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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
High School graduation rates by county
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Why This Indicator Matters
Students who graduate from high school have higher wages, lower unemployment and are less likely to need public assistance than those who do not graduate. Education Pays
What the data shows
The 2025 (89.0%) state-level graduation rates is the highest level in 10 years and potentially even longer since the earliest year tracked is 2014.
In 2025, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Sagadahoc, Waldo, and York counties had rates above 90%. In 2025, no counties had rates below 80%. Androscoggin had the lowest rate at 81%, followed by Somerset at 83%. Comparing 2024 and 2025, three counties improved their graduation rates by more than 3 percentage points. The largest gains were made in Aroostook, 85% to 89%, Oxford, 85%-89%, and Waldo, 85%% to 91%. One county saw a decrease in their graduation rate by 3 percent and that was Piscataquis 91% to 88%.
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What the data shows
The 2025 (89.0%) state-level graduation rates is the highest level in 10 years and potentially even longer since the earliest year tracked is 2014.
In 2025, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Sagadahoc, Waldo, and York counties had rates above 90%. In 2025, no counties had rates below 80%. Androscoggin had the lowest rate at 81%, followed by Somerset at 83%. Comparing 2024 and 2025, three counties improved their graduation rates by more than 3 percentage points. The largest gains were made in Aroostook, 85% to 89%, Oxford, 85%-89%, and Waldo, 85%% to 91%. One county saw a decrease in their graduation rate by 3 percent and that was Piscataquis 91% to 88%.
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The number and percent of youth by county who graduate in 4 years from public schools and 60% publicly funded private schools. The numerator is the number of students graduating in the state in 4 years and the denominator includes the cohort of ninth grade students 4 years prior plus all transfers in and all transfers out.
Data Source
Special data request to the Maine Department of Education for high school graduation aggregated by county.
Source for national comparisons, KIDS COUNT 2020-2021 Not graduating on time
Source for national comparisons, KIDS COUNT 2020-2021 Not graduating on time
Notes
The year refers to the year of graduation, so 2025 is the 2024-2025 school year. In this series, the calculation is at the student level rather than the school level. This makes it "weighted". For example, suppose a county had 3 schools, one with 300 ninth graders and two small schools with 20 ninth graders each. If 70% of the students graduated at the large school and 95% at the two other schools, the student average would be (300x70%)= 210 graduates plus 19 + 19 graduates, so the "weighted average would be 248/340 = 72.9% for the county.
The data for the series 2009 -2013 is unweighted. This means it averages all the individual school graduation rates in a county, rather than taking all the ninth graders in the county and how many of that cohort graduated 4 years later. In the above example, the graduation rates of the three schools would be averaged (70% +95% +95%)/3 = 86.6%. 86.6% would be the unweighted average.
The data for the series 2009 -2013 is unweighted. This means it averages all the individual school graduation rates in a county, rather than taking all the ninth graders in the county and how many of that cohort graduated 4 years later. In the above example, the graduation rates of the three schools would be averaged (70% +95% +95%)/3 = 86.6%. 86.6% would be the unweighted average.
Last Updated
November 2025