The Study lists the most and least educated cities in California
According to a recent WalletHub research, two California urban regions are in the top ten “Most Educated Cities” in the US, while a number of the state’s agricultural districts are near the bottom.
The financial services corporation graded the 150 most populous American cities using a system that took into account the proportion of adults with college and high school degrees as well as the standard of public education.
Racial and gender inequalities were also given weight.
For the second year in a row, Ann Arbor, Michigan, was voted #1, followed by the San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara metro region in California.
According to WalletHub, the San Jose metro region has the second-highest rate of higher education among American inhabitants. More than 26% of adults 25 years of age and older hold a graduate or professional degree, and more than 54% have at least a bachelor’s degree. San Jose boasts the fourth-highest number of summer learning possibilities per population and the best universities in the nation.
Oakland-Berkeley-San Francisco slipped two spots to sixth place. To rank 87th, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim rose seven spots.
The Top 10 Most Knowledgeable American Cities (Source: WalletHub)
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
- Madison, WI
- San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA
- Raleigh-Cary, NC
- Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
On the other end of WalletHub’s ranking, a number of communities in the Central Valley and other agricultural regions of California performed poorly. Visalia came in last, followed by Bakersfield (147th), Modesto (146th), Stockton (145th), Salinas (142nd), and Fresno (140th).
Additional California Rankings
- 23. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- 49. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
- 52. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA
- 64. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA
- 92. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
- 121. Vallejo, CA
- 137. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- 140. Fresno, CA
- 142. Salinas, CA
- 145. Stockton, CA
- 146. Modesto, CA
- 147. Bakersfield, CA
- 150. Visalia, CA
According to WalletHub expert Stephanie Helms Pickett, head of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Antioch University, communities must to reevaluate the ways in which public education boosts their economies.
According to Pickett, “the educational system in our nation ignores the variety of ways that individuals learn, process information, and choose what best fits not just their interests but also their abilities.” “A collaboration between higher education and industry, involving local businesses in predicting the needed skills and training individuals to meet those needs, is the most important step we can take as a nation to develop a more educated and skilled workforce.”