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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Current Population Survey > Home

Educational attainment

Here you will find labor force, employment, and unemployment statistics by educational attainment from the Current Population Survey (CPS) as well as information about these data. The CPS covers the nation’s civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older and typically provides educational attainment data on people age 25 and older.

Explore our data

Find monthly data on workers by educational attainment from the Employment Situation news release

Table A-4: Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment
Select series from table A-4 to retrieve historical data

Find labor force statistics by educational attainment in our monthly, quarterly, and annual average tables
Read about recent college graduates, associate degree recipients, and high school graduates in our annual College Enrollment and Work Activity of High School and College Graduates news release

Looking for additional analysis?

Search the data visualizations in the TED: The Economics Daily for educational attainment
Search our library of research by CPS staff for education

Understanding these data

What you need to know

Prior to 1992, educational attainment referred to the number of years of school completed. Since 1992, educational attainment in the Current Population Survey (CPS) refers to the highest diploma or degree obtained. The pre-1992 educational attainment categories are not directly comparable with the current concepts. For more information, see Measuring Education in the Current Population Survey.

Educational attainment data published by BLS typically pertain to people age 25 and older because most people have completed their schooling by age 25.

BLS publications typically provide estimates for some or all of the following educational attainment categories:

Less than a high school diploma
High school graduates, no college (includes people with a high school diploma equivalent, for example, a GED)
Some college, no degree
Associate degree
Bachelor's degree only
Advanced degree (includes master's, doctoral, and professional degrees such as those in law or medicine)

In many BLS publications, categories 3 and 4 are combined and shown as "some college or associate degree." Categories 5 and 6 are often combined and shown as "bachelor's degree and higher."

Questions about these data?

Does the CPS provide information on college majors?

No. The CPS does not ask respondents about their college major. The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) does include a question about the field of study for Bachelor's degrees. More information on ACS education statistics is available on the Census Bureau’s website.

Are people who completed technical school training considered as having "some college, no degree" or an "associate degree?"

People with technical school training would not be considered as having "some college, no degree" or an "associate degree," however there may be some exceptions to this.

In order for a CPS respondent to be included in the educational attainment category of "some college, no degree," they must have completed a high school degree (or GED equivalent) and one or more courses in a regular school. Regular schooling is that which advances a person toward a high school diploma or a college, university, or professional degree. Types of schooling not considered as regular school are vocational or trade schools, correspondence schools, on-the-job training, adult education classes, and military basic training.

For example, people who attended a beauty school or some other type of trade school would not be classified at the "some college, no degree" educational attainment level, but they instead would be included in the "high school graduates, no college" category (unless they did not receive a high school diploma or equivalent, in which case they would be classified as "less than a high school degree"). On the other hand, high school graduates who attended a 2- or 4-year college or university for any given length of time but have not earned a degree would be included in the "some college, no degree" category.

It is important to note that individuals who attended and also completed a vocational or trade degree at a regular school (for example, a 2- or 4-year college or university) would be included in the "associate degree" category of educational attainment.