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Digest of Education Statistics
2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

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Table 219.80.Total number of 16- to 24-year-old high school dropouts (status dropouts) and percentage of dropouts among persons 16 to 24 years old (status dropout rate), by selected characteristics: Selected years, 2012 through 2022
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected characteristic 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2022
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Total number of status dropouts 
   (in thousands)

2,784

 

(26.9)

2,716

 

(24.7)

2,497

 

(21.5)

2,397

 

(21.1)

2,279

 

(23.1)

2,125

 

(19.5)

2,079

 

(20.8)

1,970

 

(20.8)

2,019


(19.8)

2,115


(24.3)

Status dropout rate






























     Total  7.0   (0.07) 6.8   (0.06) 6.3   (0.05) 6.0   (0.05) 5.8   (0.06) 5.4   (0.05) 5.3   (0.05) 5.1   (0.05) 5.2 (0.05) 5.3 (0.06)

Age






























  16 2.1   (0.08) 2.2   (0.08) 2.2   (0.10) 2.3   (0.09) 2.4   (0.10) 2.1   (0.08) 2.2   (0.08) 2.2   (0.10) 2.9 (0.10) 2.6 (0.10)
  17 3.3   (0.12) 3.1   (0.09) 3.0   (0.12) 3.2   (0.10) 3.1   (0.11) 3.3   (0.11) 3.2   (0.12) 3.2   (0.12) 3.1 (0.10) 3.5 (0.13)
  18 5.4   (0.14) 5.0   (0.17) 4.8   (0.15) 4.6   (0.13) 4.8   (0.13) 4.6   (0.13) 4.5   (0.13) 4.0   (0.13) 4.1 (0.13) 4.3 (0.13)
  19 6.8   (0.13) 6.4   (0.16) 6.0   (0.18) 5.9   (0.15) 5.8   (0.15) 5.5   (0.14) 5.4   (0.17) 5.2   (0.14) 4.9 (0.15) 5.4 (0.16)
  20–24  9.0   (0.09) 8.7   (0.09) 7.9   (0.07) 7.6   (0.08) 7.1   (0.09) 6.6   (0.07) 6.5   (0.08) 6.2   (0.08) 6.4 (0.07) 6.4 (0.08)

Race/ethnicity






























  American Indian/Alaska Native  12.8   (0.71) 12.8   (0.76) 11.5   (0.77) 13.2   (0.78) 11.0   (0.68) 10.1   (0.62) 9.5   (0.78) 9.6   (0.69) 10.2 (0.71) 9.9 (0.76)
  Asian  2.6   (0.14) 2.5   (0.16) 2.5   (0.14) 2.4   (0.15) 2.0   (0.14) 2.1   (0.15) 1.9   (0.13) 1.8   (0.11) 2.1 (0.14) 1.9 (0.13)
  Black  9.0   (0.18) 9.0   (0.19) 7.9   (0.17) 7.2   (0.15) 7.0   (0.17) 6.5   (0.16) 6.4   (0.17) 5.6   (0.14) 5.9 (0.15) 5.7 (0.16)
  Hispanic  12.8   (0.18) 11.8   (0.20) 10.7   (0.15) 9.9   (0.16) 9.1   (0.17) 8.2   (0.15) 8.0   (0.14) 7.7   (0.13) 7.8 (0.12) 7.9 (0.13)
  Pacific Islander  9.1   (1.45) 5.0   (1.03) 10.6   (1.66) 5.4   (1.58) 6.9   (1.01) 3.9   (1.03) 8.1   (1.56) 8.0   (1.37) 7.6 (1.39) 9.1 (1.36)
  White  4.7   (0.06) 4.7   (0.06) 4.4   (0.06) 4.5   (0.07) 4.5   (0.06) 4.3   (0.06) 4.2   (0.06) 4.1   (0.06) 4.1 (0.06) 4.3 (0.07)
  Some other race1  5.9   (0.89) 5.1   (1.13) 5.6   (1.03) 7.5   (1.15) 5.1   (1.09) 5.2   (1.08) 4.5   (0.82) 3.9   (0.66) 7.1 (0.81) 5.8 (0.69)
  Two or more races  5.6   (0.25) 5.2   (0.28) 5.0   (0.26) 4.7   (0.22) 4.8   (0.26) 4.5   (0.25) 5.2   (0.23) 5.1   (0.29) 4.9 (0.22) 4.5 (0.21)

