Analyze High School Graduation Rates in Tucson, Arizona MSA

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Percent of Public High School Students Graduating in Four Years (2025)

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In 2025, Arizona had a four-year public high school graduation rate of 80.0%, ranking last among the nine western states (Texas data were unavailable). Utah ranked highest, with 89.8% of public high school students graduating within four years. Within Arizona, Yuma County had the highest graduation rate, with 93.3% of students graduating with their peers in 2025, while Pima County ranked last among Arizona counties, with 73.2% graduating on time.

Why is it important?

Educational attainment is closely tied to employment opportunities, earnings, and long-term economic mobility. Individuals who do not complete high school are more likely to experience unemployment and typically earn less than those with a high school diploma or higher levels of education. Over time, this can translate into significant gaps in lifetime earnings. Graduation rates also affect communities. Higher levels of educational attainment are associated with a more robust workforce, higher incomes, increased consumer spending, and reduced reliance on public assistance programs. A high school diploma is also a key pathway to post-secondary education, workforce training programs, and other career opportunities.

How do we compare?

Graduation rates in Arizona varied notably by race and ethnicity in 2025. Asian students had the highest four-year high school graduation rate at 92.6%, followed by white students at 85.2%. Hispanic students graduated at a rate of 78.0%, while Black or African American students graduated at a rate of 74.8%. American Indian or Alaska Native students had the lowest graduation rate among the groups shown, at 70.6%. These differences highlight disparities in educational outcomes across student populations in the state.

At 93.3%, Yuma County had the highest public high school graduation rate, while Pima County reported a rate of 73.2%, placing it last among Arizona counties in 2025.

What are the key trends?

The high school graduation rate for the U.S. rose from 79.0% in 2011 to 86.6% in 2022, an increase of 7.6 percentage points over 11 years. Arizona’s graduation rate peaked at 80.2% in 2016, declined to 75.7% in 2021, and then rebounded to 80.0% in 2025. Pima County, which is the same geographic region as the Tucson Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), followed a similar pattern, reaching a high of 77.6% in 2016 before falling to 70.7% in 2021. Graduation rates in Tucson subsequently improved to 73.2% in 2025, though they remained below pre-pandemic levels.

How is it measured?

The graduation rate of public high schools is based on the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (ACGR). The four-year cohort graduation rate is the share of students who comprise a ninth-grade class and graduate by the fourth year, including transfers into the class, minus those who transfer out and those who are deceased. For example, those entering ninth grade in the 2008-2009 school year comprise the cohort measured by the 2012 data. State-level graduation rate data primarily come from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). For Arizona and Washington, selected years in the trend series are based on data from the Arizona Department of Education Accountability Reports and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Report Card, respectively, to ensure consistency with the most recent state-reported graduation rates. County-level data comes from the Arizona Department of Education. NCES imputes the missing data when calculating national graduation rates by race and ethnicity.