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Evan BrooksData Editor
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In this article
The national average high school graduation rate is 87.5%, and that single number hides one of the widest spreads in county education data. The counties at the top of the distribution report near-universal completion — averaging 98.4% across the 15 highest — while the counties at the bottom average 35.5%. In the lowest-rate counties, a meaningful share of each entering ninth-grade class is not recorded as graduating within four years.
A spread that wide invites a simple story: good schools at the top, bad schools at the bottom. The data supports a more careful reading. Before comparing the two tables below, it is worth understanding what the metric actually counts, why county-level aggregation adds noise, and why the smallest counties can swing dozens of places between releases without anything changing in their classrooms.
What the Graduation Rate Counts — and What It Quietly Skips
Note
County-level ACGR is a screening metric. For any decision that depends on completion data, the district-level figures on state report cards are the authoritative source.
The figures in this analysis are four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates (ACGR) from the NCES Common Core of Data. ACGR follows a cohort of first-time ninth graders and asks what share earned a regular diploma within four years, adjusting for students who transfer in and out. It is the most standardized completion measure available, but the standardization has edges: students who finish in five years, earn a GED, or complete through some alternative programs are not counted as on-time graduates, and states retain discretion in how transfers and program completers are verified.
There is also an aggregation caveat specific to this site. NCES reports ACGR for districts and states; SchoolsByCounty rolls district figures up to the county level. Most districts sit inside a single county, but district boundaries do not respect county lines everywhere, and a county's rate blends every district within it — a high-performing suburban district and a struggling alternative-education district can average into a number that describes neither.
The 15 Highest County Graduation Rates
Ranked from highest to lowest. County names link to full profiles with district context and school lists.
Rank
1
County
- State
- Kentucky
- Graduation Rate
- 99.0%
- School Score
- 75.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,470
Rank
2
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 99.0%
- School Score
- 68.1
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,931
Rank
3
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 99.0%
- School Score
- 65.5
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,737
Rank
4
County
- State
- Tennessee
- Graduation Rate
- 99.0%
- School Score
- 60.5
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,304
Rank
5
County
- State
- Kentucky
- Graduation Rate
- 98.5%
- School Score
- 70.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,103
Rank
6
County
- State
- Texas
- Graduation Rate
- 98.5%
- School Score
- 66.9
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,854
Rank
7
County
- State
- Texas
- Graduation Rate
- 98.5%
- School Score
- 52.5
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $5,529
Rank
8
County
- State
- Georgia
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 75.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,479
Rank
9
County
- State
- Kentucky
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 64.7
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,692
Rank
10
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 73.4
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,337
Rank
11
County
- State
- Tennessee
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 59.5
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,238
Rank
12
County
- State
- West Virginia
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 83.8
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $8,258
Rank
13
County
- State
- West Virginia
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 86.1
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $8,576
Rank
14
County
- State
- West Virginia
- Graduation Rate
- 98.0%
- School Score
- 73.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,332
Rank
15
County
- State
- Kentucky
- Graduation Rate
- 97.8%
- School Score
- 66.1
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,808
| Rank | County | State | Graduation Rate | School Score | Per-Pupil Spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockcastle County | Kentucky | 99.0% | 75.3 | $7,470 |
| 2 | Jefferson Davis Parish | Louisiana | 99.0% | 68.1 | $6,931 |
| 3 | Vermilion Parish | Louisiana | 99.0% | 65.5 | $6,737 |
| 4 | Morgan County | Tennessee | 99.0% | 60.5 | $6,304 |
| 5 | Taylor County | Kentucky | 98.5% | 70.3 | $7,103 |
| 6 | Moore County | Texas | 98.5% | 66.9 | $6,854 |
| 7 | Rockwall County | Texas | 98.5% | 52.5 | $5,529 |
| 8 | Oconee County | Georgia | 98.0% | 75.3 | $7,479 |
| 9 | Carter County | Kentucky | 98.0% | 64.7 | $6,692 |
| 10 | Allen Parish | Louisiana | 98.0% | 73.4 | $7,337 |
| 11 | Henry County | Tennessee | 98.0% | 59.5 | $6,238 |
| 12 | Harrison County | West Virginia | 98.0% | 83.8 | $8,258 |
| 13 | Ohio County | West Virginia | 98.0% | 86.1 | $8,576 |
| 14 | Putnam County | West Virginia | 98.0% | 73.3 | $7,332 |
| 15 | Pulaski County | Kentucky | 97.8% | 66.1 | $6,808 |
The 15 Lowest County Graduation Rates
Ranked from lowest to highest — the other end of the same distribution.
