In Providence, Maybe We Are Not As Educated As We Think We Are

In Providence, Maybe We Are Not As Educated As We Think We Are

Providence may not be as educated as we think we are.  Disappointingly, we rank far behind most of New England, according to a new national study.  Providence ranks 82 out of 150 cities in the United States for most educated.

“One way to strengthen an economy, the Economic Policy Institute suggests, is to attract well-paying employers ‘by investing in education and increasing the number of well-educated workers,’” said Wallethub.  

“In states with the least schooled workforces, the median wage is $15 an hour compared with $19 to $20 an hour in states where 40 percent or more of the working population holds at least a bachelor’s degree.” 

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For Providence, it ranks 95 for “Education Attainment” and 43 for “Quality of Education and Attainment Gap Rank (see methodology below). Not exactly where Providence want to rank to be able to compete with other strong high performance mid-size cities. 

Top Ranked

What city is ranked number 1 in this study? Ann Arbor, MI which is home to the University of Michigan. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA ranks number 6 in the U.S.

Bottom ranked is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX coming in at #150.

Other New England cities of note:

Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT #12

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT #20

Portland-South Portland, ME #22

New Haven-Milford, CT #26

Worcester, MA-CT #46

Manchester-Nashua, NH #51

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA #82

Springfield, MA #96

 

Methodology

To identify the most educated cities in America, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, across two key dimensions, including “Educational Attainment” and “Quality of Education & Attainment Gap.” 

We evaluated these categories using nine relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest educational attainment and quality.

We then calculated overall scores for each metro area using the weighted average across all metrics, which we then used to construct our overall rankings.

Educational Attainment - Total Points: 80

Percentage of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least a High School Diploma: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Percentage of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least Some College Experience or an Associate's Degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Percentage of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least a Bachelor's Degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)
Percentage of Adults Aged 25 & Older with at Least a Graduate or Professional Degree: Full Weight (~20.00 Points)

Quality of Education & Attainment Gap - Total Points: 20

Public-School-System Ranking: Double Weight (~5.71 Points)
Average Quality of Universities: Double Weight (~5.71 Points)
Number of Enrolled Students in Top 200 Universities per Capita: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Racial Gap in Educational Attainment*: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric specifically measures the difference between the percentage of black bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their white counterparts.
Gender Gap in Educational Attainment*: Full Weight (~2.86 Points)
Note: This metric specifically measures the difference between the percentage of female bachelor’s degree holders and the percentage of their male counterparts.