Ranking of California Counties By Percentage of Population Aged 25 years and above with an Educational attainment of Less than High School Diploma in 2021 (ACS-5Yrs)

Updated on September 3, 2025.

Based on the US Census ACS-5Yrs estimates, in 2021, the percentage of the population of California (aged 25 years and above) who had an educational attainment of Less than High School Diploma was 15.81%. Among all California counties, Merced County had the highest percentage of its population (aged 25 years and above) with an educational attainment of Less than High School Diploma (29.65%), followed by Imperial County (29.56%), and Madera County (28.19%).

The chart below shows the top 10 California counties, and the table below shows the ranking of all California counties.

You can see similar information for other educational attainments.

You can also see similar information for other states and for the United States.

Ranking of California Counties By Percentage of Population (Aged 25yrs+) with an Educational Attainment of Less than High School Diploma in 2021
Merced County
Imperial County
Madera County
Tulare County
Monterey County
Colusa County
Kings County
Kern County
Glenn County
Fresno County
Ranking of California Counties By Percentage of Population (Aged 25yrs+) with an Educational Attainment of Less than High School Diploma in 2021
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Rank County Percentage of Population (Aged 25yrs+) (%)
1 Merced County 29.65
2 Imperial County 29.56
3 Madera County 28.19
4 Tulare County 27.38
5 Monterey County 27.01
6 Colusa County 26.68
7 Kings County 26.37
8 Kern County 24.05
9 Glenn County 23.52
10 Fresno County 22.09
11 Sutter County 20.35
12 Stanislaus County 20.05
13 Los Angeles County 19.96
14 Lassen County 19.95
15 San Joaquin County 19.70
16 Del Norte County 19.41
17 San Bernardino County 18.90
18 Yuba County 18.83
19 Santa Barbara County 18.09
20 Riverside County 17.01
21 San Benito County 16.75
22 Napa County 14.76
23 Modoc County 14.55
24 Ventura County 14.38
25 Tehama County 14.23
26 Lake County 13.41
27 Orange County 13.39
28 Mendocino County 13.36
29 Mono County 12.78
30 Yolo County 12.40
31 Sacramento County 11.94
32 Santa Cruz County 11.72
33 San Diego County 11.69
34 San Francisco County 11.22
35 Solano County 11.15
36 Alameda County 11.00
37 Sonoma County 10.83
38 Santa Clara County 10.81
39 Contra Costa County 10.26
40 Siskiyou County 10.09
41 Butte County 9.66
42 Calaveras County 9.20
43 San Mateo County 9.18
44 Mariposa County 9.13
45 Humboldt County 9.01
46 Shasta County 8.94
47 Amador County 8.69
48 San Luis Obispo County 8.07
49 Inyo County 7.92
50 Tuolumne County 7.91
51 Marin County 6.58
52 Alpine County 6.30
53 Trinity County 6.12
54 Sierra County 5.64
55 Plumas County 5.45
56 El Dorado County 5.32
57 Placer County 5.17
58 Nevada County 4.87