The short answer
A child can start kindergarten in the fall if they turn 5 on or before their state’s cutoff date. The most common cutoff is September 1 — used by 19 of the 51 jurisdictions (50 states plus DC) in the Education Commission of the States’ 2026 comparison. Cutoffs run from July 31 (Hawaii, Nebraska) to before January 1 (Vermont). Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania leave the date to districts, and Ohio uses the first day of school.Every state answers the same question — how old must a child be to start kindergarten? — with a date. Turn 5 on or before that date and kindergarten starts that fall; turn 5 the day after and it starts a year later. The lookup above turns each state’s rule into exact birth-date windows.
How to read a cutoff date
A cutoff such as “must turn 5 on or before September 1” means a child born on September 1, 2021 can start kindergarten in fall 2026, while one born on September 2, 2021 starts in fall 2027.
Worked example for fall 2027 in California (on or before September 1): the latest eligible birth date is September 1, 2022 — the cutoff minus five years. The earliest is the day after the previous year’s limit, September 2, 2021. So children born September 2, 2021 through September 1, 2022 start kindergarten in fall 2027.
Watch the wording. “Before September 1” (Arizona, New Mexico, West Virginia) moves the last eligible birthday to August 31. For Vermont, “before January 1” means the child only needs to turn 5 by December 31 of the fall they start — the latest cutoff in the country.
Cutoffs at a glance
Grouped by effective last eligible birthday, from the 2026 ECS data:
| Effective last birthday | Jurisdictions | Count |
|---|---|---|
| July 31 | Hawaii, Nebraska, plus Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota (“before Aug. 1”) | 5 |
| August 1 | Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada, Wyoming | 4 |
| August 15 | Tennessee | 1 |
| August 31 | Delaware, Kansas, North Carolina, Washington, plus Arizona, New Mexico, West Virginia (“before Sept. 1”) | 7 |
| September 1 | 19 states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan and Texas | 19 |
| September 2–15 | Utah (Sept. 2), Montana (Sept. 10), Iowa (Sept. 15) | 3 |
| September 30 | District of Columbia, Louisiana, Virginia | 3 |
| October 1–15 | Colorado, New Jersey (Oct. 1), Maine (Oct. 15) | 3 |
| December 31 | Vermont (“before Jan. 1”) | 1 |
| Set locally / first day of school | Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania; Ohio | 5 |
That is 51 jurisdictions in all. More than half of them have a last eligible birthday between August 31 and September 1.
Full table: all 50 states and DC
| State | Cutoff | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Alaska | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Arizona | Before September 1 | Must turn 5 before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Arkansas | On or before August 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 1 | ECS |
| California | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Colorado | On or before October 1 | Age 5 on or prior to October 1 | ECS |
| Connecticut | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Delaware | On or before August 31 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 31 | ECS |
| District of Columbia | On or before September 30 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 30 | ECS |
| Florida | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Georgia | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Hawaii | On or before July 31 | Must turn 5 on or before July 31 | ECS |
| Idaho | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Illinois | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Indiana | On or before August 1 | Age 5 on or prior to August 1 | ECS |
| Iowa | On or before September 15 | Age 5 on or prior to September 15 | ECS |
| Kansas | On or before August 31 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 31 | ECS |
| Kentucky | Before August 1 | Must turn 5 before Aug. 1 | ECS |
| Louisiana | On or before September 30 | Age 5 on or prior to September 30 | ECS |
| Maine | On or before October 15 | Age 5 on or prior to October 15 | ECS |
| Maryland | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Massachusetts | Local option | Each district may establish its own minimum permissible age for school attendance. | ECS |
| Michigan | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Minnesota | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Mississippi | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Missouri | Before August 1 | Must turn 5 before Aug. 1 | ECS |
| Montana | On or before September 10 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 10 | ECS |
| Nebraska | On or before July 31 | Must turn 5 on or before July 31 | ECS |
| Nevada | On or before August 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 1 | ECS |
| New Hampshire | Local option | Not specified in statute or regulation. | ECS |
| New Jersey | On or before October 1 | Age 5 on or prior to October 1 | ECS |
| New Mexico | Before September 1 | Must turn 5 before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| New York | Local option | Age set by the school district. | ECS |
| North Carolina | On or before August 31 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 31 | ECS |
| North Dakota | Before August 1 | Must turn 5 before Aug. 1 | ECS |
| Ohio | First day of school | Age 5 by the first day of school. | ECS |
| Oklahoma | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Oregon | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Pennsylvania | Local option | Districts may set their own entry age as long as it is more than 4 years old prior to the first day of school. | ECS |
| Rhode Island | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| South Carolina | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| South Dakota | On or before September 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Tennessee | On or before August 15 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 15 | ECS |
| Texas | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Utah | On or before September 2 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 2 | ECS |
| Vermont | Before January 1 | Age 5 before January 1. | ECS |
| Virginia | On or before September 30 | Must turn 5 on or before Sept. 30 | ECS |
| Washington | On or before August 31 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 31 | ECS |
| West Virginia | Before September 1 | Must turn 5 before Sept. 1 | ECS |
| Wisconsin | On or before September 1 | Age 5 on or prior to September 1 | ECS |
| Wyoming | On or before August 1 | Must turn 5 on or before Aug. 1 | ECS |
How old will my child be on the first day of kindergarten?