Rank
1
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 4.0%
- School Score
- 32.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $8,066
Rank
2
County
- State
- South Dakota
- Graduation Rate
- 5.0%
- School Score
- 42
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $9,701
Rank
3
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 18.0%
- School Score
- 28.4
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,707
Rank
4
County
- State
- Georgia
- Graduation Rate
- 21.5%
- School Score
- 0.8
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $5,074
Rank
5
County
- State
- Georgia
- Graduation Rate
- 27.5%
- School Score
- 9.7
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,240
Rank
6
County
- State
- Oregon
- Graduation Rate
- 33.6%
- School Score
- 0.4
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $4,865
Rank
7
County
- State
- Georgia
- Graduation Rate
- 36.3%
- School Score
- 37.6
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $8,733
Rank
8
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 42.0%
- School Score
- 42
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $9,640
Rank
9
County
- State
- Wyoming
- Graduation Rate
- 42.0%
- School Score
- 11.5
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,387
Rank
10
County
- State
- Louisiana
- Graduation Rate
- 47.0%
- School Score
- 27
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $7,579
Rank
11
County
- State
- Washington
- Graduation Rate
- 48.5%
- School Score
- 44.4
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $10,380
Rank
12
County
- State
- Michigan
- Graduation Rate
- 49.7%
- School Score
- 9.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $6,201
Rank
13
County
- State
- Idaho
- Graduation Rate
- 52.0%
- School Score
- 35.6
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $8,458
Rank
14
County
- State
- Washington
- Graduation Rate
- 52.1%
- School Score
- 42.6
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $9,769
Rank
15
County
- State
- Minnesota
- Graduation Rate
- 53.1%
- School Score
- 43.3
- Per-Pupil Spending
- $9,978
| Rank | County | State | Graduation Rate | School Score | Per-Pupil Spending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morehouse Parish | Louisiana | 4.0% | 32.3 | $8,066 |
| 2 | Oglala Lakota County | South Dakota | 5.0% | 42 | $9,701 |
| 3 | Sabine Parish | Louisiana | 18.0% | 28.4 | $7,707 |
| 4 | Candler County | Georgia | 21.5% | 0.8 | $5,074 |
| 5 | White County | Georgia | 27.5% | 9.7 | $6,240 |
| 6 | Wheeler County | Oregon | 33.6% | 0.4 | $4,865 |
| 7 | Clarke County | Georgia | 36.3% | 37.6 | $8,733 |
| 8 | Red River Parish | Louisiana | 42.0% | 42 | $9,640 |
| 9 | Niobrara County | Wyoming | 42.0% | 11.5 | $6,387 |
| 10 | East Feliciana Parish | Louisiana | 47.0% | 27 | $7,579 |
| 11 | Ferry County | Washington | 48.5% | 44.4 | $10,380 |
| 12 | Montcalm County | Michigan | 49.7% | 9.3 | $6,201 |
| 13 | Clearwater County | Idaho | 52.0% | 35.6 | $8,458 |
| 14 | Clallam County | Washington | 52.1% | 42.6 | $9,769 |
| 15 | Mahnomen County | Minnesota | 53.1% | 43.3 | $9,978 |
Small Counties, Big Swings
The single most important thing to check before reacting to either table is cohort size. A county whose districts graduate 9,000 of 10,000 students and a county that graduates 90 of 100 both report 90%, but the second number is statistically fragile: five additional non-completers move it to 85%, a swing that would be front-page news in the larger county. Many of the counties at both extremes of this distribution are small, and small counties dominate the tails of almost every county-level ranking for exactly this reason.
This is why year-over-year movement at the extremes is expected rather than alarming. A rural county appearing in the bottom 15 in one release and climbing 200 places in the next has usually experienced a change in a handful of student outcomes — or in how a single alternative program was classified — not a transformation of its school system.
State Clusters Point to Policy, Not Just Performance
The extremes are not evenly scattered across the map. Among the highest-rate counties: The most represented states are Kentucky (4), Louisiana (3), and West Virginia (3), together accounting for 10 of 15 counties. Among the lowest-rate counties: The most represented states are Louisiana (4), Georgia (3), and Washington (2), together accounting for 9 of 15 counties.
When several counties from the same state land in the same tail, state-level factors deserve the first look: graduation requirements differ by state, as do credit-recovery rules, the treatment of alternative and adult-education completers, and the rigor of transfer verification. Two states can educate similar students to similar standards and still report different ACGR figures because their cohort accounting differs. Within-state comparison — a county against its own state average — filters out most of this noise and is almost always the better starting point.
Money Beside Completion: A Loose Relationship
Per-pupil spending differs between the two groups — the highest-rate counties average $7,043 against $7,919 in the lowest-rate group — but the relationship is loose, and the tables above show it. Several low-rate counties spend near or above the national average of $13,239, and some high-rate counties run notably lean budgets.
This is a correlation shaped by many shared causes — local economies, property wealth, remoteness, state formulas — and it supports no causal claim in either direction. Low completion alongside adequate funding usually signals that the binding constraints are not budgetary: student mobility, concentrated poverty, long travel distances, or a county role as the regional host for alternative programs that serve students other districts could not retain.
What to Check Next
For any county in either table, four follow-ups turn the number into usable information:
- Check cohort size on the county profile and in state report cards. Rates built on fewer than a few hundred students should be read across several years, not one.
- Compare the county against its state average before its national rank; state accounting rules move the baseline.
- Look for alternative schools, juvenile-justice programs, or adult-education campuses in the county school list — these can pull a county rate down without describing the mainline districts.
- Read completion beside spending and the School Score in the comparison view; a rate that diverges from its companion metrics is a research prompt, not a verdict.
Methodology
Graduation rates are four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates from the NCES Common Core of Data, aggregated from district to county level. The national average of 87.5% reflects the most recent available NCES release. Counties with missing or suppressed graduation data are excluded from both tables. Group averages are unweighted means across each 15-county tail. Because the tables regenerate with each dataset update, county lists and figures may shift between releases.
Sources and Review
Data vintage: NCES 2022-23 public school and school-finance releases. Data sources are selected for this article's metric focus. County figures are informational estimates and may differ from other published analyses due to methodology, aggregation, suppression, or reporting-year differences. Last editorial review checked source links, data vintage, visible caveats, and county-profile links.
Continue the Research
Use this article as a starting point, then verify county-level signals against official district and state records.