Overview

• WalletHub evaluated 150 largest U.S. metropolitan areas using 11 metrics including educational attainment, school quality and equity gaps.
• Brownsville-Harlingen, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Beaumont-Port Arthur and Corpus Christi rank among the nation’s 10 least educated metros.
• Several California cities, such as Visalia and Bakersfield, also place in the top 20 least educated urban areas.
• The study highlights that only 15.66% of Black adults hold a bachelor’s degree compared to 23.89% of white adults.
• Policy experts recommend investing in elementary literacy, strengthening K–12 infrastructure and anti-displacement measures to boost long-term attainment.