About 3.3% of U.S. adults hold a doctoral or professional degree, which translates to roughly 8.5 million people. If you narrow the count to adults 25 and older (excluding those still likely in school), the figure rises slightly to 3.7%. That number includes research doctorates like PhDs alongside professional doctorates such as M.D., J.D., and Ed.D. degrees. The share holding a research PhD specifically is smaller still.
What Counts as a Doctoral Degree
The 3.3% figure combines two distinct categories that often get lumped together. Research doctorates, primarily PhDs, require an original dissertation and are concentrated in academic and scientific fields. Professional doctorates prepare people for specific careers: medical doctors (M.D.), lawyers (J.D.), dentists (D.D.S.), and similar practitioners. When federal education surveys report doctoral attainment, they typically bundle both types.
The Survey of Earned Doctorates, an annual census run by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, counted 58,131 new research doctorates awarded by U.S. institutions in 2024. Of those, 98.5% were PhDs. That annual production number gives a sense of scale: fewer than 60,000 people per year join the ranks of research doctorate holders in the entire country.
How the U.S. Compares Globally
Among younger adults (ages 25 to 34), about 2% of Americans held a doctoral degree as their highest credential as of 2022. The average across OECD countries for the same age group was 1%. So the U.S. produces doctoral degree holders at roughly double the rate of peer nations, though that gap partly reflects the American practice of classifying law and medical degrees as doctorates.
Who Is Earning Doctorates
U.S. institutions conferred about 178,500 doctoral degrees (including both research and professional doctorates) in the 2021-22 academic year. Women earned a clear majority: 105,782 degrees compared to 72,764 for men. That gender split has shifted significantly over the past few decades, with women now receiving roughly 59% of all doctoral degrees.
The racial and ethnic breakdown of degrees conferred to U.S. citizens and permanent residents shows persistent gaps. White recipients accounted for 63.1% of doctoral degrees, Asian recipients 12.6%, Black recipients 10.4%, Hispanic recipients 9.9%, multiracial recipients 3.5%, American Indian or Alaska Native recipients 0.4%, and Pacific Islander recipients 0.2%. Black women earned doctorates at a notably higher rate than Black men (11.9% of female doctoral degrees versus 8.0% of male doctoral degrees), a pattern that stands out from most other demographic groups.
Most Popular Fields for Research Doctorates
Engineering produced the most research doctorate recipients in 2023, with 11,403 degrees awarded. Biological and biomedical sciences followed at 9,575. The full ranking by field gives a clear picture of where doctoral training is concentrated:
- Engineering: 11,403
- Biological and biomedical sciences: 9,575
- Physical sciences: 5,460
- Social sciences: 5,199
- Education: 4,562
- Humanities and arts: 4,453
- Psychology: 3,899
- Computer and information sciences: 2,687
- Health sciences: 2,435
- Mathematics and statistics: 2,167
- Business: 1,560
- Agricultural sciences: 1,477
- Geosciences and atmospheric sciences: 1,231
STEM fields dominate the top of the list. Engineering and biological sciences alone account for more than a third of all research doctorates. Humanities and arts, once a larger share, now represent a relatively small slice of annual doctoral output.
What These Numbers Mean in Practice
Holding a PhD places you in a very small segment of the population. Even using the broadest definition that includes professional doctorates, fewer than 4 in 100 American adults have reached this level of education. With a research PhD specifically, the percentage is closer to 2% or less of the adult population.
The rarity varies dramatically by setting. In a university department or research lab, PhDs are the norm. In the general workforce, they are uncommon. About 70% of Americans over 25 hold no degree beyond a high school diploma or some college credit, which puts the doctoral share in perspective. A bachelor’s degree already puts you ahead of roughly two-thirds of the adult population; a PhD puts you in the top few percent.