America's Top 25 Smartest Cities
What separates a community like Boulder, Colorado from a place like Merced, California? One word: education. In Boulder, five out of every six adults has gone to college. Merced, on the other hand, claims 34 percent of its adult population as high-school dropouts. The two cities are at opposite ends of Portfolio.com’s 2010 Brainpower Index. Following are the top 25 smartest markets, as determined by using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the full list of all 200 areas,
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G. Scott Thomas, projects editor for Buffalo Business First, created this survey using 2009 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
1. Boulder, CO
Brainpower index: 3.941
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 25.96%
Bachelor's Degree: 31.98%
Associate Degree or Some College: 24.57%
High School Diploma: 11.32%
High School Dropouts: 6.17%
Population 2009: 303,482
25+ population 2009: 189,084
2. Ann Arbor, MI
Brainpower index: 3.228
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 25.49%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.01%
Associate Degree or Some College: 27.94%
High School Diploma: 16.41%
High School Dropouts: 6.14%
Population 2009: 347,563
25+ population 2009: 206,910
3. Washington, DC
Brainpower index: 2.573
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 22.63%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.66%
Associate Degree or Some College: 23.03%
High School Diploma: 19.67%
High School Dropouts: 10.01%
Population 2009: 5,476,241
25+ population 2009: 3,625,144
4. Durham, NC
Brainpower index: 2.164
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 21.82%
Bachelor's Degree: 22.45%
Associate Degree or Some College: 23.95%
High School Diploma: 18.67%
High School Dropouts: 13.11%
Population 2009: 501,228
25+ population 2009: 321,842
5. Fort Collins, CO
Brainpower index: 1.961
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 16.66%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.39%
Associate Degree or Some College: 31.81%
High School Diploma: 20.43%
High School Dropouts: 6.71%
Population 2009: 298,382
25+ population 2009: 185,888
6. Bridgeport-Stamford, CT
Brainpower index: 1.913
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 18.92%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.70%
Associate Degree or Some College: 21.70%
High School Diploma: 23.38%
High School Dropouts: 11.30%
Population 2009: 901,208
25+ population 2009: 598,633
7. San Jose, CA
Brainpower index: 1.856
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 18.64%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.64%
Associate Degree or Some College: 25.49%
High School Diploma: 16.61%
High School Dropouts: 14.62%
Population 2009: 1,839,883
25+ population 2009: 1,226,606
8. Boston, MA
Brainpower index: 1.854
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 18.33%
Bachelor's Degree: 23.85%
Associate Degree or Some College: 23.47%
High School Diploma: 24.92%
High School Dropouts: 9.44%
Population 2009: 4,588,680
25+ population 2009: 3,132,664
9. Madison, WI
Brainpower index: 1.816
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 15.42%
Bachelor's Degree: 25.56%
Associate Degree or Some College: 28.79%
High School Diploma: 24.28%
High School Dropouts: 5.95%
Population 2009: 570,025
25+ population 2009: 363,755
10. San Francisco-Oakland, CA
Brainpower index: 1.803
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 16.86%
Bachelor's Degree: 26.64%
Associate Degree or Some College: 25.27%
High School Diploma: 18.13%
High School Dropouts: 13.09%
Population 2009: 4,317,853
25+ population 2009: 3,028,503
11. Barnstable, MA
Brainpower index: 1.788
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 15.87%
Bachelor's Degree: 23.75%
Associate Degree or Some College: 30.63%
High School Diploma: 24.29%
High School Dropouts: 5.46%
Population 2009: 221,151
25+ population 2009: 166,185
12. Raleigh, NC
Brainpower index: 1.606
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 13.35%
Bachelor's Degree: 28.89%
Associate Degree or Some College: 27.61%
High School Diploma: 19.52%
High School Dropouts: 10.64%
Population 2009: 1,125,827
25+ population 2009: 728,019
13. Champaign, IL
Brainpower index: 1.576
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 18.65%
Bachelor's Degree: 17.61%
Associate Degree or Some College: 29.32%
High School Diploma: 27.44%
High School Dropouts: 6.99%
Population 2009: 224,193
25+ population 2009: 123,437
14. Gainesville, FL
Brainpower index: 1.548
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 19.06%
Bachelor's Degree: 18.47%
Associate Degree or Some College: 28.48%
High School Diploma: 22.64%
High School Dropouts: 11.35%
Population 2009: 259,587
25+ population 2009: 140,427
15. Colorado Springs, CO
Brainpower index: 1.384
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 13.52%
Bachelor's Degree: 22.08%
Associate Degree or Some College: 36.25%
High School Diploma: 21.68%
High School Dropouts: 6.46%
Population 2009: 627,491
25+ population 2009: 398,172
16. Seattle, WA
Brainpower index: 1.341
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 13.05%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.39%
Associate Degree or Some College: 32.35%
High School Diploma: 21.49%
High School Dropouts: 8.73%
Population 2009: 3,407,848
25+ population 2009: 2,320,986
17. Burlington, VT
Brainpower index: 1.318
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 13.97%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.21%
Associate Degree or Some College: 26.23%
High School Diploma: 27.42%
High School Dropouts: 8.17%
Population 2009: 207,688
25+ population 2009: 133,904
18. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Brainpower index: 1.303
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 12.38%
Bachelor's Degree: 25.19%
Associate Degree or Some College: 30.79%
High School Diploma: 24.09%
High School Dropouts: 7.54%
Population 2009: 3,269,814
25+ population 2009: 2,164,041
19. Trenton, NJ
Brainpower index: 1.275
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 17.43%
Bachelor's Degree: 20.66%
Associate Degree or Some College: 23.69%
High School Diploma: 24.34%
High School Dropouts: 13.88%
Population 2009: 366,222
25+ population 2009: 241,767
20. Santa Cruz, CA
Brainpower index: 1.211
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 14.36%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.02%
Associate Degree or Some College: 29.42%
High School Diploma: 16.89%
High School Dropouts: 15.32%
Population 2009: 256,218
25+ population 2009: 160,033
21. Denver, CO
Brainpower index: 1.192
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 12.95%
Bachelor's Degree: 24.70%
Associate Degree or Some College: 29.59%
High School Diploma: 21.53%
High School Dropouts: 11.23%
Population 2009: 2,554,474
25+ population 2009: 1,698,221
22. Austin, TX
Brainpower index: 1.179
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 13.10%
Bachelor's Degree: 25.60%
Associate Degree or Some College: 27.91%
High School Diploma: 19.98%
High School Dropouts: 13.41%
Population 2009: 1,705,075
25+ population 2009: 1,096,143
23. Provo, UT
Brainpower index: 1.167
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 11.15%
Bachelor's Degree: 22.16%
Associate Degree or Some College: 42.07%
High School Diploma: 17.82%
High School Dropouts: 6.79%
Population 2009: 554,965
25+ population 2009: 252,138
24. Lincoln, NE
Brainpower index: 1.075
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 10.92%
Bachelor's Degree: 23.93%
Associate Degree or Some College: 33.72%
High School Diploma: 24.94%
High School Dropouts: 6.49%
Population 2009: 297,783
25+ population 2009: 178,270
25. Hartford, CT
Brainpower index: 0.983
Graduate and/or Professional Degree: 15.31%
Bachelor's Degree: 19.36%
Associate Degree or Some College: 26.04%
High School Diploma: 28.23%
High School Dropouts: 11.07%
Population 2009: 1,195,998
25+ population 2009: 805,827
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