The number of students graduating after four years of high school, expressed as a percentage of their cohort. A cohort is a class of ninth-graders beginning high school in the same academic year.
High school graduation is the culmination of a successful K-12 education and the gateway to college or employment. Students who do not graduate face the prospect of unemployment or low-paying jobs.
About 89% of the 2021 cohort graduated in Essex County in 2025, on par to the state rate. This was a 9 percentage-point increase from 2010 for the county and a gain of 7 points for the state. Fifteen districts or schools in the county had graduation rates of 95% or higher and two reported graduating 100% of students -Essex Agriculture Technical and Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical.
The lowest graduation rates were in Lynn (76%) and Lawrence (82%). Lawrence, however, had the largest gain since 2010, with a 36-point increase. There were also large increases at Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical (up 22 points to 100%) and Haverhill (up 21 points to 87%).
Essex County's rate was slightly lower than Westchester, NY (91%) and Middlesex, MA (92%) in 2025, a 6 and 4 percentage-point increase since 2010 respectively. No data was immediately available for Lake, IL.
Students are included in the cohort based on the year they entered Grade 9. Students are transferred in or out of cohorts if they transfer schools. Students who earn a GED or Certificate of Attainment are not counted as graduates.
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 80% | 82% | 84% | 84% | 86% | 87% | 87% | 87% | 86% | 87% | 88% | 90% | 90% | 88% | 89% | 89% |
| Middlesex County, MA | 87% | 88% | 89% | 89% | 90% | 91% | 92% | 92% | 91% | 92% | 92% | 93% | 93% | 91% | 91% | 92% |
| Westchester County, NY | 85% | 86% | 87% | 85% | 87% | 88% | 89% | 90% | 88% | 90% | 90% | 91% | 92% | 91% | 91% | 91% |
| Massachusetts | 82% | 83% | 85% | 85% | 86% | 87% | 88% | 88% | 88% | 88% | 89% | 90% | 90% | 89% | 88% | 89% |
| School Districts in Essex | ||||||||||||||||
| Amesbury | 82% | 83% | 84% | 87% | 89% | 89% | 91% | 88% | 83% | 88% | 88% | 90% | 90% | 88% | 89% | 82% |
| Amesbury Academy Charter Public | 71% | 65% | 55% | 76% | 50% | 79% | ||||||||||
| Andover | 95% | 95% | 96% | 95% | 95% | 95% | 94% | 96% | 94% | 97% | 95% | 98% | 92% | 96% | 96% | 98% |
| Beverly | 86% | 86% | 81% | 89% | 91% | 92% | 90% | 88% | 88% | 91% | 91% | 92% | 90% | 93% | 91% | 89% |
| Danvers | 89% | 89% | 90% | 89% | 93% | 93% | 94% | 94% | 92% | 91% | 96% | 95% | 92% | 94% | 92% | 92% |
| Essex Agricultural Technical | 94% | 97% | 97% | 97% | 99% | 99% | 98% | 97% | 99% | 97% | 100% | 98% | 99% | 98% | 99% | 100% |
| Georgetown | 95% | 90% | 92% | 96% | 94% | 97% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 99% | 96% | 97% | 95% | 95% | 95% | 94% |
| Gloucester | 87% | 86% | 86% | 83% | 90% | 92% | 87% | 89% | 86% | 86% | 84% | 81% | 86% | 83% | 87% | 85% |
| Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical | 77% | 82% | 87% | 89% | 93% | 94% | 96% | 93% | 94% | 96% | 96% | 98% | 98% | 100% | 98% | 100% |
| Hamilton-Wenham | 94% | 96% | 97% | 95% | 97% | 96% | 98% | 99% | 93% | 94% | 97% | 97% | 96% | 93% | 94% | 97% |
| Haverhill | 66% | 67% | 70% | 73% | 75% | 73% | 74% | 80% | 81% | 81% | 80% | 81% | 82% | 79% | 79% | 87% |
