Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

I doubt anyone would dispute the fact that a community needs a well-educated workforce if it expects to have a thriving economy.

To determine where the most educated Americans are putting their degrees to work, personal financial website WalletHub compared the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas (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 quality of the public school system to the gender education gap.

The Nashville area tops the list of Tennessee metro areas for the most educated population, coming in at #43 in the newly released 2024’s Most & Least Educated Cities in America. The greater Nashville region was more than half again as high as second place Knoxville that placed #91. Memphis came in at #108 followed by Chattanooga at #109.

Topping the national rankings was Ann Arbor, MI followed by the San Jose region of California; Washington, DC area; Durham-Chapel Hill, NC; and Madison, WI.

Other notable cities in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions and their ranks included:

• Raleigh-Cary, NC (#7);
• Huntsville, AL (#13);
• Tallahassee, FL (#22);
• Lexington, KY (#24);
• Atlanta, GA (#25);
• Asheville, NC (#31);
• Richmond, VA (#32);
• Charleston, SC (#36);
• Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA (#41);
• Charlotte, NC (#45);
• Columbia, SC (#61);
• Birmingham, AL (#70);
• Greenville, SC (#85);
• Savannah, GA (#88);
• Louisville, KY (#90); and
• Jackson, MS (#93).

The methodology WalletHub used was as follows:

Educational Attainment – Total Points: 80

• Share of adults aged 25 and older with a high school diploma or higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
• Share of adults aged 25 and older with at least some college experience or an Associate’s Degree or higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
• Share of adults aged 25 and older with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
• Share of adults aged 25 and older with a graduate or professional degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)

Quality of Education & Attainment Gap – Total Points: 20

• Quality of public school system: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on GreatSchools.org’s ratings of U.S. public schools.
• Average quality of universities: Double Weight (~4.44 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “College & University” rankings report.
• Enrolled Students in Top 857 universities per capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s “College & University” rankings report.
• Number of Summer Learning Opportunities per Capita: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
• Racial Education Gap: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
  Note: This metric specifically measures the difference between the percentage of black bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their white counterparts.
• Gender Education Gap: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)
  Note: This metric specifically measures the difference between the percentage of female bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their male counterparts.
• Education Equality Index Score: Full Weight (~2.22 Points)

---