High School Completion

Women without a high school degree have lower earnings, more difficulty securing health care, and are more likely to engage in substance abuse, experience unintended pregnancy, or suffer adverse health consequences. (1)

What percentage of women graduate from high school?

The Report Card uses the Healthy People 2010 goal of 90 percent high school completion (when applied to women) [Healthy People 2010 Objective 7-1].

Data Source: High School Completion (%), 2005-2006

EXPLANATION:

This indicator measures the percent of civilian, non-institutionalized women age 22 and older who are high school graduates. This includes those who have earned a high school diploma or equivalent (such as a GED) or any higher degree. To increase the sample size, the Report Card uses data for women age 22 and older. Information about the percentage of civilian, non-institutionalized women age 25 and older who have some college or an Associate degree, and those with a Bachelor’s degree is also provided in the demographic profile for each state.

SOURCE:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), "Annual Social and Economic Supplement" (ASEC) 2006, 2007 (databases) (unpublished data available at http://www.census.gov/cps/). The overall state data and the state data by age group are based on estimates of pooled 2005 and 2006 data from the 2006 and 2007 CPS ASEC. The overall U.S. data and U.S. data by age group are based on 2006 data from the 2007 CPS ASEC. Data by race/ethnicity at the state and national level are for 2005 to 2006 and are from the 2006 and 2007 CPS ASEC.

  State Overall Data State Grade State Rank
ALABAMA 85.3% F 37
ALASKA 92.1% S 5
ARIZONA 84.7% F 40
ARKANSAS 83.2% F 44
CALIFORNIA 81.2% F 50
COLORADO 90.1% S 18
CONNECTICUT 88.6% S- 23
DELAWARE 88.0% S- 27
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 86.5% U 36
FLORIDA 88.4% S- 25
GEORGIA 87.0% U 34
HAWAII 88.1% S- 26
IDAHO 90.8% S 14
ILLINOIS 87.5% S- 33
INDIANA 87.7% S- 30
IOWA 91.6% S 8
KANSAS 91.5% S 9
KENTUCKY 82.4% F 46
LOUISIANA 82.4% F 46
MAINE 89.6% S- 20
MARYLAND 88.6% S- 23
MASSACHUSETTS 90.1% S 18
MICHIGAN 90.3% S 16
MINNESOTA 93.2% S 1
MISSISSIPPI 82.0% F 49
MISSOURI 88.0% S- 27
MONTANA 92.6% S 3
NEBRASKA 92.1% S 5
NEVADA 86.7% U 35
NEW HAMPSHIRE 92.5% S 4
NEW JERSEY 87.7% S- 30
NEW MEXICO 83.3% F 43
NEW YORK 85.1% F 38
NORTH CAROLINA 85.0% F 39
NORTH DAKOTA 91.1% S 11
OHIO 89.1% S- 22
OKLAHOMA 89.4% S- 21
OREGON 90.2% S 17
PENNSYLVANIA 87.7% S- 30
RHODE ISLAND 83.5% F 42
SOUTH CAROLINA 82.9% F 45
SOUTH DAKOTA 91.0% S 12
TENNESSEE 82.2% F 48
TEXAS 79.8% F 51
UTAH 91.8% S 7
VERMONT 92.7% S 2
VIRGINIA 87.9% S- 29
WASHINGTON 90.9% S 13
WEST VIRGINIA 83.9% F 41
WISCONSIN 91.5% S 9
WYOMING 90.8% S 14
 
S (Satisfactory): 19  
S- (Satisfactory Minus): 14  
U (Unsatisfactory): 3  
F (Fail): 15  

1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2010, 2nd ed. (Washington: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000), at 7-13, available at: http://www.healthypeople.gov/Publications/.