Largest MSAs by Percentage of Adults With a Bachelor Degree or Higher, 2019 (better, comparison)
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I could be off base here, but aren't a large percentage of Providence metro residents college students who don't yet have their degree? I know Boston has a lot of students too but it's a much larger metro so I'm thinking proportionally Providence has a lot more?
Providence’s MSA has 1.6mil and Boston’s has 3x as many at 4.8mil. I believe that metro Boston has at least 3x as many undergrads as metro Providence.
Quick math:
Providence’s biggest schools are URI (14k undergrads), Providence College (4.4k undergrads), Brown (6.8k undergrads), UMass Dartmouth (6.8k undergrads), RISD (2k undergrads), Bryant (3.5k undergrads), Roger Williams (4.4k undergrads), Salve Regina (2k undergrads). Total of 43.9k.
Boston’s biggest schools are UNH (12.2k undergrads), UMass Lowell (14.2k undergrads), UMass Boston (12.6k undergrads), Boston University (16.9k undergrads), Northeastern (14.7k undergrads), Boston College (9.4k undergrads), Wentworth (4.6k undergrads), Harvard (6.8k undergrads), MIT (4.5k undergrads), Bentley (4.2k undergrads), Tufts (5.8k undergrads), Babson (2.4k undergrads), Suffolk (5.3k undergrads), Simmons (2k undergrads), Berklee (5.3k undergrads), Emerson (3.9k undergrads), Wellesley (2.5k undergrads). I believe that brings us to 131k, so 3x Providence’s MSA.
If I missed any big ones, feel free to let me know.
Edit: Northeastern should be 14.7k. I think MCPHS makes up the difference with 4.3k undergrads in Boston.
Keep in mind, Raleigh MSA is separate from Durham (Duke) - Chapel Hill (UNC) MSA. The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Metro is not represented here.
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.
Overall Rank
(1 = Most Educated) MSA Total Score ‘Educational Attainment’ Rank ‘Quality of Education & Attainment Gap’ Rank
Ann Arbor, MI 94.23 1 1
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 81.70 2 32
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 81.90 3 4
Madison, WI 78.48 4 72
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 79.48 5 21
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 76.29 6 97
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 79.72 7 6
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 71.91 8 146
Raleigh, NC 70.96 9 136
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 73.76 10 16
The Providence metro just has no jobs and is very full of Portuguese and other Lusophone people who often times don’t go to higher education. Many of the newer immigrants are from countries that are underresperesented in academia as well. Places like Laos Cambodia Liberia Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
It’s significantly poorer and less well educated than the Boston MSA. Rhode Island schools are only middling. Providence doesn’t have the same private sector might as Boston. So while Lrovidence the city itself is decent and attractive enough culturally it has a very weak jobs base. That why the Providence and Hartford MSA duke it out for #2 in me. The southern suburbs of Boston’sare already less well educated and less expensive than the northern and western ones. The further towards Providence you go the more this holds true.
It has a townie based government rooted in cronyism. And an unfavorable tax structure for the wealthy. Blight, neglect and financial mismanagement prevail in northern Providence County (Woonsocket Central Falls Providence Pawtucket). New Bedford and Fall River only make things worse. All the money is in the old money scary towards the south and many of them aren’t actively employed and it’s the opposite of a bustling growing region.
That’s why housing there is like 40% of what it is in Boston.
Interesting - yeah, I don’t know much about Providence except that it has several high-profile colleges so that’s where my guess came from. Clearly that is not the reason, though.