| Ipswich | 96% | 94% | 95% | 90% | 95% | 94% | 94% | 95% | 94% | 93% | 91% | 94% | 91% | 94% | 94% | 95% |
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter | 89% | 88% | 88% | 88% | 90% | 98% | 98% | 95% | 96% | 97% | 98% | |||||
| Lawrence | 47% | 52% | 61% | 61% | 67% | 72% | 71% | 72% | 72% | 71% | 73% | 79% | 82% | 73% | 74% | 82% |
| Lynn | 69% | 69% | 74% | 76% | 76% | 75% | 75% | 74% | 74% | 75% | 79% | 84% | 83% | 78% | 82% | 76% |
| Lynnfield | 97% | 97% | 98% | 99% | 95% | 99% | 99% | 97% | 97% | 97% | 98% | 99% | 97% | 97% | 99% | 98% |
| Manchester Essex Regional | 95% | 96% | 93% | 88% | 97% | 96% | 97% | 97% | 96% | 98% | 99% | 94% | 98% | 98% | 98% | 97% |
| Marblehead | 90% | 97% | 96% | 95% | 97% | 97% | 96% | 97% | 97% | 96% | 95% | 95% | 98% | 97% | 96% | 98% |
| Masconomet | 96% | 99% | 97% | 97% | 99% | 96% | 97% | 98% | 95% | 96% | 96% | 95% | 97% | 95% | 97% | 97% |
| Methuen | 79% | 81% | 79% | 82% | 86% | 87% | 87% | 86% | 89% | 88% | 93% | 91% | 91% | 90% | 87% | 91% |
| Newburyport | 90% | 94% | 94% | 94% | 96% | 96% | 96% | 94% | 95% | 93% | 95% | 93% | 97% | 96% | 99% | 97% |
| North Andover | 96% | 94% | 93% | 94% | 95% | 94% | 94% | 96% | 96% | 97% | 97% | 97% | 98% | 97% | 98% | 97% |
| North Shore Regional Vocational Technical | 97% | 97% | 97% | 98% | 99% | |||||||||||
| Peabody | 78% | 81% | 83% | 81% | 88% | 87% | 87% | 86% | 83% | 86% | 88% | 85% | 84% | 83% | 82% | 84% |
| Pentucket | 89% | 91% | 93% | 91% | 93% | 95% | 91% | 95% | 95% | 93% | 95% | 96% | 97% | 95% | 90% | 98% |
| Rockport | 88% | 90% | 91% | 89% | 96% | 92% | 94% | 94% | 96% | 98% | 95% | 93% | 94% | 94% | 96% | 91% |
| Salem | 79% | 81% | 78% | 86% | 85% | 89% | 83% | 82% | 82% | 81% | 74% | 79% | 76% | 81% | 82% | 86% |
| Salem Academy Charter | 93% | 87% | 96% | 88% | 89% | 94% | 87% | 92% | 86% | 96% | 82% | 98% | 97% | 96% | 100% | 96% |
| Saugus | 81% | 79% | 85% | 84% | 82% | 87% | 86% | 89% | 84% | 84% | 88% | 85% | 87% | 87% | 86% | 84% |
| Swampscott | 94% | 96% | 96% | 94% | 98% | 94% | 94% | 95% | 94% | 95% | 96% | 93% | 99% | 92% | 92% | 94% |
| Triton | 88% | 85% | 90% | 89% | 86% | 88% | 90% | 87% | 91% | 94% | 90% | 89% | 87% | 91% | 94% | 93% |
| Whittier Regional Vocational Technical | 96% | 98% | 98% | 98% | 99% | 97% | 99% | 99% | 97% | 98% | 99% | 99% | 98% | 99% | 98% | 99% |
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 7,342 | 7,243 | 7,223 | 7,390 | 7,641 | 7,597 | 7,752 | 7,849 | 7,759 | 7,779 | 7,893 | 8,013 | 8,085 | 7,800 | 7,735 | 8,324 |
| Middlesex County, MA | 14,649 | 14,722 | 14,682 | 14,963 | 15,068 | 15,141 | 15,540 | 15,488 | 15,655 | 15,837 | 15,919 | 15,755 | 15,821 | 15,263 | 15,319 | 16,232 |
| Westchester County, NY | 9,437 | 9,728 | 9,566 | 9,698 | 9,790 | 9,768 | 9,993 | 9,997 | 10,144 | 10,005 | 10,302 | 10,261 | 10,381 | 9,960 | 10,057 | 10,409 |
| Massachusetts | 62,649 | 61,972 | 62,240 | 63,356 | 62,998 | 63,270 | 64,789 | 64,679 | 65,609 | 66,059 | 66,066 | 66,655 | 66,585 | 64,761 | 64,570 | 68,238 |
| School Districts in Essex | ||||||||||||||||
| Amesbury | 146 | 141 | 130 | 132 | 144 | 128 | 159 | 154 | 133 | 133 | 145 | 145 | 122 | 106 | 111 | 110 |
| Amesbury Academy Charter Public | 12 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 11 | ||||||||||
