Most & Least Educated Cities in America

wallethub.com/edu/e/most-and-least-educated-cities/6656

By Adam McCannJuly 18, 2022

Cities want to attract highly educated workers to fuel their economic growth and tax revenues. Higher levels of education tend to lead to higher salaries. Plus, the more that graduates earn, the more tax dollars they contribute over time, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In turn, educated people want to live somewhere where they will get a good return on their educational investment. People also tend to marry others of the same educational level, which means that cities that already have a large educated population may be more attractive to people with degrees.

Not all highly educated people will flock to the same areas, though. Some may prefer to have many people with similar education levels around them for socializing and career connections. Others may want to be a big fish in a little pond. Not every city will provide the same quality of life to those with higher education, either. In addition, the most educated cities could shift in the near future because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it had on schooling. During the pandemic, standardized test scores experienced sizeable drops, and score gaps between low-poverty and high-poverty districts increased.

To determine where the most educated Americans are putting their degrees to work, WalletHub compared the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, across 11 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the share of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher to the quality of the public-school system to the gender education gap.

Main Findings

City	Rank
Ann Arbor, MI	1
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	2
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	3
Madison, WI	4
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA	5
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	6
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	7
Raleigh-Cary, NC	8
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	9
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX	10
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	11
Provo-Orem, UT	12
Colorado Springs, CO	13
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	14
Trenton-Princeton, NJ	15
Portland-South Portland, ME	16
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	17
Tallahassee, FL	18
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	19
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	20
Huntsville, AL	21
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	22
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	23
Lexington-Fayette, KY	24
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	25
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA	26
Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT	27
Asheville, NC	28
Urban Honolulu, HI	29
Lansing-East Lansing, MI	30
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	31
Eugene-Springfield, OR	32
Pittsburgh, PA	33
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	34
Salt Lake City, UT	35
Richmond, VA	36
Manchester-Nashua, NH	37
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	38
Rochester, NY	39
Kansas City, MO-KS	40
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA	41
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC	42
New Haven-Milford, CT	43
Tucson, AZ	44
St. Louis, MO-IL	45
Columbus, OH	46
Albuquerque, NM	47
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	48
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	49
Boise City, ID	50
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA	51
Worcester, MA-CT	52
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	53
Charleston-North Charleston, SC	54
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA	55
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	56
Anchorage, AK	57
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY	58
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	59
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	60
Syracuse, NY	61
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	62
Reno, NV	63
Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI	64
Naples-Marco Island, FL	65
Columbia, SC	66
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN	67
Springfield, MA	68
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL	69
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	70
Dayton-Kettering, OH	71
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	72
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	73
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	74
Jacksonville, FL	75
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL	76
Akron, OH	77
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	78
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL	79
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR	80
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	81
Birmingham-Hoover, AL	82
Savannah, GA	83
Oklahoma City, OK	84
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	85
Cleveland-Elyria, OH	86
Ogden-Clearfield, UT	87
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	88
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	89
Knoxville, TN	90
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA	91
Jackson, MS	92
Wichita, KS	93
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN	94
Greenville-Anderson, SC	95
Springfield, MO	96
Peoria, IL	97
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	98
Montgomery, AL	99
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ	100
Greensboro-High Point, NC	101
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL	102
Toledo, OH	103
Memphis, TN-MS-AR	104
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	105
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL	106
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC	107
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL	108
Fort Wayne, IN	109
Tulsa, OK	110
Winston-Salem, NC	111
Chattanooga, TN-GA	112
Baton Rouge, LA	113
Fayetteville, NC	114
Salisbury, MD-DE	115
Salem, OR	116
Port St. Lucie, FL	117
Killeen-Temple, TX	118
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC	119
Vallejo, CA	120
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL	121
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	122
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS	123
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA	124
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA	125
Lancaster, PA	126
Flint, MI	127
Canton-Massillon, OH	128
York-Hanover, PA	129
Reading, PA	130
Rockford, IL	131
Mobile, AL	132
Lafayette, LA	133
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA	134
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH	135
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	136
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL	137
El Paso, TX	138
Fresno, CA	139
Salinas, CA	140
Corpus Christi, TX	141
Ocala, FL	142
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	143
Stockton, CA	144
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	145
Modesto, CA	146
Bakersfield, CA	147
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX	148
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX	149
Visalia, CA	150

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, GreatSchools.org, Education Cities.org, Yelp and WalletHub research.