America’s Most Literate Cities, 2004

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

This study attempts to capture one critical index of our nation’s social health—the literacy of its major cities (population of 250,000 and above). The study focuses on six important indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and online resources. Because of the number and complexity of the variables, the variety of ways in which the resource data are gathered and presented, and the variability in the timeliness of the data, the ranking is necessarily an interpretation.

Rank City Rank City Rank City
1. Minneapolis, Minn. 28. Charlotte, N.C. 54. Dallas, Tex.
2. Seattle, Wash. 29. Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. 55. Wichita, Kans.
3. Pittsburgh, Pa. 30. Baton Rouge, La. 56. Fort Worth, Tex.
4. Madison, Wis. 31. Tucson, Ariz. 57. Oakland, Calif.
5. Cincinnati, Ohio 32. Omaha, Nebr. 58. Chicago, Ill.
6. Washington, D.C. 33. Sacramento, Calif. 59. Plano, Tex.
7. Denver, Colo. 34. Honolulu, Hawaii 60. Phoenix, Ariz.
8. Boston, Mass. 35. Milwaukee, Wis. 61. Glendale, Ariz.
9. Portland, Ore. 36. Tampa, Fla. 62. San Jose, Calif.
10. San Francisco, Calif. 37. Miami, Fla. 63. Houston, Tex.
11. Columbus, Ohio 38. Montgomery, Ala. 64. Jacksonville, Fla.
12. Kansas City, Mo. 39. Oklahoma City, Okla. 65. Mesa, Ariz.
13. St. Louis, Mo. 40. Toledo, Ohio 66. Fremont, Calif.
14. Cleveland, Ohio 41. Albuquerque, N.M. 67. Memphis, Tenn.
15. Atlanta, Ga. 42. Lincoln, Nebr. 68. Los Angeles, Calif.
16. St. Paul, Minn 43. New Orleans, La. 69. Detroit, Mich.
17. Louisville, Ky. 44. San Diego, Calif. 70. Garland, Tex.
18. Birmingham, Ala. 45. Fort Wayne, Ind. 71. Fresno, Calif.
19. Scottsdale, Ariz. 46. Philadelphia, Pa. 72. Arlington, Tex.
20. Colorado Springs, Colo. 47. Las Vegas, Nev. 73. Long Beach, Calif.
21. Tulsa, Okla. 48. Virginia Beach, Va. 74. Anaheim, Calif.
22. Austin, Tex. 49. New York, N.Y. 75. San Antonio, Tex.
23. Rochester, N.Y. 50. Shreveport, La. 76. Santa Ana, Calif.
24. Norfolk, Va. 51. Buffalo, N.Y. 77. Corpus Christi, Tex.
25. Baltimore, Md. 52. Newark, N.J. 78. Hialeah, Fla.
26. Akron, Ohio 53. Greensboro, N.C. 79. El Paso, Tex.
27. Indianapolis, Ind.
Source: Study conducted by Dr. Jack Miller, President of Central Connecticut State University, 2007. Web: /node/4994 . Used with permission.

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