State Regents: Oklahoma College Graduate Retention Rates Decline to 76.5%

Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities are handing out diplomas to a student body that is increasingly packing its bags for other states soon after graduation, according to new data highlighting a persistent talent drain across the local economy.

Just 76.5% of graduates across all fields and degree levels stayed in the Oklahoma workforce one year after completing their studies, citing the 2025 Employment Outcomes Report released Monday by the state Regents for Higher Education.

That retention figure marks a sharp drop from previous years. State data shows that 83% of graduates remained in the local workforce in 2024, down from 87% in 2023.

Long-Term Retention Dips Across Five and Ten-Year Horizons

The drift away from Oklahoma deepens the further alumni get from their commencement ceremonies. Five years out from graduation, only 70.8% of the 2025 cohort remained employed within the state. That metric follows the same downward trajectory seen in prior reports for 2024 and 2023. By the ten-year mark, retention shrinks further to 65.8%.

Roots matter significantly when it comes to who stays. Students who called Oklahoma home before enrolling at a state institution are far more likely to put down permanent professional roots locally. The regents’ data indicates that 87.5% of in-state residents who graduated from local programs remained in Oklahoma a year later. That figure declines over time, dropping to 81% after five years and 75% after a decade.

State higher education leaders emphasize the broader economic stakes tied to these numbers. “This report demonstrates the lasting impact of public higher education on Oklahoma’s future,” state regents’ chair Courtney Warmington said in a statement.

“When graduates of our state system colleges and universities choose to build their lives and careers here, they strengthen our labor force and boost our economy, which secures a brighter future for generations of Oklahomans to come.” Courtney Warmington

Tracking Critical Workforce Sectors

Beyond general degree paths, the state regents monitor retention rates within specific fields deemed critical to economic growth by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. These tracked sectors include science, technology, engineering, and math, alongside teaching and nursing programs.

For STEM fields, spanning everything from associate degrees to doctorates, roughly 73% of graduates stayed in Oklahoma one year post-graduation. That retention rate falls to 63.6% at the five-year mark and drops below sixty percent to 59.6% after ten years.

Education and healthcare show stronger staying power among critical occupations. Among those who completed a bachelor’s degree in teaching, 85% stayed in Oklahoma classrooms or related roles a year later, with 77.3% remaining in the state after five years. Nursing programs recorded the highest retention rates of any critical sector in the dataset. Eighty-nine percent of nursing graduates secured in-state employment one year after graduation, followed by 81% at five years and 76% at ten years.

Strong retention rates among critical workforce fields “indicate that our institutions are preparing students for career success while helping meet our state’s most pressing employment needs,” Oklahoma Higher Education Chancellor Sean Burrage said.

The figures compiled in the report stem from ongoing tracking by the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education, offering a detailed look at how degree holders find employment after attending public institutions across the state.