranked in the US
#23
Ranked in the US
#26
Rhode Island
No High School Diploma Rate
10.8%
Ranked in the US
#33
Ranked in the US
#35
South Carolina
No High School Diploma Rate
11.7%
Ranked in the US
#37
Ranked in the US
#43
South Dakota
No High School Diploma Rate
7.8%
Ranked in the US
#13
Ranked in the US
#34
Tennessee
No High School Diploma Rate
11.8%
Ranked in the US
#38
Ranked in the US
#6
Texas
No High School Diploma Rate
15.6%
Ranked in the US
#50
Ranked in the US
#8
Utah
No High School Diploma Rate
7%
Ranked in the US
#9
Ranked in the US
#19
Vermont
No High School Diploma Rate
6.5%
Ranked in the US
#3
Ranked in the US
#32
Virginia
No High School Diploma Rate
9.7%
Ranked in the US
#29
Ranked in the US
#17
Washington
No High School Diploma Rate
8.3%
Ranked in the US
#16
Ranked in the US
#44
West Virginia
No High School Diploma Rate
12.4%
Ranked in the US
#41
Ranked in the US
#3
Wisconsin
No High School Diploma Rate
7.4%
Ranked in the US
#10
Ranked in the US
#7
Wyoming
No High School Diploma Rate
6.4%
Ranked in the US
#2
Ranked in the US
#38