Most, Least Educated Cities in California

2 California communities listed among most educated cities

Cities want to attract highly educated workers to fuel their economic growth and tax revenues, according to WalletHub. 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 COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had on schooling. In fact, more than 97% of educators report seeing learning loss among their students due to the pandemic.

With more than 97% of educators reporting learning loss among their students due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Most & Least Educated Cities in America.

To determine where the most educated Americans are choosing to settle down, WalletHub compared the 150 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, across 11 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher to the racial education gap to the quality of the public-school system.

Most Educated Cities
1. Ann Arbor, MI
2. San Jose, CA
3. Washington, DC
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Madison, WI
6. Boston, MA
7. Durham, NC
8. Seattle, WA
9. Austin, TX
10. Provo, UT

Least Educated Cities
141. Corpus Christi, TX
142. Ocala, FL
143. Salinas, CA
144. Stockton, CA
145. Hickory, NC
146. Modesto, CA
147. Bakersfield, CA
148. McAllen, TX
149. Brownsville, TX
150. Visalia, CA
Key Stats

• The Ann Arbor, MI, metro area has the highest share of bachelor’s degree holders aged 25 and older, 55.90 percent, which is 3.8 times higher than in Visalia, CA, the metro area with the lowest at 14.60 percent.
• The Worcester, MA, metro area has the highest racial education gap, with the share of black bachelor’s degree holders aged 25 and older at 26.11 percent, compared with 20.78 percent for their white counterparts, a difference of 5.33 percent favoring black people.
• For comparison, the national average for black people with the same attributes is 13.94 percent and it is 21.27 percent for their white counterparts.
• The Anchorage, AK, metro area has the highest gender education gap, with the share of female bachelor’s degree holders aged 25 and older at 21.83 percent, compared with 18.42 percent for their male counterparts, a difference of 3.41 percent favoring women.
• For comparison, the national average for women with the same attributes is 20.12 percent and it is 19.42 percent for their male counterparts.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, click here.