School status at age 20

Forty-two percent of youths were enrolled in college during the October when they were age 20.

[Chart data—TXT]

Thirty-nine percent of 20-year-olds had graduated from high school and were not enrolled in college and 2 percent had earned a GED and were not enrolled in college. Fifteen percent of youths had dropped out of high school by the October when they were age 20.

Men were more likely than women to have dropped out of high school and less likely to be attending college. At age 20, 47 percent of women were attending college compared with 38 percent of men.

These data are from the National Longitudinal Surveys. Learn more in "America's Youth at 20: School Enrollment, Training, and Employment Transitions Between Ages 19 and 20," (PDF) (TXT) news release USDL 08-0089. These estimates are based on data collected from respondents who were age 20 in October during the years 2000 to 2005.