Sex and race/ethnicity






























  Male  8.2   (0.08) 8.0   (0.08) 7.2   (0.09) 7.0   (0.08) 6.8   (0.09) 6.4   (0.08) 6.2   (0.07) 6.0   (0.08) 6.1 (0.07) 6.3 (0.08)
    American Indian/Alaska Native  14.8   (1.06) 14.3   (1.11) 13.1   (1.14) 14.4   (1.03) 13.3   (1.10) 11.6   (0.97) 10.4   (0.99) 10.2   (0.95) 12.1 (1.05) 12.6 (1.06)
    Asian  2.8   (0.24) 2.8   (0.19) 2.5   (0.19) 2.9   (0.22) 2.2   (0.19) 2.3   (0.22) 2.3   (0.17) 1.9   (0.15) 2.5 (0.22) 2.1 (0.19)
    Black  10.9   (0.26) 10.9   (0.27) 9.5   (0.22) 8.7   (0.22) 8.7   (0.22) 8.0   (0.24) 7.8   (0.22) 6.8   (0.23) 7.2 (0.24) 7.0 (0.26)
    Hispanic  15.0   (0.23) 13.9   (0.26) 12.7   (0.23) 11.8   (0.21) 10.7   (0.25) 10.0   (0.21) 9.6   (0.20) 9.3   (0.21) 9.5 (0.17) 9.6 (0.20)
    Pacific Islander  10.0   (1.74) 4.2   (1.00) 12.6   (2.45) 4.0 ! (1.27) 6.6   (1.54) 5.7 ! (1.91) 8.9   (2.51) 7.8   (2.03) 7.4 (2.11) 10.7 (2.31)
    White  5.4   (0.09) 5.4   (0.08) 5.0   (0.08) 5.1   (0.10) 5.2   (0.10) 4.9   (0.09) 4.8   (0.08) 4.7   (0.08) 4.6 (0.09) 4.9 (0.09)
    Some other race1  8.3   (1.49) 6.2   (1.75) 5.5   (1.36) 8.6   (1.73) 5.4   (1.57) 7.0   (1.83) 5.3   (1.29) 5.5   (1.16) 8.7 (1.15) 6.7 (0.89)
    Two or more races  6.7   (0.43) 5.5   (0.43) 5.0   (0.34) 5.4   (0.36) 5.6   (0.37) 5.2   (0.41) 5.9   (0.41) 6.2   (0.40) 5.9 (0.31) 5.3 (0.30)
  Female  5.7   (0.08) 5.6   (0.08) 5.2   (0.07) 5.0   (0.06) 4.7   (0.07) 4.4   (0.06) 4.4   (0.06) 4.2   (0.07) 4.2 (0.06) 4.3 (0.07)
    American Indian/Alaska Native  10.8   (0.95) 11.3   (0.96) 9.9   (0.93) 11.9   (1.15) 8.7   (0.85) 8.5   (0.90) 8.6   (1.01) 9.0   (1.15) 8.2 (0.84) 7.0 (0.95)
    Asian  2.4   (0.20) 2.1   (0.22) 2.6   (0.21) 1.9   (0.19) 1.7   (0.18) 1.8   (0.19) 1.6   (0.17) 1.6   (0.16) 1.7 (0.16) 1.8 (0.18)
    Black  7.0   (0.21) 7.1   (0.23) 6.3   (0.21) 5.7   (0.20) 5.2   (0.23) 4.9   (0.18) 4.9   (0.21) 4.3   (0.18) 4.5 (0.19) 4.4 (0.23)
    Hispanic  10.4   (0.23) 9.6   (0.23) 8.5   (0.20) 8.0   (0.20) 7.3   (0.20) 6.4   (0.19) 6.3   (0.16) 6.0   (0.16) 6.0 (0.16) 6.1 (0.14)
    Pacific Islander  8.0 ! (2.41) 5.8 ! (1.76) 8.3   (1.64) 6.6 ! (2.46) 7.2   (1.50) 1.8 ! (0.70) 7.3 ! (2.24) 8.2   (1.66) 7.8 (1.86) 7.5 (2.05)
    White  4.0   (0.08) 4.0   (0.08) 3.9   (0.09) 3.9   (0.08) 3.7   (0.07) 3.6   (0.07) 3.6   (0.08) 3.5   (0.07) 3.5 (0.08) 3.7 (0.10)
    Some other race1  3.2   (0.79) 3.9   (1.16) 5.6   (1.48) 6.2   (1.73) 4.7   (1.29) 3.5   (0.92) 3.6   (0.89) 2.3 ! (0.85) 5.6 (0.98) 4.6 (1.04)
    Two or more races  4.7   (0.34) 4.8   (0.36) 5.0   (0.39) 3.9   (0.31) 4.0   (0.34) 3.9   (0.31) 4.4   (0.37) 4.1   (0.34) 3.8 (0.27) 3.7 (0.22)

