US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort)

Iowa had the highest high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort) of 50 states in 2013, at 89.7%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 62.3%. The median was 82.6% and the figure for the United States was 81.4%. Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

Highest89.7Iowa

Lowest62.3District of Columbia

Median82.650 states

United States81.4History

Map of states, 2013

Under 76
76 to 80
80 to 83
83 to 85
85 to 87
87 and over
No data

%, 2013. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2013

%. Source: NCES, Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2013 (%)	Change on 2012
1	Iowa	89.7	+0.7 pts
2	Nebraska	88.5	+0.5 pts
3	Texas	88	0 pts
3	Wisconsin	88	0 pts
5	New Jersey	87.5	+1.5 pts
5	North Dakota	87.5	+0.5 pts
7	New Hampshire	87.3	+1.3 pts
8	Indiana	87	+1 pts
9	Vermont	86.6	-1.4 pts
10	Maine	86.4	+1.4 pts
11	Tennessee	86.3	-0.7 pts
12	Kentucky	86.1	n/a
13	Kansas	85.7	+0.7 pts
13	Missouri	85.7	+1.7 pts
15	Connecticut	85.5	+0.5 pts
15	Pennsylvania	85.5	+1.5 pts
17	Maryland	85	+1 pts
17	Massachusetts	85	0 pts
19	Arkansas	84.9	+0.9 pts
20	Oklahoma	84.8	n/a
21	Virginia	84.5	+1.5 pts
22	Montana	84.4	+0.4 pts
23	Illinois	83.2	+1.2 pts
24	Utah	83	+3 pts
25	South Dakota	82.7	-0.3 pts
26	North Carolina	82.5	+2.5 pts
27	Hawaii	82.4	+1.4 pts
28	Ohio	82.2	+1.2 pts
29	West Virginia	81.4	+2.4 pts
30	California	80.4	+1.4 pts
30	Delaware	80.4	+0.4 pts
32	Alabama	80	+5 pts
33	Minnesota	79.8	+1.8 pts
34	Rhode Island	79.7	+2.7 pts
35	South Carolina	77.6	+2.6 pts
36	Michigan	77	+1 pts
36	Wyoming	77	-2 pts
38	Colorado	76.9	+1.9 pts
39	New York	76.8	-0.2 pts
40	Washington	76.4	-0.6 pts
41	Florida	75.6	+0.6 pts
42	Mississippi	75.5	+0.5 pts
43	Arizona	75.1	-0.9 pts
44	Louisiana	73.5	+1.5 pts
45	Alaska	71.8	+1.8 pts
46	Georgia	71.7	+1.7 pts
47	Nevada	70.7	+7.7 pts
48	New Mexico	70.3	+0.3 pts
49	Oregon	68.7	+0.7 pts
50	District of Columbia	62.3	+3.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Share of public high school students who graduate with a regular diploma within four years of starting grade 9, adjusted for students who transfer in, transfer out, emigrate or die (the 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate, ACGR), as a percentage. From the NCES Digest of Education Statistics, based on state reports to the U.S. Department of Education. The year is the end of the school year (2022 means 2021-22).

States set their own diploma requirements, so rates are not fully comparable between states. 2011-12 rates are published as whole numbers. The national rate covers the 50 states and the District of Columbia; NCES estimates parts of it where a state did not report.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. 1 states with data in other periods have no value for 2013 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state (US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort), 2013) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp

MLA 9

Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state, US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort), 2013. National Center for Education Statistics, 15 May 2024, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/high-school-graduation-rate/us-states?period=2013. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

National Center for Education Statistics. 2024. Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort), 2013. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/high-school-graduation-rate/us-states?period=2013.

Harvard

National Center for Education Statistics (2024) Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state, US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort), 2013 [Dataset]. Available at: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/high-school-graduation-rate/us-states?period=2013 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{national_us_states_by_high_2013,
  author = {{National Center for Education Statistics}},
  title = {{Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state: US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort), 2013}},
  year = {2024},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/high-school-graduation-rate/us-states?period=2013. Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23\_219.46.asp. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - National Center for Education Statistics
TI  - Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state: US states by high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort), 2013
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/05/15
PB  - National Center for Education Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/high-school-graduation-rate/us-states?period=2013
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/high-school-graduation-rate/us-states?period=2013.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_219.46.asp. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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rank_places {"indicator":"high_school_graduation_rate_acgr","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
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Questions

Which state has the highest high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort)?

Iowa, with 89.7% in 2013, according to National Center for Education Statistics.

Which state has the lowest high school graduation rate (4-year adjusted cohort)?

District of Columbia, with 62.3% in 2013.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46: public high school 4-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR), total, by state. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 states have no value for 2013 and are not ranked.