RANKING · 2000 CENSUS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Most graduate degrees, US states · 2000

US states ranked by the share of adults 25+ holding a graduate or professional degree (2000 ACS). District of Columbia leads at 21.0%. 51 states qualify in total. The top 25 average 10.5%, against an all-states median of 8.1%.

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SAME RANKING BYCities Counties Metros ZIP codes

YEAR1990 2000 2010 2020 2024

RANKPLACESTATEPOPGRADUATE DEGREEVS 1990

USUnited States281,421,9068.8%–

01District of Columbia, DCDC681,29421.0%+22%

02Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,05613.7%+28%

03Maryland, MDMD6,206,01113.4%+24%

04Connecticut, CTCT3,624,50813.3%+21%

05New York, NYNY19,852,36611.8%+19%

06Virginia, VAVA8,705,17011.6%+28%

07Colorado, COCO5,862,18911.1%+24%

08Vermont, VTVT647,10611.1%+25%

09New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,80911.0%+24%

10New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,86810.0%+26%

11New Mexico, NMNM2,120,2469.8%+19%

12Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,8019.7%+25%

13Illinois, ILIL12,694,7989.5%+28%

14California, CACA39,287,3779.5%+18%

15Delaware, DEDE1,021,1919.4%+22%

16Washington, WAWA7,816,1169.3%+32%

17Kansas, KSKS2,947,1978.7%+25%

18Oregon, OROR4,254,2938.7%+24%

19Alaska, AKAK735,7068.6%+7%

20Hawaii, HIHI1,445,2358.4%+18%

21Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,6398.4%+27%

22Arizona, AZAZ7,378,8388.4%+20%

23Minnesota, MNMN5,739,4458.3%+33%

24Georgia, GAGA10,940,4078.3%+30%

25Utah, UTUT3,392,3318.3%+21%

26Michigan, MIMI10,077,7618.1%+25%

27Florida, FLFL22,416,0778.1%+28%

28Maine, MEME1,387,8177.9%+30%

29Texas, TXTX30,188,4247.6%+18%

30Missouri, MOMO6,191,8147.6%+24%

31Ohio, OHOH11,810,2937.4%+25%

32Nebraska, NENE1,978,7077.3%+24%

33Indiana, ININ6,851,0737.2%+13%

34Montana, MTMT1,116,8757.2%+26%

35North Carolina, NCNC10,730,4047.2%+33%

36Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,8727.2%+28%

37Wyoming, WYWY582,3977.0%+23%

38Kentucky, KYKY4,534,8246.9%+25%

39South Carolina, SCSC5,296,2256.9%+27%

40Alabama, ALAL5,086,7686.9%+24%

41Idaho, IDID1,934,2626.8%+29%

42Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,6346.8%+14%

43Tennessee, TNTN7,066,3836.8%+25%

44Iowa, IAIA3,210,5076.5%+26%

45Louisiana, LALA4,611,9616.5%+16%

46Nevada, NVNV3,184,6126.1%+17%

47South Dakota, SDSD907,4286.0%+22%

48West Virginia, WVWV1,778,3735.9%+24%

49Mississippi, MSMS2,946,7795.8%+16%

50Arkansas, ARAR3,049,3915.7%+27%

51North Dakota, NDND784,8415.5%+20%

SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

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UPDATED 2026-07-15 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS

Frequently asked

Which state has the highest graduate degree?

District of Columbia ranks #1 with 21.0% (2000 Decennial Census).

What are the top 5 states by graduate degree?

District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New York.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 2000 Decennial Census data.

How is graduate degree measured?

Share of adults 25+ with a graduate or professional degree. Source: US Census Bureau, 2000 Decennial Census.