US Cities by Percentage of Adults with a Bachelor Degree or Higher, 2019(40%+)
84.6% Palo Alto, CA
81.1% Newton, MA
79.7% Cambridge, MA
78.8% Boulder, CO
77.5% Sammamish, WA
76.5% Berkeley, CA
76.1% Ann Arbor, MI
75.4% Carmel, IN
75.0% Alpharetta, GA
74.9% Arlington, VA
73.7% Evanston, IL
73.3% Redmond, WA
71.9% Mountain View, CA
71.7% San Ramon, CA
71.2% Bellevue, WA
71.1% Ellicott City, MD
70.5% Sandy Springs, GA
69.6% Johns Creek, GA
69.5% Irvine, CA
69.1% Naperville, IL
68.4% Cary, NC
66.7% Auburn, AL
66.4% Davis, CA
66.4% Pleasanton, CA
66.1% Mount Pleasant, SC
65.9% Alexandria, VA
65.4% Sunnyvale, CA
65.3% Walnut Creek, CA
65.1% Highlands Ranch, CO
65.0% Seatttle, WA
64.6% Franklin, TN
64.3% Redondo Beach, CA
64.3% Santa Monica, CA
64.3% Troy, MI
63.6% Somerville, MA
63.3% Columbia, MD
64.2% Fishers, IN
63.9% Newport Beach, CA
62.7% KIrkland, WA
62.7% Weston, FL
62.5% Rockville, MD
62.4% Woodbury, MN
62.3% College Station, TX
62.1% Iowa City, IA
62.0% Farmington Hills, MI
62.0% Plymouth, MN
61.7% Santa Clara, CA
61.4% Overland Park, KS
61.3% Roswell, GA
61.1% Carlsbad, CA
61.1% Flower Mound, TX
60.9% Ames, IA
60.1% The Woodlands, TX
60.0% Centreville, VA
59.7% Washington, DC
59.2% San Francisco, CA
58.3% Fremont, CA
58.3% Sugar Land, TX
58.1% Madison, WI
58.0% Gaithersburg, MD
57.7% Noblesville, IN
57.6% Arlington Heights, IL
57.5% Fort Collins, CO
57.4% Portland, ME
57.3% Plano, TX
57.2% Alameda, CA
57.1% San Mateo, CA
57.0% Bloomington, IN
56.9% Broomfield, CO
56.9% Centennial, CO
56.9% Hoover, AL
56.9% Rochester Hills, MI
56.8% Pasadena, CA
56.6% San Clemente, CA
56.5% Atlanta, GA
56.4% Charleston, SC
56.1% Boca Raton, FL
55.3% Milpitas, CA
55.1% Laguna Niguel, CA
55.0% Allen, TX
55.0% Austin, TX
54.9% Santa Cruz, CA
54.8% Maple Grove, MN
54.8% Thousand Oaks, CA
54.6% Richardson, TX
54.1% Redwood City, CA
54.1% Schaumburg, IL
53.9% Germantown, MD
53.8% West Des Moines, IA
53.5% Ankeny, IA
53.5% Columbia, MO
53.4% Silver Spring, MD
53.2% Torrance, CA
53.1% Denver, CO
53.1% Folsom, CA
52.4% Yorba Linda, CA
52.2% Minneapolis, MN
53.3% Stamford, CT
53.0% Redlands, CA
52.9% Greenville, SC
52.8% Jersey City, NJ
52.8% Portland, OR
52.4% Chino Hills, CA
51.7% Boston, MA
51.7% Lawrence, KS
51.6% Champaign, IL
51.6% Santa Barbara, CA
51.4% Edmond, OK
51.3% Lakeville, MN
51.1% Doral, FL
51.1% Durham, NC
50.9% Lake Forest, CA
50.3% Jupiter, FL
50.3% Lee's Summit, MO
50.3% Raleigh, NC
49.9% Rochester, MN
49.8% Mission Viejo, CA
49.8% Palatine, IL
49.6% Longmont, CO
49.4% Cedar Park, TX
49.3% Rocklin, CA
49.1% Bloomington, IL
48.9% Asheville, NC
48.9% Oakland, CA
48.8% Missoula, MT
48.6% Fayetteville, AR
48.5% Olathe, KS
48.4% Framingham, MA
48.3% Athens-Clarke County, GA
48.2% Eagan, MN
48.1% Tallahassee, FL
48.1% Union City, CA
47.9% McKinney, TX
47.7% Castle Rock, CO
47.4% San Diego, CA
47.2% Salt Lake City, UT
47.0% Livermore, CA
47.0% Pittsburgh, PA
46.9% Norman, OK
46.7% Lehi, UT
46.7% Mansfield, TX
46.7% Wesley Chapel, FL
46.5% League City, TX
46.3% Bellingham, WA
46.3% Norwalk, CT
46.3% The Hammocks, FL
46.1% Gainesville, FL
46.0% Bend, OR
46.0% Camarillo, CA
