Adam McCann, Financial Writer

Jul 20, 2020

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 depending on how well cities deal with the current COVID-19 crisis and its impact on schooling.

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. Read on for our findings, expert insight from a panel of researchers and a full description of our methodology.

Main Findings

Most Educated Cities

Overall Rank

(1 = Most Educated) MSA Total Score ‘Educational Attainment’ Rank ‘Quality of Education & Attainment Gap’ Rank 1 Ann Arbor, MI 94.23 1 1 2 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 81.90 3 4 3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 81.70 2 32 4 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 79.72 7 6 5 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 79.48 5 21 6 Madison, WI 78.48 4 72 7 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 76.29 6 97 8 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 73.76 10 16 9 Austin-Round Rock, TX 72.94 16 3 10 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 71.91 8 146 11 Colorado Springs, CO 71.22 14 22 12 Raleigh, NC 70.96 9 136 13 Provo-Orem, UT 70.77 15 42 14 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 69.45 11 76 15 Trenton, NJ 69.20 13 98 16 Portland-South Portland, ME 69.02 17 36 17 Tallahassee, FL 68.97 21 8 18 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 67.96 19 52 19 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 67.41 12 112 20 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 67.15 26 2 21 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 65.14 20 114 22 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 65.06 18 122 23 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 64.74 23 57 24 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 64.20 22 113 25 Lexington-Fayette, KY 64.07 25 25 26 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 63.19 30 19 27 Huntsville, AL 63.08 24 69 28 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 62.16 29 44 29 Urban Honolulu, HI 61.31 46 9 30 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 60.99 31 49 31 Santa Rosa, CA 59.99 39 46 32 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 59.91 35 71 33 Kansas City, MO-KS 59.77 28 115 34 Eugene, OR 59.58 56 11 35 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 59.48 33 88 36 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 59.43 49 20 37 Asheville, NC 59.37 41 61 38 Richmond, VA 59.16 38 68 39 Pittsburgh, PA 59.00 44 51 40 Salt Lake City, UT 58.99 43 56 41 Rochester, NY 58.56 32 118 42 St. Louis, MO-IL 58.42 36 121 43 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 58.20 52 37 44 Columbus, OH 58.10 40 110 45 New Haven-Milford, CT 58.00 37 125 46 Manchester-Nashua, NH 57.98 27 147 47 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 57.96 34 129 48 Anchorage, AK 57.79 42 90 49 Albuquerque, NM 57.75 53 40 50 Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 57.68 55 38 51 Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 57.21 54 58 52 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 56.82 47 109 53 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 56.61 62 29 54 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 56.49 61 34 55 Boise City, ID 56.45 67 18 56 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 56.12 45 137 57 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 56.12 60 67 58 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 55.74 48 124 59 Worcester, MA-CT 55.71 50 106 60 Reno, NV 55.26 75 17 61 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 54.78 78 14 62 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 54.71 81 12 63 Tucson, AZ 54.26 51 134 64 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 54.24 64 74 65 Syracuse, NY 53.98 58 132 66 Columbia, SC 53.55 65 94 67 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 53.45 57 144 68 Dayton, OH 53.44 69 85 69 Springfield, MA 53.05 73 73 70 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 52.99 63 107 71 Akron, OH 52.94 72 84 72 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 52.76 76 55 73 Jacksonville, FL 52.45 80 62 74 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 52.44 74 87 75 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 52.41 79 64 76 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 51.94 93 10 77 Savannah, GA 51.93 68 123 78 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 51.85 70 127 79 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 51.82 59 150 80 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 51.50 82 77 81 Oklahoma City, OK 51.43 86 45 82 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 51.35 66 140 83 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 51.04 100 5 84 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 50.77 71 139 85 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 50.41 83 102 86 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 50.36 90 48 87 Peoria, IL 49.89 85 91 88 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 49.83 91 63 89 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 49.82 94 33 90 Wichita, KS 49.62 77 131 91 Jackson, MS 49.40 84 128 92 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 49.22 98 24 93 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 48.96 87 101 94 Springfield, MO 48.93 95 54 95 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 48.67 88 108 96 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 48.64 89 111 97 Greensboro-High Point, NC 48.62 103 23 98 Toledo, OH 48.23 92 89 99 Knoxville, TN 48.05 97 50 100 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 47.66 108 27 101 Fayetteville, NC 47.65 104 39 102 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 47.10 99 78 103 Montgomery, AL 46.62 101 93 104 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 46.59 102 83 105 Fort Wayne, IN 46.49 106 66 106 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 46.04 113 28 107 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 45.83 107 80 108 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 45.69 114 26 109 Tulsa, OK 44.88 110 86 110 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 44.75 105 116 111 Killeen-Temple, TX 43.82 111 103 112 Baton Rouge, LA 43.54 115 79 113 Winston-Salem, NC 43.50 119 41 114 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 42.70 96 149 115 Salem, OR 42.17 121 60 116 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 42.16 109 142 117 Chattanooga, TN-GA 42.13 116 96 118 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 41.99 117 105 119 Salisbury, MD-DE 41.74 112 141 120 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 41.03 127 30 121 Canton-Massillon, OH 40.94 124 43 122 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 40.67 120 117 123 Flint, MI 39.75 123 120 124 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, PA 39.20 122 135 125 Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 39.02 125 100 126 York-Hanover, PA 38.95 129 53 127 Port St. Lucie, FL 38.68 118 145 128 Lancaster, PA 38.30 128 75 129 Rockford, IL 37.84 126 126 130 Mobile, AL 37.60 132 35 131 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 36.92 130 99 132 Reading, PA 36.20 131 92 133 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 35.98 133 65 134 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 34.34 134 70 135 El Paso, TX 33.57 139 15 136 Lafayette, LA 33.43 140 13 137 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 32.26 135 81 138 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 31.62 138 59 139 Corpus Christi, TX 31.09 137 104 140 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 28.84 141 82 141 Fresno, CA 28.79 144 31 142 Salinas, CA 27.49 142 119 143 Ocala, FL 27.18 136 148 144 Stockton-Lodi, CA 25.42 145 95 145 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 25.00 143 143 146 Modesto, CA 21.68 146 130 147 Bakersfield, CA 16.42 147 133 148 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 13.83 150 7 149 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 11.40 149 47 150 Visalia-Porterville, CA 10.74 148 138

