Forbes Names A Georgia City The ‘Most Educated’

Forbes Advisor has released its latest report on the most educated city in America, and the results are stirring up quite a reaction. Atlanta has been ranked as the most educated city in the country.

According to Atlanta News First, Forbes highlighted Atlanta for its major institutions, such as Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, and Emory University, as well as its notable HBCUs like Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta. The report reveals that nearly 60% (59.28%) of Atlanta’s residents hold bachelor’s degrees, and 26.68% have graduate degrees.

11Alive notes that Forbes also considers cities as innovation hubs and tax revenue sources, attracting companies seeking top talent, which further increases the concentration of highly educated individuals.

Forbes clarified that the title of “most educated” is determined by a range of factors beyond just the concentration of college graduates. Their rankings consider high school dropout rates, graduate degree attainment, and disparities in degree completion among different genders and races.

The City of Atlanta’s official X account (formerly Twitter) expressed gratitude, stating, “Thank you @Forbes for naming Atlanta the most educated city in the U.S.!” They continued, “Proud of the collective effort driving us forward.”

Arlington, Virginia; St. Petersburg, Florida; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, California, also made it into the top five. The outlet notes that Arlington has a “sky-high” bachelor’s completion rate of over 78.22%. As for St. Petersburg Forbes said, “More than 65% (65.37%) of adults in St. Pete hold bachelor’s degrees, and nearly 39% (38.94%) boast graduate degrees, ranking #2 for highest graduate degree completion rate in our survey behind Arlington.”

San Antonio, according to the ranking, has a bachelor’s completion rate of 67.30%, and a “significant majority” of residents are college grads. Nearly 42% (41.86%) of San Diegans hold bachelor’s degrees, with almost equal representation for men and women. Among those without bachelor’s degrees, around 20% (19.94%) have completed at least some college, and 19.41% of college grads also hold graduate degrees.

While many celebrated Atlanta’s top ranking, others voiced their opinions on social media. The Shade Room shared the news on Instagram, where user @queen_drinab commented, “ATL has over 50 universities and colleges so yeah, makes sense.”

Instagram user @strawberriredd wrote, “I have tons of successful well-educated clients that come get their hair done so I believe this. All my clients got great jobs.” 

Meanwhile, user @nowthatsmajor argued, “Nah… BOSTON needs to be on this list.”

Another Instagram user @definitelypaid wrote, “Florida and educated don’t go together [laughing emoji].”

User @definitelypaid humorously remarked, “Florida and educated don’t go together [laughing emoji],” while @noeffort_needed summed up with, “We have our fun & we handle our business too.”