45.9% Columbia, SC
45.8% Leander, TX
45.8% Quincy, MA
45.5% Beaverton, OR
45.4% Burbank, CA
45.3% Miami Beach, FL
45.3% Provo, UT
45.2% Nashville, TN
45.0% Lexington, KY
45.0% San Jose, CA
44.9% Charlotte, NC
44.9% Lakewood, CO
44.9% Skokie, IL
44.8% Arvada, CO
44.7% Huntsville, AL
44.6% Shawnee, KS
44.5% Sandy, UT
44.5% South Jordan, UT
44.4% Georgetown, TX
44.1% Kendall, FL
44.0% Fullerton, CA
43.9% Albany, NY
43.6% Roseville, CA
43.6% St Paul, MN
43.2% Missouri City, TX
43.0% Tustin, CA
42.7% Denton, TX
42.7% Little Rock, AR
42.6% Eugene, OR
42.2% Boise, ID
42.1% Bloomington, MN
42.0% Atascocita, TX
41.9% Wilmington, NC
41.5% Orem, UT
41.3% Chicago, IL
41.3% South San Francisco, CA
41.3% Westminster, CO
41.0% Huntington Beach, CA
41.0% New Rochelle, NY
41.0% Tampa, FL
41.0% The Villages, FL
41.0% Wellington, FL
40.9% Hillsboro, OR
40.9% Orlando, FL
40.8% Carrollton, TX
40.8% Chico, CA
40.8% Concord, NC
40.8% Irving, TX
40.6% Cincinnati, OH
40.5% Glendale, CA
40.4% Lincoln, NE
40.3% Colorado Springs, CO
40.2% Frederick, MD
40.1% O'Fallon, MO
40.1% St Charles, MO
40.0% South Fulton, GA
Large US City Propers by Percentage of Adults with a Bachelor Degree or Higher, 2019(40%+)
65.0% Seatttle, WA
59.7% Washington, DC
59.2% San Francisco, CA
56.5% Atlanta, GA
55.0% Austin, TX
53.1% Denver, CO
52.2% Minneapolis, MN
52.8% Jersey City, NJ
52.8% Portland, OR
51.7% Boston, MA
50.3% Raleigh, NC
48.9% Oakland, CA
47.4% San Diego, CA
47.2% Salt Lake City, UT
47.0% Pittsburgh, PA
45.2% Nashville, TN
45.0% San Jose, CA
44.9% Charlotte, NC
43.6% St Paul, MN
41.3% Chicago, IL
41.0% Tampa, FL
40.9% Orlando, FL
40.6% Cincinnati, OH
Kinda surprised cities like NY, Phoenix, LA, Philly, Dallas, or St. Louis have less than 40% of their city proper populations with a college degree.
US Cities by Percentage of Adults with a Bachelor Degree or Higher, 2019(40%+)
84.6% Palo Alto, CA
81.1% Newton, MA
79.7% Cambridge, MA
78.8% Boulder, CO
77.5% Sammamish, WA
76.5% Berkeley, CA
76.1% Ann Arbor, MI
75.4% Carmel, IN
75.0% Alpharetta, GA
74.9% Arlington, VA
73.7% Evanston, IL
73.3% Redmond, WA
71.9% Mountain View, CA
71.7% San Ramon, CA
71.2% Bellevue, WA
71.1% Ellicott City, MD
70.5% Sandy Springs, GA
69.6% Johns Creek, GA
69.5% Irvine, CA
69.1% Naperville, IL
68.4% Cary, NC
66.7% Auburn, AL
66.4% Davis, CA
66.4% Pleasanton, CA
66.1% Mount Pleasant, SC
65.9% Alexandria, VA
65.4% Sunnyvale, CA
65.3% Walnut Creek, CA
65.1% Highlands Ranch, CO
65.0% Seatttle, WA
64.6% Franklin, TN
64.3% Redondo Beach, CA
64.3% Santa Monica, CA
64.3% Troy, MI
63.6% Somerville, MA
63.3% Columbia, MD
64.2% Fishers, IN
63.9% Newport Beach, CA
62.7% KIrkland, WA
62.7% Weston, FL
62.5% Rockville, MD
62.4% Woodbury, MN
62.3% College Station, TX
62.1% Iowa City, IA
62.0% Farmington Hills, MI
62.0% Plymouth, MN
61.7% Santa Clara, CA
61.4% Overland Park, KS
61.3% Roswell, GA
61.1% Carlsbad, CA
61.1% Flower Mound, TX
60.9% Ames, IA
60.1% The Woodlands, TX
60.0% Centreville, VA
59.7% Washington, DC
59.2% San Francisco, CA
58.3% Fremont, CA
58.3% Sugar Land, TX
58.1% Madison, WI
58.0% Gaithersburg, MD
