It’s probably not a surprise that Huntsville is ranked as the smartest city in Alabama but it’s also one of the brightest in the U.S. After all, the nickname “The Rocket City” is well earned and that requires an educated workforce.
But how does Huntsville and the rest of Alabama stack up against the rest of the U.S.? WalletHub recently ranked the most educated cities in the U.S. Here’s what they found:
1. Overall Rank & Total Score
It sits just behind Colorado Springs, CO, Portland, ME and Provo, UT. Huntsville takes the #15 spot in WalletHub’s most educated cities in the country.
The Rocket City scored 72.01 out of 100 as its total score. WalletHub compared 150 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States across 11 key metrics. Some key qualities include the percentage of adults over 25 years old with a bachelor’s degree or higher, the quality of the public school system, and the gender education gap.
2. Educational Attainment
Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education that someone has completed. Huntsville ranks #22 in this category, meaning the city has a high rate of completing educational degrees. According to census data, 91.6% of people over 25 years old completed high school or higher and 46.2% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That’s higher than the national average of 37.9%.
3. Quality of Education & Equity
Huntsville’s highest score is in the “Quality of Education & Attainment Gap” category. This prioritizes the quality of the public school system and the average quality of universities, like the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama A&M and more. There are even satellite campuses in the city, like the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Georgia Tech…