Data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that nearly half (49.6%) of adults ages 25 or older have earned some form of postsecondary credential. The most common highest credential for adults is the baccalaureate, held by 23.7% of adults, while 10.9% have an associate degree and 14.9% have earned a master’s degree or higher (see Figure 1).
Only 8.5 % of adults did not have a high school diploma or equivalent, while more than a quarter (27.9%) of adults had only a high school diploma or equivalent, and another 14% had attended college but did not earn a degree.
Figure 2 shows the trend in educational attainment over the past decade. The percentage of adults without a college degree has steadily decreased between 2015 and 2024, going from 57.7% of adults in 2015, down to 50.4% in 2024.
During the same time, the percentage of adults with an associate degree only increased slightly, while the percentage of adults with a bachelor’s or graduate degree increased at a faster pace.
Females were more likely to have earned a postsecondary credential (51.7%) than males (47.3%). This was true across all degree types (see Figure 3). Adults between ages 30 and 50 are more likely to have earned a postsecondary degree, while adults over 75 are least likely to have earned a credential. Adults between ages 40 and 70 are more likely to have an associate degree as their highest credential than younger or older adults.
The percentage of adults with a baccalaureate as their highest award decreases with age, from 30.4% of the 25-to-29-year-old group having a bachelor’s degree as their highest award, to 17.4% for adults 75 or older.