57.7% Noblesville, IN
57.6% Arlington Heights, IL
57.5% Fort Collins, CO
57.4% Portland, ME
57.3% Plano, TX
57.2% Alameda, CA
57.1% San Mateo, CA
57.0% Bloomington, IN
56.9% Broomfield, CO
56.9% Centennial, CO
56.9% Hoover, AL
56.9% Rochester Hills, MI
56.8% Pasadena, CA
56.6% San Clemente, CA
56.5% Atlanta, GA
56.4% Charleston, SC
56.1% Boca Raton, FL
55.3% Milpitas, CA
55.1% Laguna Niguel, CA
55.0% Allen, TX
55.0% Austin, TX
54.9% Santa Cruz, CA
54.8% Maple Grove, MN
54.8% Thousand Oaks, CA
54.6% Richardson, TX
54.1% Redwood City, CA
54.1% Schaumburg, IL
53.9% Germantown, MD
53.8% West Des Moines, IA
53.5% Ankeny, IA
53.5% Columbia, MO
53.4% Silver Spring, MD
53.2% Torrance, CA
53.1% Denver, CO
53.1% Folsom, CA
52.4% Yorba Linda, CA
52.2% Minneapolis, MN
53.3% Stamford, CT
53.0% Redlands, CA
52.9% Greenville, SC
52.8% Jersey City, NJ
52.8% Portland, OR
52.4% Chino Hills, CA 51.7% Boston, MA
51.7% Lawrence, KS
51.6% Champaign, IL
51.6% Santa Barbara, CA
51.4% Edmond, OK
51.3% Lakeville, MN
51.1% Doral, FL
51.1% Durham, NC
50.9% Lake Forest, CA
50.3% Jupiter, FL
50.3% Lee's Summit, MO
50.3% Raleigh, NC
49.9% Rochester, MN
49.8% Mission Viejo, CA
49.8% Palatine, IL
49.6% Longmont, CO
49.4% Cedar Park, TX
49.3% Rocklin, CA
49.1% Bloomington, IL
48.9% Asheville, NC
48.9% Oakland, CA
48.8% Missoula, MT
48.6% Fayetteville, AR
48.5% Olathe, KS
48.4% Framingham, MA
48.3% Athens-Clarke County, GA
48.2% Eagan, MN
48.1% Tallahassee, FL
48.1% Union City, CA
47.9% McKinney, TX
47.7% Castle Rock, CO
47.4% San Diego, CA
47.2% Salt Lake City, UT
47.0% Livermore, CA
47.0% Pittsburgh, PA
46.9% Norman, OK
46.7% Lehi, UT
46.7% Mansfield, TX
46.7% Wesley Chapel, FL
46.5% League City, TX
46.3% Bellingham, WA
46.3% Norwalk, CT
46.3% The Hammocks, FL
46.1% Gainesville, FL
46.0% Bend, OR
46.0% Camarillo, CA
45.9% Columbia, SC
45.8% Leander, TX
45.8% Quincy, MA
45.5% Beaverton, OR
45.4% Burbank, CA
45.3% Miami Beach, FL
45.3% Provo, UT
45.2% Nashville, TN
45.0% Lexington, KY
45.0% San Jose, CA
44.9% Charlotte, NC
44.9% Lakewood, CO
44.9% Skokie, IL
44.8% Arvada, CO
44.7% Huntsville, AL
44.6% Shawnee, KS
44.5% Sandy, UT
44.5% South Jordan, UT
44.4% Georgetown, TX
44.1% Kendall, FL
44.0% Fullerton, CA
43.9% Albany, NY
43.6% Roseville, CA
43.6% St Paul, MN
43.2% Missouri City, TX
43.0% Tustin, CA
42.7% Denton, TX
42.7% Little Rock, AR
42.6% Eugene, OR
42.2% Boise, ID
42.1% Bloomington, MN
42.0% Atascocita, TX
41.9% Wilmington, NC
41.5% Orem, UT
41.3% Chicago, IL
41.3% South San Francisco, CA
41.3% Westminster, CO
41.0% Huntington Beach, CA
41.0% New Rochelle, NY
41.0% Tampa, FL
41.0% The Villages, FL
41.0% Wellington, FL
40.9% Hillsboro, OR
40.9% Orlando, FL
40.8% Carrollton, TX
40.8% Chico, CA
40.8% Concord, NC
40.8% Irving, TX
40.6% Cincinnati, OH
40.5% Glendale, CA
40.4% Lincoln, NE
40.3% Colorado Springs, CO
40.2% Frederick, MD
40.1% O'Fallon, MO
40.1% St Charles, MO
40.0% South Fulton, GA
source: data.census.gov
Boston has improved a ton here since 2010 but still embarrassingly low, below Jersey City? Smh. Closer to Orlando than Seattle.
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