$7.2B
Expected graduation gift spending in 2026
U.S. consumers are expected to spend $7.2 billion on gifts for high school and college graduates in 2026.
Source: National Retail Federation, 2026Graduation Reference
Average graduation gift cost and statistics for 2026.
The average person expects to spend $116.84 on a graduation gift in 2026, and cash remains the most common choice. Explore the current U.S. figures on spending, popular gifts, and the scale of the milestone. Updated November 9, 2026.
Browse the statisticsAt a Glance
The numbers behind a meaningful milestone.
These figures are collected from the latest available national sources. Each statistic links directly to its original publication.
$116.84
Expected per-person graduation gift spending
The National Retail Federation's 2026 survey puts expected graduation gift spending at $116.84 per person.
Source: National Retail Federation, 202639%
Adults planning to buy a graduation gift
Thirty-nine percent of surveyed U.S. adults said they planned to purchase a graduation gift in 2026.
Source: National Retail Federation, 202650%
Gift buyers planning to give cash
Cash is the most common graduation gift in the 2026 survey, with 50% of gift buyers planning to give it.
Source: National Retail Federation, 202638%
Gift buyers planning to give a greeting card
Greeting cards remain part of the celebration for 38% of graduation gift buyers in the 2026 survey.
Source: National Retail Federation, 20263.74M
U.S. high school graduates in 2022‑23
The latest available count shows 3,737,370 U.S. high school graduates in the 2022-23 school year, including public and private schools.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 20233.74M
Projected U.S. high school graduates in 2026-27
The National Center for Education Statistics projects 3,743,910 U.S. high school graduates for the 2026-27 school year.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 202387%
U.S. public high school graduation rate
The latest national public high school graduation rate was 87% for the 2021-22 school year.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2024Methodology and Sources
How these statistics were selected.
The spending and gift-choice figures come from the National Retail Federation’s 2026 graduation survey of 7,914 U.S. adults, fielded April 30 through May 6, 2026. The graduation-rate figure comes from the National Center for Education Statistics and covers the 2021-22 school year, the latest figure published for that measure. The graduate-count figures use the Center’s 2023 Digest table, which reports the latest available 2022-23 actual count and its projection for 2026-27.
National Retail Federation graduation data center
National Center for Education Statistics, public high school graduation rates
National Center for Education Statistics, high school graduate counts and projections
Cite this page
AlohaKitashima. “Graduation Gift Statistics (2026).” Accessed November 9, 2026. https://alohakitashima.com/graduation-gift-statistics.
For the Celebration
Make a practical gift feel personal.
Cash can be useful. A handmade money lei turns it into a graduation-day keepsake they can wear, enjoy in photos, and remember.