| Andover | 430 | 434 | 421 | 457 | 427 | 418 | 428 | 457 | 407 | 437 | 420 | 449 | 379 | 411 | 411 | 407 |
| Beverly | 312 | 262 | 269 | 295 | 302 | 312 | 324 | 306 | 317 | 266 | 282 | 294 | 325 | 305 | 278 | 277 |
| Danvers | 245 | 235 | 216 | 241 | 233 | 266 | 248 | 254 | 224 | 231 | 227 | 231 | 191 | 193 | 210 | 180 |
| Essex Agricultural Technical | 87 | 109 | 109 | 111 | 107 | 229 | 230 | 248 | 320 | 321 | 332 | 343 | 371 | 392 | 385 | 417 |
| Georgetown | 108 | 91 | 117 | 95 | 105 | 92 | 99 | 89 | 107 | 99 | 107 | 89 | 92 | 77 | 72 | 62 |
| Gloucester | 250 | 259 | 211 | 221 | 222 | 217 | 208 | 181 | 201 | 200 | 159 | 150 | 193 | 176 | 205 | 171 |
| Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical | 226 | 211 | 241 | 268 | 279 | 294 | 305 | 307 | 305 | 348 | 354 | 370 | 378 | 401 | 398 | 422 |
| Hamilton-Wenham | 165 | 162 | 178 | 164 | 174 | 161 | 161 | 155 | 131 | 144 | 139 | 140 | 127 | 124 | 116 | 110 |
| Haverhill | 348 | 325 | 332 | 353 | 363 | 340 | 370 | 420 | 372 | 365 | 395 | 423 | 369 | 377 | 419 | 476 |
| Ipswich | 144 | 151 | 163 | 146 | 162 | 147 | 126 | 155 | 115 | 116 | 129 | 133 | 130 | 119 | 127 | 115 |
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter | 70 | 68 | 84 | 97 | 103 | 107 | 117 | 113 | 106 | 117 | 123 | |||||
| Lawrence | 462 | 473 | 530 | 614 | 690 | 653 | 656 | 676 | 728 | 653 | 716 | 703 | 730 | 668 | 622 | 825 |
| Lynn | 767 | 753 | 810 | 821 | 824 | 706 | 861 | 828 | 919 | 901 | 991 | 1,008 | 1,183 | 1,007 | 1,040 | 1,297 |
| Lynnfield | 165 | 174 | 149 | 162 | 145 | 150 | 163 | 152 | 156 | 164 | 155 | 166 | 138 | 133 | 150 | 138 |
| Manchester Essex Regional | 101 | 109 | 112 | 107 | 113 | 112 | 112 | 109 | 96 | 100 | 110 | 124 | 124 | 123 | 89 | 113 |
| Marblehead | 227 | 252 | 231 | 206 | 248 | 234 | 253 | 273 | 239 | 257 | 250 | 246 | 243 | 223 | 210 | 242 |
| Masconomet | 359 | 335 | 326 | 303 | 341 | 317 | 355 | 330 | 291 | 264 | 279 | 274 | 279 | 269 | 249 | 216 |
| Methuen | 419 | 386 | 369 | 366 | 399 | 406 | 425 | 394 | 440 | 479 | 451 | 445 | 487 | 454 | 435 | 492 |
| Newburyport | 161 | 177 | 160 | 180 | 156 | 189 | 173 | 204 | 189 | 178 | 176 | 198 | 172 | 208 | 204 | 198 |
| North Andover | 335 | 296 | 312 | 299 | 332 | 365 | 322 | 315 | 367 | 392 | 324 | 368 | 353 | 301 | 337 | 335 |
| North Shore Regional Vocational Technical | 97 | 106 | 94 | 115 | 102 | |||||||||||
| Peabody | 378 | 407 | 391 | 387 | 417 | 414 | 388 | 388 | 353 | 324 | 329 | 318 | 323 | 339 | 317 | 334 |
| Pentucket | 168 | 209 | 175 | 181 | 180 | 196 | 171 | 179 | 179 | 148 | 178 | 189 | 180 | 156 | 136 | 151 |
| Rockport | 80 | 73 | 67 | 69 | 69 | 80 | 75 | 78 | 66 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 58 | 60 | 66 | 42 |
| Salem | 276 | 265 | 230 | 274 | 258 | 280 | 226 | 213 | 216 | 223 | 204 | 226 | 189 | 200 | 204 | 221 |
| Salem Academy Charter | 14 | 27 | 25 | 21 | 31 | 32 | 41 | 36 | 37 | 47 | 62 | 58 | 63 | 64 | 62 | 65 |
| Saugus | 178 | 177 | 160 | 157 | 148 | 162 | 165 | 189 | 131 | 159 | 157 | 156 | 164 | 169 | 169 | 175 |
| Swampscott | 203 | 155 | 179 | 199 | 195 | 147 | 158 | 181 | 156 | 166 | 156 | 176 | 191 | 149 | 152 | 158 |
| Triton | 219 | 184 | 185 | 158 | 175 | 176 | 165 | 160 | 167 | 165 | 170 | 145 | 132 | 169 | 133 | 145 |
| Whittier Regional Vocational Technical | 261 | 294 | 320 | 271 | 296 | 291 | 314 | 334 | 300 | 314 | 314 | 266 | 286 | 319 | 311 | 307 |
