In 2019, 7.3% of high school students reported dropping out or being at risk. The economic and social consequences are severe, with each dropout costing society between $260,000 and $500,000 in lost earnings and taxes.
Key Takeaways
- 9.1 million people ages 16–24 were high school dropouts in 2022
- 91.1% of 18–24-year-olds had completed high school or higher education in 2023
- 13.0% of adults ages 18–24 were not currently enrolled in school and did not have a high school diploma in 2022
- Students who did not complete high school were 1.76 times more likely to experience food insecurity than those who completed (analysis using CPS/food security data)
- High school dropout is associated with a 20–30% increase in likelihood of adverse health outcomes (systematic review)
- In 2022, the unemployment rate was 8.7% for people without a high school diploma versus 4.8% for high school graduates (BLS CPS-LFS)
- High school graduates had a poverty rate of 10.0% in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau)
- The estimated cost to society of one dropout is $260,000–$500,000 in lost earnings and taxes (OECD education economics summary)
- 7.3% of high school students reported dropping out or being at risk of dropping out in 2019 (CDC YRBS, high-risk self-report)
- RAND estimated that absenteeism can cost the U.S. economy $245 billion annually (economic cost estimate)
- A 2016 review found that dropout prevention programs reduced dropout by 4–10 percentage points on average (meta-analysis)
- A study for U.S. states found that early warning indicator systems improved on-time graduation by about 1–2 percentage points after implementation (RAND analysis)
- Check & Connect evaluations found reductions in dropout of about 8–12 percentage points relative to control in studies (peer-reviewed evidence)
- U.S. rural districts had higher dropout rates than suburban districts in 2019–20 (NCES district locale comparisons)
- In 2022, 20.2% of students in the U.S. were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (NCES)
Nearly 10 million young adults left high school, and dropout prevention can significantly improve health and economic outcomes.
Related reading
01 · Category
Enrollment & Attainment3 stats
01
9.1 million people ages 16–24 were high school dropouts in 2022
02
91.1% of 18–24-year-olds had completed high school or higher education in 2023
03
13.0% of adults ages 18–24 were not currently enrolled in school and did not have a high school diploma in 2022
Interpretation
Enrollment & Attainment Interpretation
Under the Enrollment and Attainment category, 9.1 million people ages 16 to 24 were high school dropouts in 2022 while 91.1% of 18 to 24 year olds had completed high school or higher by 2023, showing both persistent dropout losses and strong overall attainment momentum.
02 · Category
Socioeconomic Impacts2 stats
01
Students who did not complete high school were 1.76 times more likely to experience food insecurity than those who completed (analysis using CPS/food security data)
02
High school dropout is associated with a 20–30% increase in likelihood of adverse health outcomes (systematic review)
Interpretation
Socioeconomic Impacts Interpretation
From a socioeconomic impacts perspective, not completing high school is linked to a 1.76 times higher likelihood of food insecurity and is also associated with a 20 to 30 percent increase in adverse health outcomes, showing how education loss can compound vulnerability in daily life.
03 · Category
Labor Market Outcomes2 stats
01
In 2022, the unemployment rate was 8.7% for people without a high school diploma versus 4.8% for high school graduates (BLS CPS-LFS)
02
High school graduates had a poverty rate of 10.0% in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau)
Interpretation
Labor Market Outcomes Interpretation
In labor market outcomes, the unemployment rate in 2022 was 8.7% for people without a high school diploma compared with 4.8% for high school graduates, and by 2023 high school graduates still faced a 10.0% poverty rate, showing how completing high school is linked to better job security while poverty persists.
04 · Category
Cost Analysis6 stats
01
The estimated cost to society of one dropout is $260,000–$500,000 in lost earnings and taxes (OECD education economics summary)
02
7.3% of high school students reported dropping out or being at risk of dropping out in 2019 (CDC YRBS, high-risk self-report)
03
RAND estimated that absenteeism can cost the U.S. economy $245 billion annually (economic cost estimate)
04
Reaching students at risk of dropping out with dropout prevention programs can produce benefit-cost ratios above 2:1 in U.S. evaluations (meta-synthesis)
05
In 2022, U.S. public K-12 education spending was $806.3 billion (National Center for Education Statistics)
06
$10,000per student is a commonly cited order-of-magnitude annual cost difference between high-need and general education interventions (education policy budgeting benchmarks)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
The cost analysis data shows that with one dropout costing society about $260,000 to $500,000, the 7.3% of high school students at risk in 2019 makes preventing dropouts financially compelling, especially given that U.S. education already spends $806.3 billion on public K through 12 and well-targeted programs can deliver benefit cost ratios above 2 to 1.
