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These lists are ridiculous. Chicago is the most educated big city in the U.S. with 41.1% of residents 25 or older having a bachelor's degree or higher. I'll take UChicago, Northwestern, SAIC, UIC, IIT, Loyola, Depaul etc. rather than a trumped up list to elevate small towns and mid-sized cities.
Except it's not...it's usually SF/San Jose (The latter usually ranks higher if the two are separated), DC area, and Boston metro area. DC Area for example has ~51% of 25+ resident with BS or higher, and ~25.5% with MS or higher.
For those wondering methodology, taken directly from their page:
Attainment (80 pts):
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a High School Diploma or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least Some College Experience or an Associate's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a Graduate or Professional Degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap (20 pts):
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 1,015 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.
Being a college town metro area (i.e. Ann Arbor) definitely helps. Tallahassee ranks high on the "Quality of Education & Attainment Gap" part also (#7) while being decent in education attainment (#22) having two large universities (FSU and FAMU)...which boost that "some college" number quite a bit.
This is another Wallet Hub list. This time they are telling us the most educated Cities. For the sake of time, I will only list the top 19. Keep in mind their methodology is number of colleges and universities includes educational attainment, quality of education and attainment gap.
Ann Arbor Mi
San Jose Ca
Washington DC
Madison Wi
San Francisco Ca
Boston Ma
Durham Nc
Raleigh NC
Seattle Wa
Austin Tx
Bridgeport Ct
Provo Ut
Colorado Springs Co
Denver Co
Trenton Nj
Portland ME
Portland Or
Tallahassee Fl
Mineapolis Mn
Honorable mentions include NYC #25, Atlanta #26, Chicago #31, St. Louis #45 and Boise #50.
So for "major" MSAs, The Bay Area, DC, Boston, and Seattle are the shining stars. Other larger MSAs higher on the list include Austin, Denver, and Minneapolis.
Because everywhere has large universities.
It must be large universities plus something.
I'm asking what is that something.
In a college town the center of the universe is education so I can see the need for a higher percentage of educated workforce.
I don't get the feeling of college town in Provo or Tallahassee. If obviously the large colleges and...
Large universities and smaller metros. So they have outsized pull. It's most notable in a place like Ann Arbor which is a single county. But even multi-county Tallahassee MSA only has a little over 300,000 people.
Because everywhere has large universities.
It must be large universities plus something.
I'm asking what is that something.
In a college town the center of the universe is education so I can see the need for a higher percentage of educated workforce.
I don't get the feeling of college town in Provo or Tallahassee. If obviously the large colleges and...
Provo makes sense for several reasons.
1) There really aren't that many poor people there except for BYU students and perhaps some Utah Valley State students.
2) Provo is a decent size city and is to some degree suburban or at least exurban. There are decent job prospects in the area.
3) Provo has grown like a weed and it isn't because poor people are moving there.
Tallahassee has large pockets of poor areas that have been there forever and it isn't part of a larger community of jobs that might require degrees. The idea that there are two Universities there and the state capitol certainly would help a lot but I'm surprised that it can overcome the large part of the population that is impoverished in that area.
They should do another one of these but with college faculty/student excluded.
My guess is some cities like Minneapolis/DC/Denver rely less on schools than places like Boston/Austin.
I know they are there, but I don't see their respective cities as college towns in the way I see Ann Arbor or Madison. I was also thinking if this was by city limits (even though the title says MSAs) wouldn't Cambridge also be high on the list
Then you have clearly never been to Provo. City population of 120,000 with 34,000 college students. And its twin city of Orem, population 90,000, has 41,000 college students and is home to the state's largest university, Utah Valley University.
Madison WI metropolitan area population: 680,000 with 48,000 university enrollment.
Provo UT metropolitan area population: 672,000 with 75,000 university enrollment.
Tallahassee has an even larger concentration of university students.
