Higher education generally means higher earning potential, greater opportunity for employment, and more economic activity. The more educated a community is, the more stable that community’s revenue stream ought to be.
WalletHub analyzed the 150 most populous metropolitan statistical areas in the country to determine the most (and least) educated cities in America in 2024. Only one California metro made the top five most educated. Among the five least educated, three were in the Golden State.
WalletHub used the following 11 metrics to determine the scores:
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a High School Diploma or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least Some College Experience or an Associate's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Share of Adults Aged 25 & Older with a Graduate or Professional Degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Quality of Public School System: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
Average Quality of Universities: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
Enrolled Students in Top 857 Universities per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
Number of Summer Learning Opportunities per Capita**: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
Racial Education Gap*: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
Gender Education Gap*: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
Education Equality Index Score: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
California’s top five most educated metros were:
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (#2 nationally)
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley (#6 nationally)
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (#23 nationally)
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom (#49 nationally)
Santa Rosa-Petaluma (#52 nationally)
California’s five least educated metros were:
Visalia (#150 nationally)
Bakersfield (#147 nationally)
Modesto (#146 nationally)
Stockton (#145 nationally)
Salinas (#142 nationally)
See full list and methodology here.
List and data were compiled by WalletHub and do not reflect statistics on all metros.