Charlotte-Area City Was Ranked Among The Least Educated in America For 2019

By
Scott Jensen
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5413

With the fall semester drawing near and higher levels of education correlating with higher median weekly earnings, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Most & Least Educated Cities in America.

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

One Charlotte-area town came in almost dead last at #143 out of #150 – Hickory, NC (up 2 spots from last year). Charlotte was ranked near the top 3rd at #52 (also up 2 spots from last year) and Durham-Chapel Hill came in at #4;

Source: WalletHub

 

Most Educated Cities

Overall Rank
(1 = Most Educated)		 MSA Total Score ‘Educational Attainment’ Rank ‘Quality of Education & Attainment Gap’ Rank
1 Ann Arbor, MI 94.02 1 5
2 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 82.29 4 3
3 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 81.54 2 43
4 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 79.11 7 10
5 Madison, WI 78.68 3 70
6 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 78.59 6 21
7 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 76.44 5 100
8 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 73.10 10 16
9 Austin-Round Rock, TX 72.97 16 2
10 Provo-Orem, UT 71.70 14 22
11 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 71.41 8 145
12 Colorado Springs, CO 71.02 12 31
13 Raleigh, NC 70.45 9 134
14 Trenton, NJ 69.54 11 97
15 Tallahassee, FL 69.29 21 7
16 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 69.17 13 81
17 Portland-South Portland, ME 67.78 19 40
18 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 67.42 18 51
19 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 66.82 15 117
20 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 66.46 26 4
21 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 65.67 20 86
22 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 65.51 23 45
23 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 65.02 17 120
24 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 64.42 22 104
25 Lexington-Fayette, KY 63.54 24 35
26 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 62.56 29 20
27 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 61.81 30 36
28 Urban Honolulu, HI 61.68 43 8
29 Eugene, OR 61.26 48 6
30 Huntsville, AL 60.93 25 113
31 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 60.53 35 45
32 Asheville, NC 59.93 39 32
33 Kansas City, MO-KS 59.84 28 103
34 Pittsburgh, PA 59.17 45 39
35 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 59.14 32 91
36 Salt Lake City, UT 59.11 40 47
37 St. Louis, MO-IL 59.01 37 102
38 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 58.85 36 92
39 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 58.77 53 17
40 Santa Rosa, CA 58.58 44 68
41 New Haven-Milford, CT 58.46 31 129
42 Albuquerque, NM 58.36 52 29
43 Rochester, NY 58.33 33 118
44 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 58.20 34 115
45 Columbus, OH 58.11 38 93
46 Richmond, VA 58.10 42 73
47 Anchorage, AK 57.87 41 77
48 Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL 57.36 55 50
49 Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA 57.09 54 52
50 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 56.58 47 112
51 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 56.39 58 58
52 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 56.27 62 30
52 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 56.27 61 34
54 Boise City, ID 55.96 64 33
55 Worcester, MA-CT 55.83 51 101
56 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 55.80 60 55
57 Manchester-Nashua, NH 55.45 27 150
58 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 55.43 49 126
59 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 55.18 46 137
60 Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 55.09 77 9
61 Tucson, AZ 54.87 50 132
62 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 54.80 66 59
63 Syracuse, NY 54.65 56 128
64 Reno, NV 54.63 78 13
65 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 53.80 71 57
66 Springfield, MA 53.55 70 71
67 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 53.48 83 19
68 Columbia, SC 53.41 63 111
69 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 53.15 69 90
70 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 53.11 67 99
71 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 52.90 75 54
72 Dayton, OH 52.80 72 89
73 Akron, OH 52.66 74 76
74 Savannah, GA 52.55 65 119
75 Jacksonville, FL 52.19 80 66
76 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 52.16 79 69
77 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 52.06 81 65
78 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 52.00 57 149
79 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 51.87 59 142
80 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 51.16 95 12
81 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 51.03 68 139
82 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 50.73 73 136
83 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 50.58 82 107
84 Oklahoma City, OK 50.48 86 67
85 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 50.38 88 62
86 Wichita, KS 50.32 76 122
87 Jackson, MS 50.08 84 121
88 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 50.07 90 53
89 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 49.84 101 11
90 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 49.48 94 42
90 Springfield, MO 49.48 92 63
92 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 49.24 99 25
93 Peoria, IL 48.85 85 124
94 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 48.60 89 105
95 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 48.58 87 114
95 Knoxville, TN 48.58 97 48
97 Greensboro-High Point, NC 48.50 105 18
98 Toledo, OH 48.25 93 84
99 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 48.05 91 110
100 Fayetteville, NC 47.68 108 27
101 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 47.31 98 78
102 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 47.00 109 37
103 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 46.94 102 72
104 Fort Wayne, IN 46.80 103 61
105 Montgomery, AL 46.77 100 88
106 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 46.46 112 24
107 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 46.09 114 23
108 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 45.15 110 87
109 Tulsa, OK 44.98 106 106
110 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 44.53 104 125
111 Killeen-Temple, TX 44.19 111 94
112 Baton Rouge, LA 43.90 113 85
113 Winston-Salem, NC 43.55 116 64
114 Salem, OR 42.73 119 74
115 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 42.60 96 148
116 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 42.35 107 140
117 Chattanooga, TN-GA 42.08 117 96
118 Salisbury, MD-DE 41.66 115 133
119 Canton-Massillon, OH 41.00 125 41
120 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 40.60 127 28
121 Flint, MI 40.49 122 116
122 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 40.32 121 127
123 Lancaster, PA 39.94 129 38
124 Mobile, AL 39.68 131 26
125 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 39.38 118 141
126 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA 39.35 123 135
127 Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 38.92 124 109
128 York-Hanover, PA 38.88 130 60
129 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 38.14 128 95
130 Port St. Lucie, FL 38.12 120 146
131 Rockford, IL 37.57 126 130
132 Reading, PA 36.48 132 75
133 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 36.03 133 79
134 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 34.00 134 80
135 Lafayette, LA 33.43 139 14
136 El Paso, TX 33.07 140 15
137 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 32.66 136 82
138 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 31.51 138 56
139 Corpus Christi, TX 30.17 137 123
140 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 29.80 141 83
141 Fresno, CA 28.30 144 44
142 Ocala, FL 27.71 135 147
143 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 27.33 143 108
144 Stockton-Lodi, CA 26.20 145 98
145 Salinas, CA 25.67 142 143
146 Modesto, CA 21.40 146 138
147 Bakersfield, CA 17.19 147 131
148 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 13.97 150 1
149 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 12.03 149 49
150 Visalia-Porterville, CA 8.31 148 144

 

While Hickory may not be the most educated place, it certainly isn’t a bad place to call home – it was also recently ranked as one of the best small cities in America to move to by National Geographic;

“A thriving 20th-century manufacturing hub for furniture and textiles, Hickory now finds itself heading our list for its hipster-friendly offerings, from tattoo parlors to vintage clothing boutiques. Craft-beer enthusiasts gather at the popular annual Hickory Hops festival featuring more than 50 microbreweries and live music,” the article noted.

What are your thoughts on Hickory, NC?

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