The kindergarten cutoff age is 5 in every state with a set date, but the cutoff date decides how old the youngest and oldest children in a class actually are. The table measures age on September 1 of the school year, computed from each rule’s birth-date window.
Age range of a kindergarten class on September 1, by cutoff rule (computed from the 2026 ECS dates)
| Cutoff rule | Example states | Youngest child on Sept. 1 | Oldest child on Sept. 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| On or before July 31 | Hawaii, Nebraska | 5 years, 1 month | 6 years, 1 month |
| Before September 1 (Aug. 31) | Arizona, New Mexico, West Virginia | 5 years, 0 months (1 day) | 6 years, 0 months |
| On or before September 1 | California, Texas, Florida | exactly 5 years | 5 years, 11 months |
| On or before October 1 | Colorado, New Jersey | 4 years, 11 months | 5 years, 10 months |
| Before January 1 | Vermont | 4 years, 8 months | 5 years, 8 months |
Worked example for a September 1 state such as California, fall 2027: the youngest eligible child was born September 1, 2022 and turns 5 that day. The oldest was born September 2, 2021 and is one day short of 6. A child born on September 2, 2022 misses the window by one day and starts in fall 2028.
Two practical points follow. A family moving from Vermont to Hawaii could find that a child who was old enough in one state is a year too young in the other. And a child near the line ends up either the youngest or the oldest in the class for every grade after that, which the what grade am I in calculator shows year by year. Once school starts, the 10-minute homework rule by grade gives a sense of what each grade expects at home.
Why the cutoff matters beyond kindergarten
The cutoff sets a child’s grade for the rest of school. Because students move up one grade a year, a September 2 birthday in a September 1 state makes a child one of the oldest in the class all the way to graduation, and an August 31 birthday makes them one of the youngest. That is why the same birthday can mean different grades in different states — and why families who move sometimes find their child is a year “ahead” or “behind” on paper.
To see the expected grade for any birth date and school year, use the What grade am I in? calculator. It applies the same table and handles local-option states by showing the possible range.
Related tools
- What grade am I in? — expected grade from birth date and state.
- Homework time calculator — the 10-minute rule for each grade.
- Backpack weight calculator — is the new school bag too heavy?
- Days until summer — a countdown to the last day of school.
Frequently asked questions
What is the kindergarten cutoff date in most states?
What is the kindergarten cutoff date in my state?
How old do you have to be to start kindergarten?
What is the September 1 kindergarten cutoff?
What is the difference between “on or before” and “before”?
Which state has the latest kindergarten cutoff?
My state says “local option.” What does that mean?
Can a child start kindergarten early if they miss the cutoff?
Sources & method
- Education Commission of the States, 50-State Comparison: State K-3 Policies, published September 15, 2026. Rules for some states are concise paraphrases of the ECS entry with the date kept.
- Ohio is shown with ECS’s wording (“Age 5 by the first day of school”) and was not cross-checked against Ohio statute.
- Birth-date windows: computed. Latest eligible birth date = cutoff date minus five years (minus one more day where the rule says “before”). January cutoffs apply to the January after school starts.
Formulas checked October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us via the about page.