Insee Première · January 2025 · n° 2031

In 2022, 58% of new high school graduates left their employment zone to enter higher education

Few employment zones have no higher education establishment, but post-baccalaureate formations are more concentrated in the major conurbations than the population of high school students. In 2022, among half a million new high school graduates living in France, 58% left the employment zone they were living in when preparing baccalaureate exam to enrol in the formation they accepted, and 17% changed region because of this mismatch.

New high school graduates were more mobile when they came from an employment zone with few formations, were from a socially advantaged background, passed a general baccalaureate, or achieved a very-good mention. They were also more likely to move to join the most spatially concentrated formations, such as engineering and business schools. These mobility factors were reflected both in the wishes confirmed on Parcoursup and in the wishes accepted.

Among the mobile new high school graduates, those with the most socially advantaged background, those from private high school, or those joining a business school, an engineering school, or a preparatory class to grandes écoles were also those who moved the farthest from their home at the end of high school.