Some of the nation’s ‘most educated cities’ are here in North Carolina, report says
North Carolina is home to one of the most educated regions in the country, a new report finds.
The Durham-Chapel Hill area ranked No. 4 in a study of learning opportunities, college graduates and other factors, according to results released Monday from WalletHub.
And another Triangle city wasn’t far behind in the rankings.
The Raleigh area was named No. 12 in the country, results from the personal finance website show.
To come up with its findings, WalletHub says it analyzed the 150 U.S. metro areas with the highest populations.
Each place received scores for educational attainment, which weighed the portion of people 25 or older who attended college as well as those who earned high school, bachelor’s or advanced degrees, results show. In a second category, WalletHub says it weighed education gaps and the quality of schooling in each metro area.
Durham-Chapel Hill was among the highest ranking metro areas, earning top 10 scores in the two categories.
Within the categories, the region tied for having the most residents with graduate or professional degrees, findings show. It also snagged a third-place spot for the average quality of its universities, according to WalletHub.
This isn’t the first time the region — home to Duke University, N.C. Central University and UNC-Chapel Hill — has received national recognition.
Last month, Durham earned a No. 9 spot on SmartAsset’s nationwide list of places “where women are most successful,” McClatchy News reported. The study analyzed education, income and business opportunities.
In the most recent WalletHub study, Raleigh ranked No. 5 for the portion of adults with associate degrees or time in college, and Asheville ranked No. 5 for an education gap in favor of women, results show.
In all categories, North Carolina metro areas ranked as follows: Durham-Chapel Hill at No. 4; Raleigh at No. 12, Asheville at No. 37; Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia at No. 54; Greensboro-High Point at No. 97; Fayetteville at No. 101; Winston-Salem at No. 113; and Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton at No. 145.
Overall the highest ranking went to Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan. The lowest scorer was Visalia-Porterville, California, an area southeast of Fresno and in the San Joaquin Valley.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Some of the nation’s ‘most educated cities’ are here in North Carolina, report says."
