2005 Rankings Report
The Workforce With the Best Education
These U.S. cities have a high proportion of high school and college graduates.
Cities put a lot of money and hard work into convincing their youth to finish high school and enter college. The ones that are the most successful enjoy increased interest from expanding and relocating companies. Depending on the industry, a company may be most interested in the number of high school graduates or the number of college graduates.
We split the difference by counting both the same; but instead of measuring the number of diploma-holders, we took a look at the percentage of workers (25 years and older) in cities across the U.S. that have completed high school and a four-year college. A better rank in these percentages increases your chance of getting more attractive resumes on your desk rather than fewer.
We also looked at the momentum that cities have in increasing their degree holders, to give credit to cities that are making strides in increasing the value of their workforce through education. All data was taken from the American Community Survey (ACS) done by the Census Bureau, using the latest available data. The four categories measured (and weighted equally) are:
- Percentage of workforce with bachelor’s degree (25 years and older), 2003
- Percentage point increase in share of workforce with bachelor’s degree, 2000-2003
- Percentage of workforce with high school diploma (25 years and older), 2003
- Percentage point increase in share of workforce with a high school diploma, 2001-2003. (Year 2000 data is not available.)
Only those cities for which data exists in the ACS survey and which are in the top 60 in both percentage share of high school diploma and bachelor’s degrees were considered for this ranking.
It’s interesting to look at the top 10 ranking only high school diplomas (the final two bullet points just mentioned) or bachelor’s degrees (the first two bullet points); see the two charts above, this column. Each one was calculated using only the applicable percentage of workforce and percentage point increase, weighted equally.
Clearly, Minneapolis, MN; Oakland, CA; and Colorado Springs, CO are standout locations, having made both lists and placing in the top five of the overall ranking.
