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RANKING · 2010 CENSUS · 51 SHOWN OF 51

Most graduate degrees, US states · 2010

US states ranked by the share of adults 25+ holding a graduate or professional degree (2010 ACS). District of Columbia leads at 27.2%. 51 states qualify in total. The top 25 average 12.4%, against an all-states median of 9.5%.

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RANKPLACESTATEPOPGRADUATE DEGREEVS 2000
USUnited States308,745,53810.2%–
01District of Columbia, DCDC681,29427.2%+6.2 pts
02Massachusetts, MAMA7,044,05616.4%+2.7 pts
03Maryland, MDMD6,206,01116.0%+2.5 pts
04Connecticut, CTCT3,624,50815.3%+2.1 pts
05Virginia, VAVA8,705,17013.9%+2.3 pts
06New York, NYNY19,852,36613.8%+2.0 pts
07Vermont, VTVT647,10613.1%+2.0 pts
08New Jersey, NJNJ9,343,80913.0%+2.0 pts
09Colorado, COCO5,862,18912.9%+1.7 pts
10New Hampshire, NHNH1,394,86811.9%+1.9 pts
11Rhode Island, RIRI1,101,80111.9%+2.1 pts
12Illinois, ILIL12,694,79811.4%+1.9 pts
13Delaware, DEDE1,021,19111.1%+1.6 pts
14Washington, WAWA7,816,11611.0%+1.7 pts
15California, CACA39,287,37710.8%+1.3 pts
16New Mexico, NMNM2,120,24610.8%+1.0 pts
17Oregon, OROR4,254,29310.4%+1.7 pts
18Kansas, KSKS2,947,19710.1%+1.3 pts
19Minnesota, MNMN5,739,44510.1%+1.8 pts
20Pennsylvania, PAPA13,018,63910.1%+1.7 pts
21Hawaii, HIHI1,445,2359.8%+1.4 pts
22Georgia, GAGA10,940,4079.7%+1.4 pts
23Alaska, AKAK735,7069.6%+1.0 pts
24Arizona, AZAZ7,378,8389.6%+1.2 pts
25Michigan, MIMI10,077,7619.6%+1.5 pts
26Utah, UTUT3,392,3319.5%+1.3 pts
27Maine, MEME1,387,8179.4%+1.4 pts
28Missouri, MOMO6,191,8149.2%+1.6 pts
29Florida, FLFL22,416,0779.1%+1.1 pts
30Ohio, OHOH11,810,2938.8%+1.4 pts
31Nebraska, NENE1,978,7078.8%+1.5 pts
32North Carolina, NCNC10,730,4048.7%+1.5 pts
33Montana, MTMT1,116,8758.6%+1.5 pts
34Wisconsin, WIWI5,914,8728.6%+1.5 pts
35Texas, TXTX30,188,4248.5%+0.9 pts
36South Carolina, SCSC5,296,2258.4%+1.6 pts
37Kentucky, KYKY4,534,8248.2%+1.4 pts
38Indiana, ININ6,851,0738.1%+0.9 pts
39Tennessee, TNTN7,066,3838.0%+1.2 pts
40Alabama, ALAL5,086,7687.9%+1.0 pts
41Wyoming, WYWY582,3977.8%+0.8 pts
42Idaho, IDID1,934,2627.6%+0.7 pts
43Iowa, IAIA3,210,5077.5%+1.0 pts
44Nevada, NVNV3,184,6127.4%+1.3 pts
45Oklahoma, OKOK4,028,6347.4%+0.6 pts
46South Dakota, SDSD907,4287.3%+1.3 pts
47North Dakota, NDND784,8416.9%+1.5 pts
48Louisiana, LALA4,611,9616.9%+0.4 pts
49Mississippi, MSMS2,946,7796.8%+1.0 pts
50West Virginia, WVWV1,778,3736.7%+0.7 pts
51Arkansas, ARAR3,049,3916.4%+0.7 pts
SHOWING 1–51 OF 51

UPDATED 2026-08-08 · DATA: US CENSUS BUREAU DECENNIAL CENSUS

Frequently asked

Which state has the highest graduate degree?

District of Columbia ranks #1 with 27.2% (2010 Decennial Census).

What are the top 5 states by graduate degree?

District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia.

How many states are in this ranking?

51 states qualify after filtering for population minimums and data availability. The ranking covers 2010 Decennial Census data.

How is graduate degree measured?

Share of adults 25+ with a graduate or professional degree. Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Decennial Census.