Queenie Wong

Statesman Journal

Salem is one of the least-educated cities, ranking significantly lower than Portland and Eugene, according to a study released Tuesday by Wallet Hub.

The social media company looked at education data in the 150 largest U.S. metro areas.

Overall, Salem ranked 108th in a list of the most educated cities. Portland and Eugene ranked 24th and 32nd, respectively.

Rankings were based on nine factors, which included the percentage of adults at least 25 years old who obtained a certain college degree, the number of doctors per capita and those with jobs in computer, engineering and science.

The study also looked at the quality of the public school system and universities.

When it came to the quality of education, Salem ranked high at 31, which was better than Portland and Eugene.

But the city received low marks for the percentage of adults at least 25 years old who had a high school diploma or college degree and those with computer, engineering and science jobs.

Salem ranked 125th for its level of education, bringing the overall ranking down.

"As far as public schools, Salem is doing well," said Jill Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Wallet Hub. "It seems like people in the public school system may not stay in Salem. Maybe they move to Portland or another city."

The findings didn't come as a surprise to Chad Freeman, president of the Strategic Economic Development Corp. in Salem.

Portland and Eugene are both cities that are home to larger universities compared to Salem, where government, a medical center and food processing plant are among the major employers.

Education could also play a role in whether a business wants to locate to a certain city, although Freeman noted Salem is centrally located to other metropolitan areas.

"There's a pretty significant percentage of folks who commute in to Salem and out of Salem for work. We have the luxury of being close to other workforces," he said.

The study also found that the more educated a city was, the higher the annual median household income, which helps boost the local economy.

"We found that metro areas that really invested in their education system and increased their amount of well-educated workers ultimately had stronger cities not only in brainpower but in the economic sense as well," Gonzalez said.

The most educated cities are Ann Arbor, Michigan followed by Raleigh, North Carolina; Durham, North Carolina; Provo, Utah; and Manchester, New Hampshire.

The least educated cities are Beaumont, Texas followed by Salinas, California; Rockford, Illinois; Brownsville, Texas; and Modesto, California.

Data for the rankings came from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, GreatSchools.org and U.S. News & World Report.

qwong@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6694 or follow at Twitter.com/QWongSJ.