Washington, D.C., Dec. 9, 2025 — The United States has 1,850,034 unique credentials offered by more than 134,000 providers, a new report from Credential Engine finds. Released today, Counting Credentials 2025 also found that $2.34 trillion is invested annually into education and workforce development.
Counting Credentials 2025 reveals the most comprehensive picture to date of the U.S. credential landscape, and documents how rapid digitization of the marketplace makes credentials and skills more visible today than ever before. The way learning is validated has experienced a fundamental shift in recent years, with credentials increasingly issued in digital formats rather than paper versions.
“Skills needed in today’s labor market are rapidly changing, and the 1.85 million credentials — and the skills they represent — identified in this report are a competitive advantage for the U.S.,” said Scott Cheney, CEO of Credential Engine. “With increased movement toward digital credentials, there is tremendous opportunity to make people’s skills and capabilities visible and verifiable in ways that can connect talent to opportunity at scale.”
Counting Credentials 2025 identifies seven credential categories that each serve distinctive purposes in learning and skills development: badges, certificates, micro-credentials, certifications, degrees, licenses and secondary school credentials. Badges (1,022,028), certificates (486,352) and degrees (264,099) make up the largest amounts.
Understanding the scale of the credential and skills landscape is the essential first step. The next step is to make these credentials and skills discoverable, comparable, and actionable. Credential Engine is a non-profit on a mission to make all credentials transparent and comparable through the use of open-source data formats, like the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL).
As an open source data standard, CTDL provides a common vocabulary that describes credentials in ways that both humans and machines — including AI systems — can understand. Organizations that issue credentials should do so in an open and structured format to ensure these can be integrated into the systems that learners, workers, and employers use to navigate learning and career pathways.
Research predicts that 39% of a worker’s existing skills will change significantly between now and 2030, making digital credentials increasingly critical for career mobility. “This report shines a light on the vast diversity of ways workers are developing skills, from apprenticeships to digital badges to specialized certifications,” said Nick Schacht, Chief Commercial Officer at SHRM. “When credentials are described in a structured and open data format, employers can compare candidates objectively through the same lens, reducing bias and discovering qualified talent they would have otherwise missed. That’s the foundation of a true skills-first future.”
Complexity becomes navigable when credentials exist as transparent, linked data rather than isolated documents:
- Job seekers can understand which credentials employers value.
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- For example, comparing an IT certification at a community college or other location.
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- Employers can identify candidates with the exact skills they need, regardless of how those skills were developed.
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- For example, locating skilled workers through union apprenticeships, technical colleges or manufacturer-sponsored programs.
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- Educators can design programs that respond to current labor market demands.
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- For example, developing short-term certificates in data analytics when regional employers report skills shortages.
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- Policymakers can identify gaps and opportunities in their regional credential ecosystems.
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- For example, pinpointing where credential deserts exist and directing resources to expand access.
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“Credentials are only powerful as long as the systems that recognize them see and value their worth,” said Barbara Gellman-Danley, CEO of the Higher Learning Commission and Credential Engine Board President. “Digital credentials in particular can open up new opportunities and provide agency for workers and learners on every step of their career journey.”
Counting Credentials 2025 is the fifth edition of Credential Engine’s credential count, produced with generous support from Walmart, the Strada Education Foundation, and Instructure. The full report is available here.
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About Credential Engine: Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to map the credentials, qualifications, and skills landscape with clear information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to discover and pursue the learning and career pathways that are best for them. Credential Engine provides a suite of web-based services that creates for the first time a centralized Credential Registry to house up-to-date information about all credentials, the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) a common description language to enable credential comparability, and a platform to support customized applications to search and retrieve information about credentials.
Contact: Devin Peelman, dpeelman@credentialengine.org