The share of particular age groups attending education is a particularly important socio-economic characteristic, when applied to age groups under 25.

Typically, the ages at which people are likely to attend particular education is as follows:

• 0 to 5 - pre-school
• 5 to 11 - primary school
• 12 to 17 - secondary school
• 18 to 24 - TAFE and university
• 25 or older - mature age students

Significantly lower rates of school attendance among those age groups to which it usually applies can indicate a high school dropout rate, while high rates can indicate the presence of major schools in the area. For tertiary education, this is particularly affected by proximity to universities, and some areas may have close to 100% of their 18-24 year olds in university education, indicating an area catering for students in particular. A low rate may mean a loss of young people who move elsewhere for education.