Institutionalized or 
   noninstitutionalized status 
   and race/ethnicity






























  Noninstitutionalized2  6.6   (0.07) 6.4   (0.06) 6.0   (0.05) 5.7   (0.05) 5.5   (0.06) 5.1   (0.05) 5.1   (0.05) 4.9   (0.05) 5.0 (0.05) 5.1 (0.06)
    American Indian/Alaska Native  12.4   (0.72) 12.0   (0.73) 11.3   (0.77) 12.6   (0.79) 10.4   (0.67) 9.7   (0.64) 9.0   (0.76) 9.3   (0.69) 9.9 (0.72) 9.5 (0.76)
    Asian  2.6   (0.14) 2.4   (0.16) 2.5   (0.14) 2.4   (0.14) 2.0   (0.14) 2.1   (0.15) 1.9   (0.13) 1.7   (0.11) 2.1 (0.14) 1.9 (0.14)
    Black  7.9   (0.18) 7.9   (0.19) 6.8   (0.17) 6.2   (0.15) 6.1   (0.17) 5.5   (0.16) 5.5   (0.17) 4.9   (0.13) 5.2 (0.15) 5.1 (0.17)
    Hispanic  12.4   (0.19) 11.5   (0.19) 10.4   (0.15) 9.5   (0.15) 8.7   (0.17) 8.0   (0.15) 7.7   (0.14) 7.4   (0.13) 7.6 (0.12) 7.8 (0.13)
    Pacific Islander  8.8   (1.45) 5.0   (1.05) 10.2   (1.67) 5.3   (1.59) 6.9   (1.03) 3.3 ! (0.98) 8.1   (1.56) 8.0   (1.38) 7.6 (1.42) 9.1 (1.37)
    White  4.5   (0.06) 4.6   (0.06) 4.3   (0.06) 4.4   (0.07) 4.3   (0.06) 4.2   (0.06) 4.1   (0.06) 4.0   (0.06) 4.0 (0.07) 4.3 (0.07)
    Some other race1  5.8   (0.89) 4.7   (1.12) 5.4   (1.03) 7.3   (1.15) 5.0   (1.11) 5.0   (1.10) 4.4   (0.82) 3.7   (0.67) 6.9 (0.82) 5.5 (0.69)
    Two or more races  5.5   (0.25) 5.0   (0.28) 4.8   (0.26) 4.4   (0.21) 4.5   (0.25) 4.3   (0.25) 4.9   (0.24) 4.9   (0.29) 4.8 (0.22) 4.4 (0.20)
  Institutionalized3  35.4   (0.73) 36.0   (0.69) 33.1   (0.64) 34.6   (0.71) 33.7   (0.71) 32.4   (0.68) 32.2   (0.77) 30.5   (0.75) 30.1 (0.83) 32.9 (0.88)
    American Indian/Alaska Native  31.4   (5.39) 53.1   (7.63) 22.2   (5.70) 37.9   (6.08) 44.5   (6.02) 28.0   (5.96) 30.4   (5.34) 26.3   (6.88) 34.2 (8.10) 24.8 (4.42)
    Asian  17.5 ! (7.42) 26.0 ! (8.09) 21.5 ! (10.04) 26.1 ! (7.98)   (†)   (†) 7.8 ! (3.79) 30.9 ! (9.39) 18.1 ! (6.82) 17.1 ! (5.36)
    Black  41.1   (1.17) 40.8   (1.12) 39.2   (1.12) 39.0   (1.06) 38.0   (1.45) 38.3   (1.14) 37.2   (1.28) 34.5   (1.23) 33.1 (1.41) 37.5 (1.22)
    Hispanic  40.9   (1.55) 41.3   (1.61) 37.2   (1.30) 41.0   (1.63) 37.5   (1.50) 33.0   (1.44) 35.9   (1.42) 34.7   (1.84) 33.4 (2.12) 35.5 (1.72)
    Pacific Islander    (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 32.1 ! (12.36)   (†)   (†) (†) (†)
    White  25.9   (0.97) 26.6   (1.20) 23.9   (1.18) 24.6   (1.22) 26.0   (1.30) 25.1   (1.39) 24.3   (1.29) 22.4   (1.13) 24.2 (1.19) 26.4 (1.05)
    Some other race1    (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 32.8 ! (10.36) (†)
    Two or more races  19.0   (3.16) 22.9   (3.71) 20.8   (2.67) 24.5   (3.76) 28.4   (3.91) 26.4   (4.66) 28.0   (3.23) 25.0   (3.35) 27.1 (4.24) 20.8 (2.90)

