The Southern region is set to produce the largest number of high school graduates in the US over the next 15 years, according to the latest enrollment projections from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).

Although the overall number of high school graduates in the US is predicted to decrease, Southern states (highlighted in yellow in the figure below) will see a significant increase in their number of public and private high school graduates. Specifically, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma will experience the largest growth.

In fact, 45 percent of the nation’s high school graduates will hail from this region by 2025. In addition, due to a 43 percent projected increase in the number of Hispanic students, the South will surpass the Western region as the top producer of Hispanic high school graduates.

Read more about regional projections in WICHE’s report Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates or explore graduation trends by state.

Tara Nicola is a NACAC research associate. She can be reached at tnicola@nacacnet.org.