HS grad or more: 24.5%, Bachelor's or more: 4.6%, Less than 9th grade: 59.5%. Median school years: 8.6.
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes); median years completed
No current source auditAll sources · source collection
Census Historical Tables: Educational Attainment (Table A-1/A-2)
U.S. Census Bureau · 2024
Population measured
U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population aged 25 and over (CPS/ACS)
Source notes & limitations
Table A-1: Years of school completed by age and sex (1940-present). Table A-2: Percent of population 25+ with specified years of school completed (high school graduate or more, bachelor's degree or more). 1940-2000 data from decennial census; 2001+ from CPS ASEC. Data series updated annually. Files: taba-1-educational-attainment.xlsx, taba-2-pct-high-school.xlsx. URL CORRECTION 2026-08-14: the old /data/tables/time-series/demo/educational-attainment.html deep link now redirects to the generic /data/tables.html landing (caught by the redirect advisory); repointed at the Educational Attainment topic page, which links the A-1/A-2 time-series tables.
Where this source appears
9 records across 9 decades and countries. Documented gaps are included; a source cited for a gap does not establish a value.
0 of 9 records have a current source audit. A transcription check reads a declared numeric field from a pinned local source file; a calculation replay reads its operands and applies the declared method and rounding rule. A source audit does not independently validate the source or every claim in a record. The date is the last successful local audit; the build checks that its bindings still match.
US · 1940s
US · 1950s
HS grad or more: 34.3%, Bachelor's or more: 6.2%, Less than 9th grade: 47.0%. Median school years: 9.3.
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes); median years completed
No current source auditUS · 1960s
HS grad or more: 41.0%, Bachelor's or more: 7.7%, Less than 9th grade: 39.7%. Median school years: 10.6.
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes); median years completed
No current source auditUS · 1970s
HS grad or more: 55.2%, Bachelor's or more: 11.0%, Less than 9th grade: 27.7%. Median school years: 12.2.
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes); median years completed
No current source auditUS · 1980s
HS grad or more: 68.6%, Bachelor's or more: 17.0%, Less than 9th grade: 17.5%. Median school years: 12.5.
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes); median years completed
No current source auditUS · 1990s
HS grad or more: 77.6%, Bachelor's or more: 21.3%, Less than 9th grade: 11.2%. Median school years: 12.7.
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes); median years completed
No current source auditUS · 2000s
HS grad or more: 84.1%, Bachelor's or more: 25.6%, Less than 9th grade: 7.0%
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes)
No current source auditUS · 2010s
HS grad or more: 87.1%, Bachelor's or more: 29.9%, Less than 9th grade: 5.2%
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes)
No current source auditUS · 2020s
HS grad or more: 91.4%, Bachelor's or more: 38.7%, Less than 9th grade: 3.5%
% of population 25+ (all races, both sexes)
No current source audit