Nativity and race/ethnicity






























  Native-born4  6.2   (0.06) 6.1   (0.06) 5.6   (0.05) 5.5   (0.06) 5.3   (0.05) 5.0   (0.05) 5.0   (0.05) 4.7   (0.05) 4.8 (0.05) 4.8 (0.06)
    American Indian/Alaska Native  12.9   (0.72) 12.9   (0.77) 11.4   (0.78) 13.1   (0.79) 10.9   (0.69) 10.1   (0.62) 9.4   (0.77) 9.6   (0.68) 10.3 (0.71) 9.9 (0.76)
    Asian  1.9   (0.16) 1.7   (0.14) 1.8   (0.14) 1.5   (0.14) 1.0   (0.12) 1.5   (0.16) 1.4   (0.14) 1.3   (0.12) 1.9 (0.18) 1.4 (0.13)
    Black  9.2   (0.18) 9.1   (0.19) 8.0   (0.17) 7.3   (0.16) 7.1   (0.17) 6.6   (0.16) 6.4   (0.18) 5.7   (0.14) 5.9 (0.15) 5.7 (0.17)
    Hispanic  9.0   (0.18) 8.5   (0.17) 7.9   (0.15) 7.6   (0.15) 7.0   (0.16) 6.4   (0.14) 6.3   (0.13) 5.9   (0.12) 5.9 (0.13) 5.6 (0.10)
    Pacific Islander  6.9   (1.33) 3.6   (1.03) 7.5   (1.39) 5.1 ! (1.71) 4.8   (0.98) 3.1 ! (1.02) 7.9   (1.76) 5.8   (1.05) 5.3 (1.47) 6.8 (1.25)
    White  4.7   (0.06) 4.7   (0.06) 4.4   (0.06) 4.5   (0.07) 4.5   (0.06) 4.3   (0.06) 4.2   (0.06) 4.1   (0.06) 4.1 (0.06) 4.3 (0.07)
    Some other race1  4.4   (0.79) 5.9   (1.50) 4.0   (1.06) 6.4   (1.23) 4.9   (1.28) 3.6   (0.83) 4.3   (0.98) 3.6   (0.73) 6.6 (0.84) 5.3 (0.71)
    Two or more races  5.6   (0.28) 5.2   (0.29) 5.0   (0.27) 4.6   (0.23) 4.8   (0.27) 4.5   (0.26) 5.1   (0.24) 5.2   (0.29) 4.9 (0.22) 4.4 (0.20)
 Foreign-born  15.1   (0.26) 14.1   (0.29) 12.6   (0.26) 11.3   (0.25) 10.5   (0.24) 9.4   (0.28) 9.3   (0.23) 9.5   (0.28) 10.3 (0.25) 11.6 (0.33)
    American Indian/Alaska Native    (†)   (†) 21.8 ! (7.44)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) (†) (†)
    Asian  3.4   (0.26) 3.3   (0.29) 3.5   (0.28) 3.5   (0.25) 3.1   (0.25) 2.8   (0.23) 2.5   (0.22) 2.4   (0.23) 2.5 (0.21) 2.8 (0.26)
    Black  6.1   (0.69) 7.4   (0.77) 5.9   (0.59) 6.4   (0.61) 5.9   (0.56) 5.4   (0.62) 6.1   (0.78) 4.6   (0.52) 5.5 (0.64) 5.9 (0.65)
    Hispanic  25.4   (0.48) 23.6   (0.51) 21.1   (0.47) 19.1   (0.46) 17.5   (0.47) 16.1   (0.46) 15.9   (0.49) 16.7   (0.50) 18.0 (0.48) 20.2 (0.61)
    Pacific Islander  21.6   (5.83) 13.5   (3.32) 23.8   (5.58) 7.7 ! (2.92) 19.4   (4.57) 9.6 ! (3.56) 9.1 ! (3.27) 17.6 ! (6.27) 22.0 (4.18) 22.7 (6.15)
    White  3.8   (0.36) 4.1   (0.41) 4.0   (0.36) 3.9   (0.39) 4.5   (0.49) 3.5   (0.35) 3.6   (0.41) 4.1   (0.46) 2.8 (0.37) 3.5 (0.41)
    Some other race1  9.1   (2.49) 2.7 ! (1.00) 10.9   (2.94) 10.5   (2.88) 6.0 ! (2.28) 11.5 ! (3.95) 5.2   (1.42) 5.6 ! (2.31) 11.0 (2.82) 8.6 (2.52)
    Two or more races  6.5   (1.07) 4.8   (0.98) 5.4   (1.04) 5.0   (1.09) 4.9   (1.20) 5.3   (1.19) 5.7   (1.26) 3.6   (0.86) 5.8 (1.58) 6.6 (1.41)

