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Adults 25+ with a graduate or professional degree: U.S. states ranked

Measure: Educational attainment of adults 25+: Graduate or professional degree. All 50 states and District of Columbia with data in Educational attainment of adults 25+ by state, ranked from highest to lowest. Reference period: 2025.

Licence: Public domain (U.S. federal government work).
Data last updated: 2026-10-29

Download full table CSV Source: U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)

National value: 15 (United States).

Small states, hard to see on the map:

DC 38.7 %
RI 16.6 %
DE 17.5 %
CT 19.8 %
NJ 18.8 %
MD 21.8 %
MA 23.2 %
VT 20.1 %
NH 17.6 %

Lowest: 9.9 to 11.3 %
Group 2: 11.3 to 13.3 %
Group 3: 13.3 to 14.5 %
Group 4: 14.5 to 17.5 %
Highest: 17.5 to 38.7 %

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	38.7
2	Massachusetts	23.2
3	Maryland	21.8
4	Vermont	20.1
4	Virginia	20.1
6	Connecticut	19.8
7	New Jersey	18.8
8	New York	18.7
9	Colorado	18.4
10	New Hampshire	17.6
11	Delaware	17.5
12	Washington	16.7
13	Rhode Island	16.6
14	Illinois	16
15	California	15.3
16	Pennsylvania	15.2
17	Georgia	14.8
17	Maine	14.8
17	North Carolina	14.8
20	Minnesota	14.5
20	Oregon	14.5
22	Hawaii	14.4
22	Utah	14.4
24	Florida	14.3
25	New Mexico	14
26	Kansas	13.8
27	Michigan	13.6
27	Nebraska	13.6
29	Arizona	13.4
29	Missouri	13.4
31	Alaska	13.3
31	Texas	13.3
33	Montana	13
33	Ohio	13
33	Wyoming	13
36	South Carolina	12.9
37	Wisconsin	12.7
38	Tennessee	12.4
39	Alabama	12.3
40	Kentucky	12.1
41	Arkansas	11.3
41	Idaho	11.3
43	Indiana	11.2
44	Iowa	11.1
45	South Dakota	10.8
46	Mississippi	10.5
46	North Dakota	10.5
46	Oklahoma	10.5
49	Louisiana	10.4
49	Nevada	10.4
51	West Virginia	9.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Table S1501: Educational Attainment. Reference period: 2025.

Cite this ranking

U.S. states ranked by educational attainment of adults 25+: Graduate or professional degree (2025). Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 1-year estimates, Table S1501; rank derived by Quadranac. Data last updated 2026-10-29. https://quadranac.com/rankings/us-states-by-educational-attainment-of-adults-25-plus-graduate-or-professional-degree/

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