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San Bernardino County Graduation Rate Approaches State Average 

A high school diploma or college degree unlocks career opportunities often unavailable to those without these achievements. Beyond the personal and financial benefits of increased educational attainment, the education level of residents reflects the quality and diversity of the labor pool – an important factor for businesses looking to locate or expand in the region. Educational attainment is measured by tracking the high school graduation rate and the proportion of residents over the age of 25 with a high school diploma or bachelor’s degree. 

Trend

Between 2014 and 2023, the proportion of San Bernardino County residents 25 years and older who have a high school diploma or higher increased from 79% to 83%. During this same time period, the rate of San Bernardino County residents over the age of 25 who have a bachelor’s degree or higher increased by 4.7 percentage points, from 18.9% in 2014 to 23.6% in 2023. However, this increase is less than that of the state and nation, which saw growth in bachelor’s degrees or higher of 5.8 percentage points and 6.1 percentage points, respectively.  

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY CONTINUES TO IMPROVE
Percentage of Residents Who Have a High School Diploma (or Higher) and Bachelor’s Degree (or Higher) in San Bernardino County, California, and the United States, 2014 and 2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates, 2014 and 2023 (Table DP02) 

San Bernardino County’s high school graduation rate increased from 85.5% in 2022/23 to 86.2% in 2023/24, trailing just behind the statewide average of 86.4% in 2023/24.[1] 

GRADUATION RATE GENERALLY TRENDING UP OVER PAST 10 YEARS
Graduation Rates in San Bernardino County and California, 2016/17 – 2023/24

Note: Graduation Rate data are currently sourced from the California Department of Education’s DataQuest measured using the four-year adjusted cohort graduate rate (ACGR) and includes data on both charter and non-charter schools. This differs slightly from data published by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, which uses data sourced from the California Department of Education’s California School Dashboard, where the Dashboard Graduation Rate methodology includes the blended rate of combined four- and five-year graduation rates for traditional non-charter schools and one-year graduation rate for Dashboard Alternative Schools Status (DASS) non-charter schools. 

Source:  California Department of Education, DataQuest (https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/) 

RACE/ETHNICITY DETAIL

When looking at graduation rates by race and ethnicity, 68% of the students who graduated in 2024 were Latino, 15% were White, and 8% identified as Black, similar to the composition in the total student population of 4-year cohort students in San Bernardino County, as reflected in the chart below.

DISTRIBUTION OF COHORT GRADUATES MIRRORS UNDERLYING STUDENT DISTRIBUTION
Distribution of Graduates and Cohort Students, by Race/Ethnicity in San Bernardino County, 2023/24

Note: To understand the progress of students from different racial or ethnic groups, the chart displays the number of cohort graduates from each racial or ethnic group as a percentage of all cohort graduates, compared to each race or ethnic group’s percentage of the total cohort students. For example, if 100 cohort students graduated, and 7 of the cohort graduates identified as Black, 7% of the cohort graduates identify as Black.  This can be compared to Black student’s share of the total cohort students. For example, if 7% of the cohort graduates identified as Black, and 8% of the total cohort students identify as Black, students who identify as Black are slightly underrepresented among cohort graduates. 

Source: California Department of Education, DataQuest (https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/), 4-Year Cohort Graduates and all 4-Year Cohort Students 

SOCIOECONOMIC DETAIL

Although the graduation rate for socioeconomically disadvantaged students in San Bernardino County increased from 84% in 2022/23 to 85% in 2023/24, it still trails the non-socioeconomically disadvantaged students by 8.8 percentage points, indicating that additional support may be needed to further assist these students. Compared to the state overall, both socioeconomically disadvantaged and non-socioeconomically disadvantaged students had higher graduation rates than their counterparts at the state level.  

 

LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS CORRELATES WITH LOWER GRADUATION RATES
Graduation Rate by Socioeconomic Status in San Bernardino County and California, 2023/24

Source: California Department of Education, DataQuest (https://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/) 

[1] The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate is the number of students who graduate from high school in four years with a regular high school diploma (e.g., does not include a general equivalency diploma or similar or lesser credentials).

1The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate is the number of students who graduate from high school in four years with a regular high school diploma (e.g. does not include a general equivalency diploma or similar or lesser credentials). Due to a higher proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students in San Bernardino County (84% of all students) compared to the state (71% of all students), and because socioeconomically disadvantaged students have a lower graduation rate on average, the overall graduation rate in San Bernardino County is lower than the state’s despite having higher rates for both socioeconomically disadvantaged and not socioeconomically when broken out separately for these populations.