English speaking ability






























  Spoke English at home or spoke 
     English very well 

6.1

 

(0.06)

6.0

 

(0.06)

5.5

 

(0.05)

5.3

 

(0.05)

5.2

 

(0.05)

4.9

 

(0.05)

4.8

 

(0.05)

4.5

 

(0.05)

4.6


(0.05)

4.6


(0.06)
  Spoke a language other than
     English at home and spoke
     English less than very well 

24.9

 

(0.43)

23.5

 

(0.53)

21.8

 

(0.47)

20.5

 

(0.41)

18.5

 

(0.42)

17.3

 

(0.48)

16.6

 

(0.43)

17.5

 

(0.46)

17.6


(0.45)

19.2


(0.48)

Disabilitiy status5






























  With a disability  15.4   (0.29) 15.2   (0.35) 13.9   (0.29) 12.6   (0.27) 12.4   (0.24) 12.1   (0.26) 11.7   (0.26) 10.7   (0.29) 10.4 (0.24) 9.7 (0.22)
  Without a disability  6.5   (0.06) 6.3   (0.06) 5.8   (0.05) 5.6   (0.05) 5.3   (0.06) 5.0   (0.05) 4.9   (0.05) 4.7   (0.05) 4.8 (0.05) 4.9 (0.06)

Region






























  Northeast  5.6   (0.11) 5.4   (0.12) 5.2   (0.11) 4.8   (0.13) 4.7   (0.11) 4.5   (0.10) 4.5   (0.12) 4.1   (0.10) 4.3 (0.12) 4.3 (0.12)
  Midwest  6.0   (0.12) 5.9   (0.12) 5.7   (0.10) 5.6   (0.11) 5.5   (0.14) 5.1   (0.11) 5.2   (0.10) 5.0   (0.12) 5.0 (0.11) 5.3 (0.13)
  South  7.8   (0.10) 7.8   (0.11) 6.9   (0.10) 6.6   (0.10) 6.3   (0.10) 6.0   (0.09) 5.8   (0.09) 5.7   (0.09) 5.6 (0.09) 5.8 (0.10)
  West  7.6   (0.10) 7.1   (0.10) 6.6   (0.10) 6.4   (0.10) 5.9   (0.10) 5.3   (0.10) 5.3   (0.11) 5.0   (0.11) 5.3 (0.11) 5.2 (0.11)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1Respondents who wrote in some other race that was not included as an option on the questionnaire.
2Persons living in households as well as persons living in noninstitutionalized group quarters. Noninstitutionalized group quarters include college and university housing, military quarters, facilities for workers and religious groups, and temporary shelters for the homeless.
3Persons living in institutionalized group quarters, including adult and juvenile correctional facilities, nursing facilities, and other health care facilities.
4Includes those born in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Marianas, as well as those born abroad to U.S.-citizen parents.
5Disability status identifies individuals who have serious difficulty with one or more of four basic areas of functioning (hearing, vision, cognition, and ambulation) or with self-care or independent living.
NOTE: Status dropouts are 16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and who have not completed a high school program, regardless of when they left school and whether they ever attended school in the United States. People who have received equivalency credentials, such as the GED, are counted as high school completers. Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population residing within the United States, including both noninstitutionalized persons (e.g., those living in households, college housing, or military housing located within the United States) and institutionalized persons (e.g., those living in prisons, nursing facilities, or other healthcare facilities). Estimates may differ from those in tables based on the Current Population Survey (CPS) because of differences in survey design and target populations. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 1-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data, 2012 through 2022. (This table was prepared November 2023.)

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