73.2 million: The number of U.S. residents enrolled in schools — from nursery schools to colleges. About 1-in-4 residents age 3 and over is a student.
53.4 million: The number of students projected to be enrolled in the nation’s elementary and high schools (grades K-12) this fall. That number exceeds the total in 1969 (51.6 million) when the last of the “baby boom” children expanded school enrollments.
10: Percentage of all students who are enrolled in private elementary or private high schools.
26: Percentage of high school students ages 15 to 17 who are holding down a full- or part-time job.
8.2 million: Number of students 25 and over enrolled in college. Students 25 and over account for about half of all college students.
56: Percentage of college students who are women. Women have held the majority status in college enrollment since 1979.
98: Percentage of public schools with Internet access.
6.5 million: The number of practicing teachers in the United States — from prekindergarten to college.
$53,300: Average annual salary paid to public school teachers in New Jersey — highest of any state in the nation. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest — $30,300. The national average was $43,300.
$4.4 million: The estimated lifetime earnings of professional (i.e., medical, law, dentistry and veterinary medicine) degree-holders. This compares with $3.4 million for those with Ph.D.s, $2.5 million for master’s degree-holders, $2.1 million for those with bachelor’s degrees, $1.2 million for high school graduates and $1.0 million for high school dropouts.
84: Percentage of the nation’s adults 25 and over with at least a high school diploma.
27: Percentage of the nation’s adults 25 and over who have at least a bachelor’s degree.
40: Percentage of children ages 12 to 17 who have changed schools at some time in their educational careers. For children ages 6 to 11, the corresponding rate is 23 percent. This does not include the normal progression and graduation from elementary and middle schools.
U.S. Bureau of the Census