Regular readers of this page know that we typically assign letter grades to our rankings, from the apex of an A+ to the depths of an F. It's almost like handing out a report card, which made us wonder: Which is the best-educated city of the bunch? Answer: Madison, Wisconsin, where the average household has more degrees than a thermometer.

To evaluate the erudition of 100 cities, we tabulated the Department of Education's high-school graduation rates, along with U.S. Census figures on school enrollment (kindergarten through grad school) and education levels of people over 25 (less than high school, associate's or bachelor's degree, graduate or professional degree). We also tapped SimplyMap to find out how many households have student loans or take adult-education courses.

Most educated

1. Madison, WI A+

2. Plano, TX A+

3. Raleigh, NC A

4. Burlington, VT A

5. Seattle, WA A-

6. San Diego, CA A-

7. Honolulu, HI A-

8. Fargo, ND A-

9. Portland, ME A-

10. Lincoln, NE B+

11. Boise, ID B+

12. Columbia, SC B+

13. Colorado Springs, CO B+

14. St. Paul, MN B+

15. Minneapolis, MN B+

16. Lexington, KY B+

17. Pittsburgh, PA B

18. Virginia Beach, VA B

19. San Jose, CA B

20. San Francisco, CA B

21. Boston, MA B

22. Salt Lake City, UT B

23. Greensboro, NC B

24. Durham, NC B

25. Atlanta, GA B

26. Omaha, NE B-

27. Portland, OR B-

28. Charlotte, NC B-

29. Columbus, OH B-

30. Anchorage, AK B-

31. Austin, TX C+

32. Chesapeake, VA B-

33. Little Rock, AR B-

34. Washington, DC C+

35. Jersey City, NJ C+

36. Oakland, CA C+

37. Sioux Falls, SD C

38. Charleston, WV C

39. Winston-Salem, NC C

40. Albuquerque, NM C+

41. Nashville, TN C

42. Sacramento, CA C

43. Billings, MT C

44. Tulsa, OK C-

45. Lubbock, TX C-

46. Cheyenne, WY C-

47. Kansas City, MO C-

48. Cincinnati, OH C-

49. Manchester, NH C-

50. Denver, CO C-

51. Tampa, FL C-

52. Baton Rouge, LA C-

53. Orlando, FL C-

54. New York, NY C-

55. Chicago, IL C-

56. Fort Wayne, IN C-

57. Wichita, KS C-

58. Buffalo, NY D+

59. Providence, RI D+

60. New Orleans, LA D+

61. St. Petersburg, FL D+

62. Riverside, CA D+

63. Des Moines, IA D+

64. Tucson, AZ D+

65. Reno, NV D+

66. Richmond, VA D+

67. Los Angeles, CA D

68. Wilmington, DE D

69. Jacksonville, FL D

70. Aurora, CO D

71. Louisville, KY D

72. Jackson, MS D

73. Oklahoma City, OK D

74. Milwaukee, WI D-

75. Indianapolis, IN D-

76. San Antonio, TX D-

77. El Paso, TX D-

78. Birmingham, AL D-

79. St. Louis, MO D-

80. Phoenix, AZ D-

81. Bakersfield, CA D-

82. Houston, TX D-

83. Bridgeport, CT D-

84. Baltimore, MD D-

85. Corpus Christi, TX D-

86. Dallas, TX F

87. Fort Worth, TX F

88. Memphis, TN F

89. Philadelphia, PA F

90. Santa Ana, CA F

Least learned

91. Toledo, OH F

92. Newark, NJ F

93. Norfolk, VA F

94. Laredo, TX F

95. Fresno, CA F

96. Detroit, MI F

97. Stockton, CA F

98. Las Vegas, NV F

99. Cleveland, OH F

100. Miami, FL F

Understand Your Planet

It's a small world, but maybe not small enough: Only 20 percent of high school seniors have a solid grasp of global geography, according to a new Department of Education report. "If people were more geographically literate, they would better understand political issues," says William Gaudelli, Ed.D., an associate professor of social studies and education at Columbia University. Ask your rep in Congress to back a bill called the Teaching Geography Is Fundamental Act to help fund geography training for schoolteachers.

Cash Course

Put your mouth where the money is: A recent Canadian study found that bilingual men earn 3.8 percent more than guys who speak only English. "Bilingualism may signal that you are well rounded and have good verbal skills," says Albert Saiz, Ph.D., a professor at the Wharton School. No time to take a language class? Educate yourself with an app like Hello-Hello.

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