Note: For readability purposes, the above chart displays only 50 metro areas from a total sample of 150.

Ask the Experts

Research shows that a skilled and educated workforce provides a significant boost to the economy. For strategies aimed at increasing a city’s brainpower and the best approaches to educational development, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

Should local authorities target policies and programs to attract highly educated people? If so, what works? Are highly educated cities better able to withstand economic shocks? In your opinion, what is the most important step we can take as a country to develop a more educated and skilled workforce? What steps can local governments take to ensure that learning remains uninterrupted during the current COVID-19 pandemic? What measures can be taken to mitigate the short- and long-term impact of school closures? How can the U.S. reform its immigration policy in order to attract and retain highly educated workers from abroad?

Methodology

To identify the most and least educated cities in America, WalletHub compared the 150 most populated U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, across two key dimensions, including “Educational Attainment” and “Quality of Education & Attainment Gap.”

We evaluated those dimensions using 11 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest educational attainment and quality of education. For metrics marked with two asterisks (**), we used the square root of the population to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across cities.

Finally, we determined each metro area’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Educational Attainment - Total Points: 80

Share of Adults Aged 25 Years & Older with a High School Diploma or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)

Share of Adults Aged 25 Years & Older with at Least Some College Experience or an Associate's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)

Share of Adults Aged 25 Years & Older with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)

Share of Adults Aged 25 Years & Older with a Graduate or Professional Degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)

Quality of Education & Attainment Gap - Total Points: 20

Quality of Public School System: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)

Note: This metric is based on GreatSchools.org’s ratings of U.S. public schools. Average Quality of Universities: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)

Note: This metric is based on WalletHub “ College & University ” rankings Report. Enrolled Students in Top 1,003 Universities per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

Note: This metric is based on WalletHub “ College & University ” rankings Report. Number of Summer Learning Opportunities per Capita**: Full Weight (~2.22 Points) Racial Education Gap*: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

Note: This metric specifically measures the difference between the percentage of black bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their white counterparts. Gender Education Gap*: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

Note: This metric specifically measures the difference between the percentage of female bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their male counterparts. Education Equality Index Score: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

Note: The Education Equality Index (EEI) is a comparative measure of the achievement gap between students from low-income families, as measured by participation in the free and reduced price lunch program, and their more advantaged peers. 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.



*Additional context: 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.

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

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