Report · Health

About a third of Americans say a high school diploma was their parents' highest schooling

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In a March 2025 Verasight survey, about a third of Americans (33%) say their parents' or guardians' schooling ended with a high school diploma.

College credentials fill much of the remainder: 21% report a bachelor's degree, 17% some college, 12% a postgraduate degree, and 7% an associate degree, while 8% report some high school and 2% no high school.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

About a third of Americans say a high school diploma was their parents' highest schooling.

What is the highest level of education of your parent(s)/guardian(s)?

  • High school diploma 33.3%
  • Bachelor’s degree 20.7%
  • Some college 16.8%
  • Postgraduate degree 11.9%
  • Some high school 8.2%
  • Associate degree 6.8%
  • No high school 2.3%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.5%

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-02-28 → 2025-03-06
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.5%
Module
health

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2025-010, fielded February 28-March 6, 2025, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.5%.

https://verasight-spsp-2025.tiiny.co

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.