Study Unveils the States Most Likely to Fail High School: #1-5 California, Texas, Louisiana, Nevada

California ranks at the top, with 15.32% of the population aged 25 and over having no high school diploma. The state has a total of 26,866,773 people aged 25 and above, 4,115,683 of which do not have a high school qualification.  

Coming in second is Texas. The state has 2,722,008 people aged 25 and over with no high school qualification out of a total of 19,597,383. That equates to 13.89% of the population aged 25 and above failing to obtain a high school diploma.  

Third in the ranking is Louisiana, with 12.70% of the 25 and over population not having a high school qualification. The state has a total of 3,096,121 people aged 25 and over; 393,283 of them do not have a high school diploma.  

Nevada places fourth, with 12.58% of the population aged 25 and over failing to obtain a high school qualification. The state has 279,791 people aged 25 and over with no high school diploma, from a total of 2,223,852. 

In fifth comes Mississippi, with 12.40% of the 25 and over population not having a high school qualification. The state population of people aged 25 and over is 1,963,322; of that figure, 243,526 failed to achieve a high school diploma.   

New York comes in sixth, with 1,681,213 people aged 25 and over with no high school qualification. Against the population of 13,892,241, that equates to 12.10% not having a high school diploma.  

Seventh on the list is New Mexico, with 11.99% of the 25 and over population not having a high school qualification. The state has a total of 1,453,129 people aged 25 and above; 174,301 of which do not have a high school diploma.  

Alabama ranks eighth, with 11.20% of the 25 and over population failing to obtain a high school qualification. Of a total of 3,474,924 people aged 25 and over, 389,297 are without a high school diploma.  

In ninth place is Kentucky, with 11% of the 25 and over population not having a high school qualification. The population of people aged 25 and above is 3,091,499 – of that figure, 340,059 failed to obtain a high school diploma.  

Landing the tenth spot is West Virginia, with 10.86% of the population at 25 and above not having a high school qualification. The state has a population aged 25 and over of 1,262,566, 137,151 of which do not have a high school diploma.  

Vermont is named the least likely state to fail high school. From a population of 467,643 people aged 25 and over, 23,468 do not have a high school diploma. That equates to 5.02%. 

A spokesperson from QR Code Generator commented on the findings: “Examining states with lower rates of high school completion offers valuable insights into the education system across the country. We might benefit from exploring the difficulties faced by students that prevent them from completing their high school qualification.  

“By addressing these hurdles with support and resources, we can hopefully create an environment where all students can succeed. If we focus on overall nurture and not just graduation rates, it’s possible that all 50 states could sit below the 10% mark in the future.” 

This study was conducted by QR Code Generator, QR code generating business and marketing specialists operating across the US and Europe.  

ENDS  

Methodology 

Data on high school attainment in each state in 2022 was sourced from The United States Census Bureau.    

The number of people aged 25 and over who achieved a high school diploma and above was measured against the entire 25 and over population in each state to calculate the percentage of the population that failed to obtain a high school diploma.