Ithaca Commons, Collegetown,

The Ithaca Commons in downtown Ithaca are pictured in 2001. Lumosity named Ithaca the smartest city in America.

(Stephen D. Cannerelli | scannerelli@syracuse.com)

Still looking for intelligent life on Earth? Try Ithaca.

Venture Beat reports the small Central New York city has been named the smartest city in America in a new list from Lumosity.

The San Francisco-based company posted a list of rankings Tuesday based on data from 3 million users of its brain-training exercises and games. Cognitive performances of U.S. adults ages 18 to 75 were tallied across nearly 500 geographic areas and given scores for memory, processing speed, flexibility, attention and problem solving.

Scores for core-based statistical areas were then ranked by location, putting Ithaca at No. 1 with an overall score of 105.76. The college town was found to have the smartest population of adults under 35, as well as the highest individual scores for flexibility, problem solving and processing speed.

Not surprisingly, most of the top-performing cities are home to prominent schools. Ithaca boasts Cornell University and Ithaca College; No. 2 is State College, where Penn State is located; and No. 3 Lafayette, Indiana is the city of Purdue University.

"One of the most interesting findings from this analysis is that most of the top metro areas contain major research universities, suggesting that education is an important predictor of cognitive performance," Lumosity data scientist Daniel Sternberg said in a statement. "Neuroscience research has found that those who are engaged in learning and cognitively stimulating activities throughout the lifetime build up a 'cognitive reserve' that helps maintain and improve cognitive performance."

According to a press release, Appleton, Wisconsin scored the highest in memory and attention. In overall scores, Iowa City had the smartest 35-55 year olds, and Columbia, Missouri had the smartest adults over 55.

The second-highest upstate New York cities on the overall list are Albany-Troy-Schenectady and Binghamton, which tied for 80th place with an overall score of 101.63. Rochester isn't far behind at No. 89, followed by Oneonta at No. 91.

Syracuse is No. 124 with a score of 101.13, but strangely enough last year Lumosity named the home of Syracuse University as the No. 20 "brainiest" city in the United States. And the Salt City's not the only one getting dumber: Rochester was ranked 13th overall in 2012.

Elmira, N.Y. barely cracked triple digits with a score of 100.8 for the No. 158 spot. Meanwhile, No. 259 Auburn, No. 268 Utica-Rome and No. 272 Watertown-Fort Drum all scored under 100 on Lumosity's list.

The bottom 10, with scores between 96.07 and 94.25, include El Paso, Texas (No. 470) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida (No. 474).

Lumosity's 2013 Overall Score Rankings for Core-Based Statistical Areas:

1. Ithaca, N.Y.

2. State College, Penn.

3. Lafayette-West Lafayette, Ind.

4. Iowa City, Iowa

5. Ames, Iowa

6. Ann Arbor, Mich.

7. Bloomington, Ind.

8. Madison, Wisc.

9. Lawrence, Kan.

10. Pullman, Wash.

....

80. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.

81. Binghamton, N.Y.

89. Rochester, N.Y.

91. Oneonta, N.Y.

124. Syracuse, N.Y.

158. Elmira, N.Y.

259. Auburn, N.Y.

268. Utica-Rome, N.Y.

272. Watertown-Fort Drum, N.Y.

» See the complete list of overall score rankings at Lumosity (PDF)