WalletHub, the personal finance website, has just released its ranking of the most and least educated American cities. The ranking, which covers the nation’s 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, relies on 11 key metrics, grouped under two general area - Educational Attainment and Quality of Education & Attainment Gap - to arrive at the final scores. Here are the top and bottom ten; the full list can be found here.
Ten Most Educated Cities
1.Ann Arbor, Michigan
2.San Jose, California
3.Washington, D.C.
4.San Francisco, California
5.Madison, Wisconsin
6.Boston, Massachusetts
7.Durham, North Carolina
8.Seattle, Washington
9.Austin, Texas
10.Provo, Utah
Ten Least Educated Cities.
141.Corpus Christi, Texas
142.Ocala, Florida
143.Salinas, California
144.Stockton, California
145.Hickory, North Carolina
146.Modesto, California
147.Bakersfield, California
148.McAllen, Texas
149.Brownsville, Texas
150.Visalia, California
Methodology WalletHub’s comparison of the 150 most-populated MSAs is based on the following 11 metrics, each graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest educational attainment and quality of education.
Each metro area’s weighted average of the 11 measures yields its overall score, which is then rank-ordered.
Educational Attainment - 80 Points
- Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a High School Diploma or Higher (20.00 Points)
- Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least Some College Experience or an Associate's Degree or Higher (20.00 Points)
- Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher (20.00 Points)
- Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a Graduate or Professional Degree (20.00 Points)
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap - 20 Points
- Quality of Public School System (4.44 Points) This metric is based on GreatSchools ratings of U.S. public schools.
- Average Quality of Universities (4.44 Points) This metric is based on WalletHub “College & University” rankings report.
- Enrolled Students in Top 1,009 Universities per Capita: (2.22 Points) This metric is based on WalletHub “College & University” rankings report.
- Number of Summer Learning Opportunities per Capita (2.22 Points)
- Racial Education Gap (2.22 Points) This is a measure of the difference between the percentage of black bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their white counterparts.
- Gender Education Gap (2.22 Points) This is a measure of the difference between the percentage of female bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their male counterparts.
- Education Equality (2.22 Points) The EEI compares the proportion of students from low-income families who are proficient on a state assessment to all students across the state who took that same grade or subject level assessment.
According to WalletHub, “In metro areas where women have an advantage over men and black people have an advantage over white people, we gave extra credit compared to the metro areas with no gender-based/racial inequality.”
Among several characteristics that these MSAs may share, the most educated cities have one thing in common that sets them apart- each is the home to one or more major research universities, among them some of the nation’s most prestigious. These institutions tend, in turn, to be hubs from which new companies are spun off from the intellectual discoveries made on those campuses, leading to the retention and employment of more people with advanced education.
The cities become stronger magnets for talent, particularly in fields such as engineering, health sciences, technology, financial services, education, communications, and the creative arts. As a result, they offer not only many of the amenities that educated adults expect, they also enjoy robust, stable and diversified economies better able to withstand economic setbacks and downturns.
