5 California cities ranked among the 10 least educated in the U.S.

California is disproportionately represented on a list of the nation’s least educated cities, based on rankings released this week by WalletHub.

The personal finance website graded 150 metropolitan areas on factors including the percentage of adults with a high school diploma, college experience or higher education degrees. It also examined the quality of public schools and universities and looked at gender and racial gaps. (View methodology)

Ann Arbor, Michigan, was ranked as the most educated city in the U.S., followed by San Jose, California, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Madison, Wisconsin.

It’s a good showing for the Golden State.

That is, until you look at the bottom of the list, where five California cities were ranked among the 10 least educated, according to WalletHub.

The agricultural communities of Visalia (150), Bakersfield (147), Modesto (146), Stockton (145) and Salinas (141) all received poor marks.

WalletHub’s experts also noted that school test scores dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, which only expanded the gap between low-poverty and high-poverty districts. Student absenteeism was also a factor.

“Nearly a third of California public school students were found to be chronically absent [in the 2021-2022 school year] compared to only 14% before the pandemic,” said Joydeep Roy, a visiting professor of economics and education at Columbia University.

Most Educated Cities

Rank	Metro Area	Total Score	Educational Attainment	Quality of Education & Attainment Gap
1	Ann Arbor, MI	94.71	1	1
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	83.12	4	3
3	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	82.25	2	22
4	San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA	80.77	5	14
5	Madison, WI	80.59	3	54
6	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	78.94	8	4
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	78.81	7	41
8	Raleigh-Cary, NC	78.40	6	37
9	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	76.09	10	12
10	Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX	75.98	12	6

Least Educated Cities

Rank	Metro Area	Total Score	Educational Attainment	Quality of Education & Attainment Gap
141	Salinas, CA	28.66	141	115
142	Corpus Christi, TX	28.35	140	141
143	Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX	28.03	144	85
144	Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC	27.66	142	126
145	Stockton, CA	24.71	145	98
146	Modesto, CA	19.57	146	144
147	Bakersfield, CA	17.69	147	123
148	McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX	14.16	150	8
149	Brownsville-Harlingen, TX	11.21	149	107
150	Visalia, CA	8.28	148	149

Other California Cities

Rank	Metro Area	Total Score	Educational Attainment	Quality of Education & Attainment Gap
23	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	67.18	26	7
37	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	62.03	40	49
47	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	59.41	57	26
68	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	54.83	87	9
94	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	49.80	100	42
136	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	32.59	137	72
140	Fresno, CA	29.83	143	48

Another WalletHub expert, sociology professor Molly Martin with Pennsylvania State University, explains some of the reasons why cities should invest in education and try to attract educated people.

“Highly educated people increase labor force productivity, and they invest heavily in the next generation,” Martin says. “Because they see the fruits of their knowledge and skills, highly educated people typically view education as the golden ticket for children’s success.”