Metropolitan area population: 386,000, with 45,000 students at FSU and 9,000 at Florida A&M.
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its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,558,075 times
Reputation: 5785
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair
Well, Chicago is the most highly educated among the Top 3, slightly higher than NYC.
Otherwise, it's Seattle.
Largest Cities Proper by Adults With a Bachelor Degree or Higher, 2020:
Seattle 65.0%
Washington DC 59.8%
San Francisco 58.8%
Atlanta 53.4%
Austin 53.4%
Minneapolis 51.8%
Raleigh 51.4%
Boston 51.3%
Portland 51.0%
Denver 50.3%
San Diego 46.7%
Oakland 46.1%
Charlotte 44.8%
San Jose 44.8%
Chicago 41.4%
Nashville 42.8%
Tampa 39.5%
Colorado Springs 39.6%
New York 39.1%
Omaha 38.3%
New Orleans 38.0%
Virginia Beach 37.3%
Kansas City 35.7%
Columbus 36.8%
Los Angeles 35.6%
Dallas 34.7%
Houston 34.3%
Baltimore 32.9%
Long Beach 31.8%
Miami 31.5%
Oklahoma City 31.5%
Tulsa 31.3%
Philadelphia 31.2%
Arlington(TX) 30.9%
Louisville 30.4%
Fort Worth 30.1%
Phoneix 29.4%
Jacksonville 29.3%
Tucson 28.2%
Mesa 28.1%
San Antonio 26.4%
El Paso 25.9%
Las Vegas 25.2%
Milwaukee 24.6%
Fresno 22.9%
Detroit 16.4%
Don't you also have this data or something comparable by county? That too could provide great context here.
Then you have clearly never been to Provo. City population of 120,000 with 34,000 college students. And its twin city of Orem, population 90,000, has 41,000 college students and is home to the state's largest university, Utah Valley University.
Madison WI metropolitan area population: 680,000 with 48,000 university enrollment.
Provo UT metropolitan area population: 672,000 with 75,000 university enrollment.
Tallahassee has an even larger concentration of university students.
Metropolitan area population: 386,000, with 45,000 students at FSU and 9,000 at Florida A&M.
Student population should not be included in determining which metro is more educated.
Shouldn't they only be counting individuals with degrees?
If so, not everyone enrolled are going to eventually get a degree and once they get the degree who says they are going to stay?
Might want to make sure things make sense before typing condescending things like you clearly haven't this or that.
I posted from the start about College towns. I get how it works. Large colleges come with supporting staff, but let's not get ahead of ourselves in thinking you can just count enrolled students. Further, I have gotten the answers I was seeking from other posters such as the one who mentioned the tech scene in Provo. They provided info without trying to be insulting. I 'm just asking a question, geez.
The criteria bars most college students with the caveat of 25 and older. However large universities come with large support staff. In a larger metro, an FSU or a Wisconsin would have less effect. In a smaller metro they have an outsized role. Large fish, small pond principle.
Though that does make one wonder about something like Gainesville and it’s relation to Tallahassee. Without digging into the numbers, I’m assuming the government workers keeping the capital machinery working are helping skew the numbers. If it can maintain its high score while it grows larger will be the next hurdle.
These lists are ridiculous. Chicago is the most educated big city in the U.S. with 41.1% of residents 25 or older having a bachelor's degree or higher. I'll take UChicago, Northwestern, SAIC, UIC, IIT, Loyola, Depaul etc. rather than a trumped up list to elevate small towns and mid-sized cities.
I think others have already commented, but it's not the most educated big city. Nor do I think those Universities would lead it to be, if that's even a primary relationships (Denver and Seattle would lead me to believe it's not).
Not a shot at Chicago, but it's just not the reality.
Now, I will say, 41.1% is nothin' to scoff at given Chicago's sociodemographics and size. And you can't find a more educated population than what you'll find in certain neighborhoods like Lincoln Park or Gold Coast.
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