In Case You Were Wondering!

Where the Smart People Live

(June 19, 2006) -- Seattle is America’s brainiest city, according to an analysis of educational data culled from U.S. Census data by Bizjournals.com.

Seattle is followed by San Francisco and Austin, among large cities. More than 40 percent of adults in these cities have bachelor's degrees.

Rounding out the top 10 smartest big cities are Colorado Springs, Minneapolis, Charlotte, N.C., San Diego, Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore, and Albuquerque.

Arlington, Va., is the brainpower leader among medium-sized places. Sixty percent of its adults have bachelor's degrees, two and a half times the national average.

Topping the rankings of small communities is Ann Arbor, Mich., the home of the University of Michigan.

The study found that Miami has the lowest brainpower of any large community. Just 16 percent of Miami's adults have earned bachelor's degrees, which is 31 percentage points behind Seattle's rate.

Source: BizJournals.com, G. Scott Thomas (06/12/2006)