America’s Top 5 Least Educated Cities

Recently, I came across an article about America’s Least Educated Cities and it got me to thinking about all the people who will be relocating in the near future. When relocating and moving, most people are looking for top education for their children. Therefore, I just want to share some of the cities you may want to avoid when looking for your next home.

These facts are not based on grade school aged education but college-educated adults who tend to move to or stay in a particular city. Usually, an area’s college attainment rate is itself a major factor contributing to whether young people, or businesses, will move to an area. This leads to a cruel cycle where low levels of education make it difficult for them to find work at a high pay. Many young people end up moving away from areas like this as they graduate from high school to seek higher education and higher pay.

Yahoo Homes recently came out with a list of the least educated cities in America based on several factors. Most of the cities with low education rates have small household incomes at $40,000, which is below the nation average of $52,250. They also looked at educational attainment rates, population estimates, median income earnings, unemployment rates and poverty data.

Here are the 5 Cities That Topped the List 

#5 – Hanford – Corcoran, CA – Less than 13% of adults living in the Hanford metro area had attained at least a bachelor’s degree, way below the national rate of 29.6%.

Bachelor’s degree or higher:
12.9%
Median household income:
$45,774
Median earnings – bachelor’s degree:
$46,719
Poverty rate:
21.4%

#4 – Farmington, NM – College-educated Farmington area residents had median earnings of $40,503, considerably above the less-educated adults in the area, but nearly $10,000 below the median earnings for their peers nationwide.

Bachelor’s degree or higher:
12.9%
Median household income:
$43,787
Median earnings – bachelor’s degree:
$40,503
Poverty rate:
22.7%

#3 – El Centro, CA – Poverty is relatively common in the El Centro metro area. Last year, more than 22% of El Centro residents had incomes below the poverty level, one of the higher rates nationwide.

Bachelor’s degree or higher:
12.7%
Median household income:
$43,310
Median earnings – bachelor’s degree:
$52,546
Poverty rate:
22.1%

#2 – Dalton, GA – The labor market in Dalton may demand qualifications many college graduates do not possess. More than 35% of the area’s workforce was employed in manufacturing last year.

Bachelor’s degree or higher:
12.2%
Median household income:
$37,659
Median earnings – bachelor’s degree:
$42,293
Poverty rate:
21.8%

#1 – Lake Havasu – Kingman, AZ – Just 11.3% of adults living in the Lake Havasu metro area had attained at least a bachelor’s degree in 2013, a lower percentage than in every other U.S. metro area.

Bachelor’s degree or higher:
11.3%
Median household income:
$39,058
Median earnings – bachelor’s degree:
$37,452
Poverty rate:
21.2%