These Are The Most And Least Educated Cities In CA: Report

CALIFORNIA — California has some of the most — and least — educated cities in the country, according to a new report.

WalletHub recently released its report on 2024's Most and Least Educated Cities in America, and the Golden State has cities at the top and very bottom of the list.

The San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale region topped the list when it came to California, ranking second overall in the country, according to the personal finance website. One other region in the Golden State also ranked among the top 10 most educated cities. The San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland region placed sixth overall.

To determine where the most educated Americans are putting their degrees to work, WalletHub compared the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas across 11 key metrics. The data set included the amount of bachelor's degrees among those 25 and older, the quality of the public school system, and the racial education gap.

"Higher education doesn't guarantee better financial opportunities in the future, but it certainly correlates with it," WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said. "The most educated cities provide good learning opportunities from childhood all the way through the graduate level. In addition to overall education, it's also important to look at how well cities promote educational equality when it comes to race and gender."

The San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale area ranked fourth in educational attainment and 17th in quality of education and attainment gap.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, topped WalletHub's list for the most educated cities, while Visalia, California, was named the least educated city in the country. Visalia, which is in the San Joaquin Valley, scored 148th in educational attainment and 147th in quality of education and attainment gap.

Here's how cities in California ranked in the study:

• No. 2: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
• No. 6: San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley
• No. 23: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad
• No. 49: Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom
• No. 52: Santa Rosa-Petaluma
• No. 64: Santa Maria-Santa Barbara
• No. 87: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
• No. 92: Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura
• No. 121: Vallejo
• No. 137: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
• No. 140: Fresno
• No. 142: Salinas
• No. 145: Stockton
• No. 146: Modesto
• No. 147: Bakersfield
• No. 150: Visalia

Read the full report here.