Every US state ranked by high school graduation rate, from lowest to highest

Kentucky has the highest high school graduation rate in the US at 93.60%. littleny/Getty Images Business Insider compared the most recent graduation rates reported by all 50 states. Kentucky had the highest graduation rate at 93.60%, while Alaska had the lowest, falling under 80% High school diploma requirements can vary by state. Students' chances of tossing their graduation caps on time can vary widely by the US state where they attend high school . In Alaska, the rate of students who graduate from high school in four years is 79.87%, compared to Kentucky's 93.60%. While graduation rates are one way to measure academic achievement and are used by local and state governments to track educational progress, they are complex metrics. For starters, diploma requirements vary from state to state, meaning students in different states face different course and testing requirements to earn a diploma, influencing the rigor of education demonstrated by a high school degree. Still, the diploma matters. Across the nation, higher levels of education are almost always associated with higher earnings , and high school degrees are no different. On average, US adults aged 25 or over with a high school degree earn $8,216 more a year than those without one, according to Census data . Using data from state education agencies and public data portals across all 50 states, Business Insider compiled a list of the most up-to-date high school graduation rates from each. The US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics regularly publishes an official list of all states' high school graduation rates, but because of the adjustment process used for its calculations, the released data often lags by a couple of years. The most recent data, released in 2024, covers the 2021-2022 school year. The graduation rates we used in our list come from the much more frequently updated state data. While most percentages reflect the 2024-2025 school year , a handful of states had only 2023-2024 numbers publicly available. Those include: Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Texas. Most states follow the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate formula, which measures the share of first-time ninth graders who earn a regular high school diploma within four years. The formula adjusts the cohort of students by adding those who transfer into the school system and removing students who transfer out, emigrate, or die. To put graduation rates into context, we also listed each state's public school spending per pupil and median household income . See what percentage of public high school students graduate in four years in every state, and where yours falls in the nationwide ranking . 50. Alaska Jeff Manes/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 79.87% Per-pupil education spending: $21,004 Median household income: $95,665 49. Arizona Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 80.00% Per-pupil education spending: $12,003 Median household income: $81,486 48. New Mexico MonaMakela/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 80.63% Per-pupil education spending: $17,664 Median household income: $67,816 47. Vermont jenifoto/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 82.00% Per-pupil education spending: $28,818 Median household income: $82,730 46. Oklahoma Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 82.20% Per-pupil education spending: $12,162 Median household income: $66,148 45. Idaho knowlesgallery/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 82.50% Per-pupil education spending: $11,060 Median household income: $81,166 44. Washington Seattle. Mekdet/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 82.64% Per-pupil education spending: $18,564 Median household income: $99,389 43. Oregon Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 83.00% Per-pupil education spending: $18,083 Median household income: $85,220 42. Wyoming Cheri Alguire/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 83.10% Per-pupil education spending: $20,521 Median household income: $75,532 41. North Dakota Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 84.00% Per-pupil education spending: $17,102 Median household income: $77,871 40. Michigan Craig Rinzema/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 84.01% Per-pupil education spending: $18,314 Median household income: $72,389 39. Rhode Island SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 84.10% Per-pupil education spending: $22,110 Median household income: $83,504 38. Minnesota Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 84.90% Per-pupil education spending: $17,098 Median household income: $87,117 37. Louisiana Larry Gibson/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 85.00% Per-pupil education spending: $15,581 Median household income: $60,986 36. Nevada f11photo/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 85.40% Per-pupil education spending: $14,812 Median household income: $81,134 35. Montana Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 85.41% Per-pupil education spending: $13,656 Median household income: $75,340 34. New York francois-roux/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 85.50% Per-pupil education spending: $31,918 Median household income: $85,820 33. Colorado f11photo/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 85.60% Per-pupil education spending: $15,908 Median household income: $97,113 31. (tie) Hawaii SCStock/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 86.00% Per-pupil education spending: $23,878 Median household income: $100,745 31. (tie) South Dakota Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 86.00% Per-pupil education spending: $12,828 Median household income: $76,881 30. Maryland Thomas Berberich/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 86.40% Per-pupil education spending: $20,208 Median household income: $102,905 29. South Carolina Kruck20/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 86.70% Per-pupil education spending: $15,060 Median household income: $72,350 28. Georgia Alexey_Fedoren/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 87.20% Per-pupil education spending: $15,833 Median household income: $79,991 26. (tie) California Kruck20/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 87.50% Per-pupil education spending: $20,791 Median household income: $100,149 26. (tie) North Carolina Leonid Andronov/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 87.50% Per-pupil education spending: $12,995 Median household income: $73,958 25. New Hampshire SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 87.54% Per-pupil education spending: $22,978 Median household income: $99,782 24. Nebraska f1monaco31/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 87.90% Per-pupil education spending: $16,147 Median household income: $76,376 23. Ohio Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 88.30% Per-pupil education spending: $17,257 Median household income: $72,212 22. Iowa Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 88.80% Per-pupil education spending: $14,369 Median household income: $75,501 21. Connecticut Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 88.90% Per-pupil education spending: $26,316 Median household income: $96,049 20. Illinois Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.00% Per-pupil education spending: $21,776 Median household income: $83,211 19. Delaware Bo Shen/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.05% Per-pupil education spending: $22,201 Median household income: $87,534 18. Maine SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.10% Per-pupil education spending: $19,962 Median household income: $76,442 17. Pennsylvania Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.11% Per-pupil education spending: $21,091 Median household income: $77,545 16. Mississippi SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.20% Per-pupil education spending: $12,324 Median household income: $59,127 15. Massachusetts xbrchx/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.30% Per-pupil education spending: $24,429 Median household income: $104,828 14. Kansas Ultima_Gaina/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.50% Per-pupil education spending: $15,558 Median household income: $75,514 13. Utah Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 89.80% Per-pupil education spending: $11,347 Median household income: $96,658 12. Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Four-year high school graduation rate: 90.16% Per-pupil education spending: $13,873 Median household income: $62,106 11. Texas Scott Flathouse/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 90.70% Per-pupil education spending: $12,895 Median household income: $79,721 10. Missouri Perry Spring/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 91.40% Per-pupil education spending: $14,241 Median household income: $71,589 9. New Jersey bluebeat76/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 91.80% Per-pupil education spending: $27,234 Median household income: $104,294 8. Indiana Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Four-year high school graduation rate: 91.83% Per-pupil education spending: $13,622 Median household income: $71,959 7. Wisconsin marchello74/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 92.00% Per-pupil education spending: $15,952 Median household income: $77,488 6. Florida Tampa, Florida. Alex Baxter/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 92.20% Per-pupil education spending: $12,693 Median household income: $77,735 5. Tennessee Kruck20/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 92.30% Per-pupil education spending: $12,882 Median household income: $71,997 4. Virginia Sean Pavone/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 92.70% Per-pupil education spending: $17,104 Median household income: $92,090 3. Alabama Mobile, Alabama. Cavan Images/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 92.77% Per-pupil education spending: $13,627 Median household income: $66,659 2. West Virginia Leonid Andronov/Getty Images Four-year high school graduation rate: 92.80% Per-pupil education spending: $15,640 Median household income: $60,798 1. Kentucky Louisville, Kentucky. Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Four-year high school graduation rate: 93.60% Per-pupil education spending: $14,596 Median household income: $64,526 Read the original article on Business Insider