Degrees & Colleges
Degrees & Colleges is a data page on the Education desk of Glassbox Auditing. Every college degree and certificate awarded in the U.S. by level and state, completion and first-year retention rates, and career-technical high schools (IPEDS). Graduates supply the skilled workforce, and students who borrow without finishing are the most likely to default.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- Arizona had the most career and technical schools: 290 in 2024-25 — Arizona +0.3% on 2023-24 (289) · 48 states and DC reporting (NCES Common Core of Data, 29 Jun 2025)
- California had the most alternative schools: 1,083 in 2024-25 — California -0.7% on 2023-24 (1,091) · 48 states and DC reporting (NCES Common Core of Data, 29 Jun 2025)
- Four-year colleges: first-year retention: 82.3% nationally (2024), +0.3 points on 2023 — Autumn the students returned · records from 2007 (IPEDS Fall Enrollment retention rates, 30 Dec 2024)
- College students (all colleges in the state): 20,174,071 nationally (2024), +3% on 2023 — Autumn of the academic year · records from 1990 (IPEDS fall enrollment, 30 Dec 2024)
- 64.3% of first-year community-college students returned the next autumn nationally (2024); South Dakota was highest at 76.6% — U.S. -0.2 points on 2023 (64.5%) · 46 states reporting (IPEDS Fall Enrollment retention rates, 30 Dec 2024)
- District of Columbia had the highest first-year retention at four-year colleges: 90.1% in 2024 — District of Columbia +0.3 points on 2023 (89.8%) · U.S. 82.3% · 50 states and DC reporting (IPEDS Fall Enrollment retention rates, 30 Dec 2024)
- Four-year colleges: bachelor's within 6 years: 65.2% nationally (2023), +0.2 points on 2022 — Year the rate was reported (cohort began 6 years earlier) · records from 1996 (IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, 30 Dec 2023)
- Certificate: 1,201,207 awarded in 2023-24, +11.5% on 2022-23 — 1,077,470 in 2022-23 · records from 1990-91 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Associate: 991,930 awarded in 2023-24, +3.2% on 2022-23 — 961,400 in 2022-23 · records from 1990-91 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Bachelor's: 1,959,325 awarded in 2023-24, -0.5% on 2022-23 — 1,969,065 in 2022-23 · records from 1990-91 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Postbaccalaureate or post-master's certificate: 98,735 awarded in 2023-24, +3.7% on 2022-23 — 95,197 in 2022-23 · records from 1990-91 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Master's: 943,184 awarded in 2023-24, +0.1% on 2022-23 — 942,600 in 2022-23 · records from 1990-91 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Doctor's: research/scholarship: 84,834 awarded in 2023-24, +3.5% on 2022-23 — 81,969 in 2022-23 · records from 2006-07 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Doctor's: professional practice: 126,903 awarded in 2023-24, +4.0% on 2022-23 — 122,001 in 2022-23 · records from 2006-07 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- Doctor's: other: 2,703 awarded in 2023-24, +13.1% on 2022-23 — 2,389 in 2022-23 · records from 2006-07 (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- California awarded the most bachelor's degrees: 217,700 in 2023-24 — California -0.9% on 2022-23 (219,691) · U.S. 1,959,325 · 50 states and DC reporting · most associate degrees California, certificates California, master's degrees California, doctor's degrees California (IPEDS completions, 29 Jun 2024)
- 42.7% of first-time, full-time students at two-year colleges completed a credential within three years nationally (2023); District of Columbia was highest at 69.7% — U.S. +3.2 points on 2022 (39.5%) · 49 states and DC reporting (IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, 30 Dec 2023)
- District of Columbia had the highest six-year bachelor's completion rate: 78.7% for 2023 — District of Columbia +0.2 points on 2022 (78.6%) · U.S. 65.2% · 50 states and DC reporting (IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, 30 Dec 2023)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from NCES Common Core of Data; IPEDS Fall Enrollment retention rates; IPEDS fall enrollment; IPEDS Graduation Rates survey; IPEDS completions. Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- Labor Market (Macro): Graduates add skilled workers, and BLS shows lower unemployment and higher pay at each higher level of education. (moves the same way; years; economy scale) Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Job Listings (Companies): Degrees in fields with many openings (nursing, computing, engineering) supply the hires employers seek; a shortfall shows as postings that stay open. (either way, depending on the cause; months; sector scale) Source: freehire public API (open job postings crawled from company career sites and job boards).
- Household Finances (Macro): Most students borrow to finish a degree; student loans are about $1.6 trillion of household debt (New York Fed), and borrowers who leave without a degree default most often. (moves the same way; years; economy scale) Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax, household debt by state.
- H-1B & Talent (Immigration): Where U.S. graduates in computing and engineering are few relative to demand, employers turn to H-1B hires; the domestic graduate count is one side of that balance. (either way, depending on the cause; years; sector scale) Source: IPEDS completions via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By).
What feeds this page?
- State Education (Education): High-school graduation rates and test results set how many students are ready for college, the pipeline the Degrees page counts. (moves the same way; years; sector scale) Source: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46 (graduation rates).
- Job Postings (Feed): Lasting demand for a skill in postings (software, nursing, data) tends to draw more students into those fields, which shows in degree completions years later. (moves the same way; years; economy scale) Source: IPEDS completions via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By).
- Global Data (Global Intelligence): The number of 18-year-olds sets the pool of new college students; U.S. births have fallen since 2007, so fewer people reach college age from the mid-2020s, which tends to shrink enrollment at regional colleges. (moves the same way; years; sector scale) Source: U.S. Census Bureau International Database (population estimates and projections to 2100).
- Students (Immigration): Foreign students earn a large share of U.S. master's and doctoral degrees in computer science and engineering, so their enrolment moves those completion counts. (moves the same way; years; sector scale) Source: IPEDS completions via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By).
- H-1B & Talent (Immigration): The chance of an H-1B after graduating is part of what draws foreign students into U.S. computer science and engineering programs. (moves the same way; years; sector scale) Source: IPEDS completions via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By).