HICKORY, N.C. — A new study from WalletHub ranked Hickory, North Carolina as one of the least educated cities in the U.S. The city came in 144 out of the 150 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas where the most educated Americans settle down. Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina both made the top 10.
Interestingly enough, in March, Hickory was named the most beautiful and affordable place to live in the U.S., which may have you asking: Where's the disconnect?
There were two key dimensions to the most educated cities study: "Educational Attainment" and "Quality of Education & Attainment Gap." These two dimensions were measured using 11 metrics, including racial and gender gaps, public school system quality, and levels of education achieved by adults aged 25 and older.
The bulk of the 150 cities' ranking came from their Education Attainment score, which focuses solely on the level of education and weighs a total of 80 out of the 100 points. The top 10 most educated cities also fell within the top 12 scoring cities under the Education Attainment category. Many of those cities have either large public universities or multiple private and public colleges.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, which has a population of over 120,000 people, is home to the University of Michigan and was named the most educated city. However, as of 2022 data, Michigan's undergraduate and graduate student enrollment came in at more than 49,000, which accounts for over 40% of the city's population.
Ann Arbor was also recently named one of the best college towns in America. Raleigh ranked in the top 10 on the same list.
In comparison to Durham and Raleigh who ranked sixth and eighth respectively for the most educated, Hickory only has a single four-year university. Conversely, there are over 10, four-year colleges serving the greater area of Durham and Raleigh, including Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
While the recent study may show Hickory ranking low on the list, there are some correlations and context that could explain why it was listed at the bottom.
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