Ann Arbor second in the nation in brainpower, survey says
Are Ann Arbor's residents among the smartest in the nation?
A survey says so, ranking our city of 114,000 residents at No. 2 in the nation in brainpower.
Portfolio.com, a national business news website, used U.S. Census Bureau data to analyze the levels of educational attainment in 200 metropolitan areas, ranging in size from New York City to Burlington, Vermont.
Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, has a well-educated population: The number of adults who attended college is 77.4 percent and the share who hold advanced degrees is 25.5 percent
File photo
The survey found Boulder, home to the University of Colorado, has the smartest population in the country with 26 percent of its residents holding a master's or graduate degree and 82.5 percent having attended college, Reuters reported.
Ann Arbor, the site of the University of Michigan, is second to Boulder in the concentration of adults who attended college at 77.4 percent and the share who hold advanced degrees at 25.5 percent, according to Portfolio.com.
The federal government, lobbying organizations, and major law firms attract thousands of educated workers to Washington, where 47.3 percent of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree, Portfolio.com said. And the only two markets to outrank it in that category are Boulder at 57.9 percent and Ann Arbor at 49.5 percent.
Rounding out the top five in the national brainpower rankings are the college centers of Durham, N.C., and Fort Collins, Colo.
Portfolio.com says the brainpower rankings also translate into higher median incomes. The U.S. Census Bureau says a worker with an advanced degree will earn 31 percent more than a colleague with a bachelor’s degree and 128 percent more than someone who never went beyond high school.
J. Jennings Moss, editor of Portfolio.com, told Reuters the study shows smaller cities can attract some significant brainpower. Out of the top 10 smartest places, six of them have populations of less than one million people.
Comments
dongiles
Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 8:53 p.m.
I have two degrees from Michigan and spent a lifetime in the business world. Believe me, a college degree is not an indicator of intelligence, simply of persistence.
clownfish
Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
If we are so smart, why don't we still have a daily newspaper? 1: Craigslist. The #1 killer of daily newspapers. They did away with the cash cow of classifieds. 2: One reason the A2 News was closed was because Washtenaw county is so well wired, and so well educated. Most people were not getting their news from the paper anymore, they get it online. It is the test case, if it won't work in a place like Washtenaw County, it probably won't work anywhere. 3: Ad revenue from large retailers dried up. The closing of Circuit City and Linens and things was the last nail.
Gaboo
Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 10 a.m.
As if we didn't know - we're smarter than Washington DC!
Basic Bob
Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 9:51 a.m.
Survey says: Only people with advanced degrees can afford to live here comfortably, or without ridicule from their neighbors. And your degree from Podunk State only qualifies you for less dignified careers like manufacturing or used car sales. But if you are a research scientist, you _must_ be a genius.
clownfish
Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 8:35 a.m.
Based on the posts here, it is evident that lots of people have issues with other people improving themselves. A2 has one of the most dynamic economies in the state. The UM, an "elitist liberal" institution drives our economy. Without it Washtenaw county would be like Flint. This survey said nothing about the political affiliations of those holding higher degrees. Rick Snyder would be included in this survey, is he a gosh darn liberal? So, instead of being haters, why can't people be happy for others? Don't you want YOUR kids to make more money? Don't you want your kids to have a good education? Don't you folks know of all of the spin-off companies that arise from UM students? Those companies hire people, give them jobs in the worst economy in my lifetime. Why the constant stream of derision? People in Chicago, New York and yes, Boulder, walk out in front of drivers and do other non-sensible things. That is PEOPLE, not Ann Arborites. As far as liberalism goes, unions have been decimated, the libs have been tossed out of office, regulation has been slashed and taxes are at the lowest level in 60 years. Where are we economically after the "conservative" push of the last ten years? Oh, right, worst economy n my lifetime. Compare that to the hay days of the evil libs, when union members spent their money at your businesses.
MjC
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 4:51 p.m.
Smarter than the average bear... that's us all right (lol)
MorningGirl
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 4:10 p.m.
Thank you, Vivienne, for pointing that all. All of the advanced degrees from EMU figure in those stats, too.
ChrisW
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 3:55 p.m.
If we're so smart, why do we live somewhere that's so cold? I'm thinking the people in Hawaii or The Caribbean are the smart ones.
scoobysnacks
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 2:44 p.m.
the press must have also been excluded in this research. reporting this but not reporting about the 3 missing boys in lenawee county as every other news agency has.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 12:25 p.m.
So why can't the brainyacts figure out what to do with their leaves. http://www.annarbor.com/news/fall-is-in-full-swing/
Cash
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 12:10 p.m.
Why can't we manage to keep a good hard hitting newspaper going, even if it's online? Why can't we keep a local tv channel going? We are almost completely reliant on Detroit for our news coverage. Really how smart is that?
millermaple
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 11:29 a.m.
We must be pretty smart since this holiday offer is available which requires serious deliberation: "Get a free tattoo or oil change coupon by donating toys to those in need in Washtenaw County"
Mikey2u
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 11:14 a.m.
The only reason I finished my Master's was because I was too dumb to quit taking classes.
Brad
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 11:08 a.m.
Thanks for yet another piece of non-news. Yawn.
Cash
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:59 a.m.
Dictionary def: Brainpower=intellectual capacity; mental ability. Has it been proven that people with advanced degrees have a greater mental ability? This survey proves the area has a higher than average number of advanced degrees. A bus driver with a high school education could have a higher intellectual capacity than someone with a masters who went to school because mom paid for it and was too lazy to work. Or the person with a masters could indeed have a high mental capacity. Could go either way. Just my opinion.
Top Cat
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:45 a.m.
I'm glad they didn't include the content, depth and character of my posts on AA.com in this survey or we wouldn't have ranked so well.
Vivienne Armentrout
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:45 a.m.
To echo a comment already made, this survey merely recorded the number of holders of higher degrees. This is not a measure of "smartness", though a measure of intelligence and diligence is needed. (I'm a different person after all those 3 a.m. enzyme assays I had to do during my Ph.D. work.) There are lots of people without a higher degree who are "smart", whether that indicates I.Q., a practical common sense, or even a good moral understanding of the world. Also, if you read the article on which this report is based, the survey was not commenting on the city of Ann Arbor, but on the "metro area", which I assume is the MSA or metropolitan statistical area. This is the unit that the Census often uses to compare communities. The MSA for Ann Arbor is now considered to be Washtenaw County. So the "smart" people live in Ypsilanti, Saline and Manchester (and all the other townships, villages, cities etc.) as well as our fair city.
nickcarraweigh
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:45 a.m.
No entiendo
Guido
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:41 a.m.
pardon the previous post...just a slip of the keyboard...me thinks we've encountered a population that has been educated beyond their intelligence...
pbehjatnia
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:29 a.m.
You gotta be kidding. Firstly, who cares? Secondly, who cares? Thirdly, smart? The same population that act like idiots at W.F.? Who walk out in front of oncoming traffic and expect the world to stop spinning? Who hold a big 'tude and believe wholly in entitlement? Seriously? You gotta be kidding.
Lisa
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:27 a.m.
So why don't we drive better?
sirotan
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:19 a.m.
Speaking as someone with a Master's degree from UoM, I can say that having one is not necessarily an indicator of how smart you are.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:14 a.m.
Now about the same survey on common since, lets see where that goes. LOL
jcj
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:14 a.m.
They must have excluded the city officials!
cinnabar7071
Thu, Dec 2, 2010 : 10:13 a.m.
Most of liberal Ann Arbor would have told you that, in fact they have told us that over and over again in comments I read here.