Well, this isn’t what you want to hear. A North Carolina city was named amongst the least educated in America according to data from USA By The Numbers. To be fair the methodology was not included in this article, but by reading the introduction to this list I would wager it is based on the percentage of people with post-secondary education. I came to this conclusion based on the following sentence. “A stronger local economy and a better workforce are the results of a higher proportion of the population with postsecondary education or training. It may also be indicative of the quality of the local public school system.” The author goes on to say you may want to avoid these cities.
So which North Carolina city is supposedly the least educated? According to USA By The Numbers Hickory ranked 11th on this list.
- Dalton, GA
- Merced, CA
- McCallen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
- Visalia-Porterville, CA
- Salinas, CA
- Ocala, FL
- Corpus Christi, TX
- Laredo, TX
- Fresno, CA
- Lafayette, LA
- Hickory, NC
- Beaumont, TX
- Modesto, CA
- North Charleston, SC
- Stockton-Lodi, CA
Without any disclosed data or methodology, I have to take this with a grain of salt. And going off the experiences I’ve had with Hickory, I’m going to respectfully disagree with these rankings. But if you want to read more about it you can read the full USA By The Numbers article here.
Two North Carolina Cities Are Among The Most Educated In The Country
30. Lansing-East Lansing, MI
Lansing, Michigan, USA at the Michigan State Capitol during the evening.
Total Score: 62.3
Educational Attainment: 38
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 26
29. Urban Honolulu, HI
Beautiful rainbow over the Hawaii skyline
Total Score: 62.49
Educational Attainment:
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap:
28. Asheville, NC
Asheville, North Carolina, USA at twilight.
Total Score: 62.61
Educational Attainment: 38
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 26
27. Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT
Total Score: 64.07
Educational Attainment: 21
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 127
25. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 27: A view of the skyline from the Allspring Global Investments: New Brand Launch at PEAK at Hudson Yards on April 27, 2022 in New York City.
Total Score: 65.23
Educational Attainment: 27
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 16
24. Lexington-Fayette, KY
Aerial view of Jacobson Park Lake and Richmond Road in Lexington, Kentucky
Total Score: 66.17
Educational Attainment: 23
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 31
23. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
Total Score: 67.07
Educational Attainment: 18
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 118
22. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
Total Score: 67.13
Educational Attainment: 25
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 3
21. Huntsville, AL
Huntsville, Alabama, USA park and downtown cityscape at twilight.
Total Score: 67.41
Educational Attainment: 24
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 12
20. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
The New York State Capitol Building in Albany, home of the New York State Assembly. Monument of General Sherman on horseback.
Total Score: 67.58
Educational Attainment: 20
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 83
19. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Image of Minneapolis downtown skyline at sunset.
Total Score: 68.12
Educational Attainment: 13
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 116
18. Tallahassee, FL
Aerial photo Downtown Tallahassee Florida State Capitol
Total Score: 68.47
Educational Attainment: 22
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 7
17. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
Portland, Oregon, USA downtown skyline with Mt. Hood at dawn.
Total Score: 69.24
Educational Attainment: 19
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 50
16. Portland-South Portland, ME
Portland, Maine, USA coastal townscape on Portland Harbor.
Total Score: 69.58
Educational Attainment: 16
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 70
15. Trenton-Princeton, NJ
The capital statehouse of New Jersey lights up as the sun sets the Delaware River in the background city of Trenton
Total Score: 70.11
Educational Attainment: 15
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 71
14. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
Total Score: 70.78
Educational Attainment: 12
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 79
13. Colorado Springs, CO
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
Total Score: 71.64
Educational Attainment: 14
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 30
12. Provo-Orem, UT
Aerial view of Provo City, Utah, Y Mountain, Brigham Young University, and surrounded neighborhoods
Total Score: 71.73
Educational Attainment: 17
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 24
11. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
Fayerweather Island, Black Rock Harbor, Bridgeport, Connecticut, lighthouse
Total Score: 71.96
Educational Attainment: 8
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 146
10. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX
Total Score: 73.84
Educational Attainment: 11
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 13
9. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Panoramic view of Seattle cityscape and Space Needle at sunset, Washington, USA
Total Score: 75.34
Educational Attainment: 10
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 14
7. Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
Durham, North Carolina, USA downtown cityscape.
Total Score: 78.06
Educational Attainment: 9
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 4
6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Boston, Massachusetts, USA skyline over Boston Common.
Total Score: 78.26
Educational Attainment: 6
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 47
5. San Fransisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
The crookedest street in the world Lombard street at dawn. San Francisco is lightened by morning sun.
Total Score: 80.77
Educational Attainment: 4
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 17
4. Madison, WI
Madison, Wisconsin, USA downtown skyline on Lake Monona in the daytime.
Total Score: 80.83
Educational Attainment: 2
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 49
2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
Total Score: 82.03
Educational Attainment: 5
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap: 5
1. Ann Arbor, MI
University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. This campus is known as the Law Quad. The buildings show the Lawyers Club, a dormitory.
Total Score:
Educational Attainment:
Quality of Education & Attainment Gap:
Smartest States
Study Ranked The Smartest States And South Carolina Its Not You
50. West Virginia
Total Score: 12.6
49. Mississippi
Total Score: 13.3
48. Louisiana
Total Score: 15.2
47. Arkansas
Total Score: 19.1
46. Nevada
Total Score: 20.0
45. New Mexico
Total Score: 20.4
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA downtown cityscape and street at twilight.
44. Alabama
Total Score: 22.4
43. Oklahoma
Total Score: 22.4
42. Texas
Total Score: 23.9
41. South Carolina
Total Score: 28.0
White more than double the bottom two on this list, SC did still sore a dismal 28.0. In contrast the “smartest” state on this list scored a 93.9.
40. Kentucky
Total Score: 30.5
39. Florida
Total Score: 32.4
38. Tennessee
Total Score: 34.2
37. Arizona
Total Score: 35.9
36. Idaho
Total Score: 36.5
15. Nebraska
Total Score: 52.5
14. Kansas
Total Score: 53.3
13. Utah
Total Score: 55.5
12. Maine
Total Score: 55.8
11. New York
Total Score: 57.8
10. Washington
Total Score: 60.3
9. Minnesota
Total Score: 67.0
8. Colorado
Total Score: 69.4
7. New Jersey
Total Score: 69.5
6. New Hampshire
Total Score: 70.5
5. Vermont
Total Score: 72.2
4. Virginia
Total Score: 72.5
3. Maryland
Total Score: 72.8
2. Connecticut
Total Score: 73.8
1. Massachusetts
Total Score: 93.9
Massachusetts decidedly takes the win, with a score a full 20 points higher than the 2nd place state.
