What Percentage of Americans Go to College?

As of October 2013, 65.9 percent of high school graduates enroll in college, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This percentage represents a reduction from a high-enrollment point in 2009, when the figure was 70.1 percent.

The 65.9 percent of high school graduates that enroll in college represents the lowest percentage since 2003. The margin of error is 2.4 percent. Female high school graduates enroll in college at higher rates than male high school graduates, with the percentages at 68.4 percent and 63.5 percent, respectively. As of October 2013, the percentage of employed high school graduates who did not attend college is 51 percent.