Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Most/Least Literate Cities in the U.S.
According to researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Minneapolis is the most literate city in the U.S. (link)
Statistics from 5 categories and 13 measurements of literacy were combined to give the rankings for 64 U.S. cities with more than a quarter of a million population. Some of the criterion were education levels, circulation of newspapers, number of booksellers and number of periodicals published in the city. Click below to see the lists.
The top 10:
1. Minneapolis
2. Seattle
3. Denver
4. Atlanta
5. San Francisco
6. Pittsburgh
7. Washington D.C.
8. Louisville
9. Portland (OR)
10. Cincinnati
The bottom 10:
54. Los Angeles and Toledo (tie)
56. Fresno
57. Jacksonville, FL
58. Memphis
59. Santa Ana
60. San Antonio
61. Detroit
62. Long Beach
63. Corpus Christi
64. El Paso
The nearest big cities to me are Toledo and Detroit. Although I am at least 45 minutes from either of them. I find the rankings a little difficult to understand. It seems like this can depend on a lot, but especially the demographics of the surrounding suburbs come into play. I know that a lot of people enjoy living in Minneapolis and Seattle and a lot of the rest of the top ten, but fewer and fewer people are actually living in the cities of Toledo and Detroit. I cannot comment on the rest of the lower 10, except maybe L.A.
Interesting...
07:46 AM in Books, Current Affairs
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Comments
I find it interesting that there are no Texas cities in the 10 most literate, that most of the 10 most literate are Northern, many of the 10 least literate are Southern, and Texas has three of the ten slots in the 10 least literate section.
Perhaps I ought to move.
Posted by: Alicia at Nov 18, 2003 10:31:43 AM
bummer baltimore must fall in the middle somewhere...i am planning on being an adult literacy tudor in 2004; i will have to find some local stats; interesting stuff...thanks!
Posted by: kelly at Nov 18, 2003 12:48:09 PM
Alicia - it's cold up north for many many months, remember? What the hell else are we going to do but stay inside and read?!
Posted by: hostess at Nov 18, 2003 10:34:04 PM
The same can be said for the South though. It's hotter'n blue blazes down here most of the time. What are we going to do but sit inside where it's air conditioned and read? :) At least that's what I hoped for. I am so sheltered. It is probably because I live in a double college town.
However, when you guys are shoveling snow at Thanksgiving, we are wearing shorts and playing football in the yard. That must be it, our best weather is when school is in, so people find ways to skip out. Aha!
Posted by: Alicia at Nov 18, 2003 10:54:24 PM
well if it makes any of you feel better, my transplanted home of Memphis, TN rated 58th! I really need to get back to Traverse City....
Posted by: jake at Nov 23, 2003 6:18:26 PM
Fabulous, I live in the least literate city in the country, El Paso. At first this upset me, but then I began to think of many of the people I have encountered over the course of my life and realize that maybe this isn't completely untrue. However, I ask everyone not to assume that everyone from El Paso is "stupid." I don't consider myself or any of my friends ignorant. Keep in mind that a person is what is intelligent, not a city.
Posted by: Cristy at Jan 23, 2004 5:57:07 AM
