What share of U.S. adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher?
In the United States, during the 2020–2024 ACS survey period, 35.7% of residents age 25 and older had completed at least a bachelor’s degree.
Estimated numerator: 82,363,216 residents age 25 and older. Denominator: 230,807,303.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · ACS five-year, B15003 · percentage. Derived percentage; margin of error not calculated.
Show accessible data table
| Area | Value (percent) | Numerator | Denominator | 90% MOE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 35.6848% | 82,363,216 | 230,807,303 | Not calculated |
| Texas | 33.8233% | 6,669,107 | 19,717,474 | Not calculated |
| California | 37.0829% | 10,039,805 | 27,073,960 | Not calculated |
| New York | 40.2266% | 5,638,631 | 14,017,184 | Not calculated |
| Florida | 34.1467% | 5,541,467 | 16,228,400 | Not calculated |
What the answer means
This combines bachelor’s, master’s, professional and doctoral degrees. Adult residents may have earned a credential somewhere else. The measure is not a graduation rate, a local university outcome or evidence of what caused earnings differences.
Educational attainment describes adult residents, not graduation rates or the performance of schools in the area.
How to check it
The chart, answer sentence, indicator and download use one approved observation, rather than separately maintained numbers. The displayed percentage is rounded; the table and export preserve the calculation’s precision. Reference period, population universe and source version are part of the figure.
Inspect the indicator definition, formula and state table . The source is the U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 five-year detailed tables, B15003, released January 29, 2026. The source files were acquired September 30, 2026; this metadata-corrected snapshot was published October 1, 2026.
Before comparing places
Compare the same measure and survey product with the same definition. A difference between two estimates is a descriptive observation, not proof of a meaningful change, a policy effect or an individual outcome. Derived percentages have no calculated margin of error in this release; source component MOEs remain in the raw data.