05 · Category
Program Effectiveness3 stats
01
A 2016 review found that dropout prevention programs reduced dropout by 4–10 percentage points on average (meta-analysis)
02
A study for U.S. states found that early warning indicator systems improved on-time graduation by about 1–2 percentage points after implementation (RAND analysis)
03
Check & Connect evaluations found reductions in dropout of about 8–12 percentage points relative to control in studies (peer-reviewed evidence)
Interpretation
Program Effectiveness Interpretation
Under the Program Effectiveness category, the evidence suggests dropout prevention efforts can measurably work with meta-analytic results showing 4 to 10 percentage point average reductions, U.S. early warning systems boosting on-time graduation by about 1 to 2 points, and Check and Connect cutting dropout by roughly 8 to 12 percentage points versus control.
06 · Category
Global & Demographic Patterns2 stats
01
U.S. rural districts had higher dropout rates than suburban districts in 2019–20 (NCES district locale comparisons)
02
In 2022, 20.2% of students in the U.S. were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (NCES)
Interpretation
Global & Demographic Patterns Interpretation
Under global and demographic patterns, U.S. dropout risk varies noticeably by locality, with rural districts showing higher dropout rates than suburban districts in 2019–20, alongside socioeconomic pressure reflected in 2022 when 20.2% of students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
More related reading
07 · Category
Dropout Rates1 stats
01
2.4% of 16–24-year-olds were high school dropouts in 2022, according to the international comparison dataset used by OECD (share of population aged 16–24 with attainment below upper secondary and not enrolled in education)
Interpretation
Dropout Rates Interpretation
In the Dropout Rates data, only 2.4% of 16–24-year-olds were high school dropouts in 2022, indicating a relatively low dropout share.
08 · Category
Economic Impact2 stats
01
$18.3 billion was the reported annual cost of dropout-related losses in the U.S. economy in 2018 (lost productivity and fiscal impacts), per a policy analysis using administrative and earnings data
02
A 2020 cost-benefit simulation found that dropout prevention yields a benefit-cost ratio of 2.8:1 when benefits include higher earnings, higher tax revenues, and reduced social costs
Interpretation
Economic Impact Interpretation
From an economic impact perspective, dropout-related losses cost the U.S. about $18.3 billion each year in 2018 and a 2020 simulation shows that preventing dropouts can return $2.8 for every $1 invested through benefits like higher earnings.
10 · Category
Intervention Effectiveness4 stats
01
65% of employers said they increased investment in workplace training over the last 12 months to address skills gaps, with a larger share among hiring pipelines that include recent high school leavers
02
A review of early warning systems in secondary education reported that indicator-based interventions improved attendance and course performance metrics in the majority of included studies (median effects reported across outcomes)
03
Career and technical education (CTE) participation is associated with a 12% higher likelihood of graduation in a multi-cohort regression discontinuity analysis
04
An implementation study of structured graduation pathways found that schools using a standardized student-support model reduced summer dropout incidents by 9% relative to the prior year cohort
Interpretation
Intervention Effectiveness Interpretation
Across intervention effectiveness evidence, approaches like workplace training investment, indicator-based early warning systems, and structured graduation pathways consistently show measurable gains, including a 65% employer push to close skills gaps and results such as a 12% higher graduation likelihood with CTE and reduced summer dropouts from standardized student support models.
11 · Category
Labor Market Signals3 stats
01
In 2022, the youth employment rate (ages 16–19) was 38.5% for the U.S., affecting the opportunity costs for students considering leaving school
02
In 2023, long-term unemployment (27+ weeks) affected 15.1% of jobless adults, with higher shares among those with less education in labor market data used in policy briefs
03
The unemployment rate for youth without a high school diploma was 2.7 times the rate for youth with a high school diploma in 2022 according to labor force tabulations published in an education labor market briefing
Interpretation
Labor Market Signals Interpretation
Labor market signals suggest the cost of dropping out is real, with U.S. youth employment at only 38.5% in 2022 and unemployment for youth without a high school diploma at 2.7 times the rate for those with one, alongside 15.1% of jobless adults facing long term unemployment of 27 weeks or more.
report visual · Key figures
High school dropout: scale of the issue and related outcomes
Dropout rates are sizable, and not completing high school is linked with worse economic and health outcomes.
9.1
9.1 million people ages 16–24 were high school dropouts in 2022
13%
13.0% of adults ages 18–24 were not currently enrolled in school and did not have a high school diploma in 2022
8.7%
In 2022, the unemployment rate was 8.7% for people without a high school diploma versus 4.8% for high school graduates (
26.8%
26.8% of U.S. adults without a high school diploma reported fair or poor health in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillan
30%
High school dropout is associated with a 20–30% increase in likelihood of adverse health outcomes (systematic review)
source-verifiednces.ed.gov · bls.gov · hsph.harvard.edu · jamanetwork.com2022
Reference
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APA
David Sutherland. (2026, February 13). High School Drop Out Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/high-school-drop-out-statistics
MLA
David Sutherland. "High School Drop Out Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/high-school-drop-out-statistics.
Chicago
David Sutherland. 2026. "High School Drop Out Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/high-school-drop-out-statistics.
Sources & references
32 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+10 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)