These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Minnesota

Anyone who says Minnesota is a stupid state has not done their homework.

In fact, according to a recent Washington Post study, it’s the second smartest state in America, with the study showing that Minnesotans are ahead of the national average by every metric of intelligence.

But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of (relatively) dumb cities in Minnesota.

After crunching the numbers, we came up with this list of the ten dumbest cities in the North Star State:

1. Worthington (Photos)
2. Faribault (Photos)
3. Brooklyn Center (Photos)
4. Albert Lea (Photos)
5. Glencoe (Photos)
6. Columbia Heights (Photos)
7. Richfield (Photos)
8. Little Falls (Photos)
9. Litchfield (Photos)
10. Austin (Photos)

For more Minnesota reading, check out:

• Worst Cities in Minnesota
• Most Dangerous Cities in Minnesota
• Safest Cities in Minnesota

How we determined the dumbest cities in the North Star State

We realize that formal education isn’t everything when it comes to being smart, but on the other hand not knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So we narrowed down our criteria to focus both on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Minnesota:

• % of city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
• % of high school dropouts (Ages 16-19)

Note: We only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 144 cities in Minnesota to rank. We also looked at the graduation rates of the entire population, not the current rates for high schoolers.

1. Worthington

Population: 12,920
Adults Without High School Diploma: 29.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 22.2%

Located in the southwestern part of the state, Worthington is, by a very wide margin, the dumbest city in Minnesota.

Both the rate of adults without high school diplomas living in the city and the high school dropout rate are almost twice as bad as the second dumbest city in Minnesota.

Nearly 3 in 10 adult residents of Worthington never completed high school, which is the highest rate in the state, and may explain why the younger generation doesn’t seem to value formal education.

The teenage high school dropout rate is an appalling 22.2%, which is the second highest rate in the state, and guarantees Worthington the title of dumbest city in Minnesota for years to come.

2. Faribault

Population: 23,460
Adults Without High School Diploma: 16.1%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 11.8%

Located 50 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Faribault seems like a city of astrophysicists compared to Worthington, but alas, it is still the second dumbest city in Minnesota.

The teenage high school dropout rate is 11.8%, which is the sixth highest in the state and more than three times as high as the state average for cities with populations over 5,000.

Faribault also has the fifth highest rate of adults without GEDs in Minnesota, with 16 out of every 100 adult residents lacking basic education.

3. Brooklyn Center

Population: 30,549
Adults Without High School Diploma: 16.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 10.2%

Brooklyn Center’s motto is “A Great Place to Start, A Great Place to Stay,” but in terms of education, it isn’t really either.

A northern suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Brooklyn Center is actually the seventh worst place to “get a start” in the state, with roughly 1 in 10 teenage high school students dropping out each year.

On top of that, 16.7% of Brooklyn Center residents over the age of 25 also never completed high school, meaning all generations are contributing to the city’s intelligence deficit.

4. Albert Lea

Population: 17,931
Adults Without High School Diploma: 15.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 8.7%

Another southern Minnesotan city, Albert Lea is the fourth dumbest city in the state.

Both the rates of adults without high school diplomas and high school dropouts are more than twice as high as the state average.

With 15.4% of Albert Lea’s adults lacking a GED, and 8.7% of teenage high school students dropping out, the city is ranked in the bottom 10 for both categories out of the 144 cities we looked at data for.

5. Glencoe

Population: 5,575
Adults Without High School Diploma: 16.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 6.1%

Located 50 miles west of Minneapolis, Glencoe is the smallest city to make this list.

Glencoe has the third highest rate of GED-less adults in the state, narrowly beating out Faribault’s rate.

While Glencoe’s high school dropout rate isn’t nearly as bad as Faribault’s, it’s still almost twice as bad as the average of the 144 cities we examined.

6. Columbia Heights

Population: 19,605
Adults Without High School Diploma: 14.5%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 7.2%

A northern suburb of Minneapolis, Columbia Heights is the sixth dumbest city in Minnesota.

Columbia Heights has the tenth highest rate of adults without a high school education in the state, with 14.5% of adults (twice as high as Minnesota’s average), lacking a GED.

The teenage high school dropout rate is also twice as bad as the state average, with about 7 of every 100 high schoolers dropping out each year.

7. Richfield

Population: 35,877
Adults Without High School Diploma: 13.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 8.1%

A southern suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Richfield is the location of Best Buy’s headquarters, so you’d think there would be a lot of smart folks around (unless you think Best Buy is dumb).

Yet the high school dropout rate in Richfield is 8.1%, meaning at least 8 out of every 100 teenagers has disqualified themselves from a position at the electronics retailer.

Add to that the fact that 13% of adults lack a GED in Richfield, and you’ve got yourself a relatively dumb city overall.

8. Little Falls

Population: 8,291
Adults Without High School Diploma: 14.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 5.9%

Located in central Minnesota, Little Falls has the ninth highest rate of adult residents without a high school education in the state.

About 15 of every 100 adults never completed basic education, which means it may be a bit tough to field a solid book club in Little Falls.

5.9% of high schoolers also drop out before completing their GED, so the future of Little Falls isn’t as bright as most cities in Minnesota.

9. Litchfield

Population: 6,689
Adults Without High School Diploma: 12.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 6.3%

Located 75 miles west of Minneapolis, Litchfield suffers from a relative intelligence deficit, scoring poorly in both categories of smartness.

The teenage high school dropout rate is 6.3%, a full 3% higher than the state average for cities with populations greater than 5,000.

12.8% of residents over the age of 25 lack a high school diploma also, meaning Litchfield is less educated overall than most Minnesotan cities.

10. Austin

Population: 24,760
Adults Without High School Diploma: 15.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 4.3%

Austin is known as SPAM Town USA, because the largest employer in the city is Hormel Foods, who make most of North America’s SPAM.

Making SPAM may not require a degree in rocket science, but that doesn’t let Austin off the hook as being the tenth dumbest city in Minnesota overall.

While the high school dropout rate is only 1% higher than the average for cities we looked at data for, Austin has the sixth highest rate of GED-less adults in the state, with almost 15.6% of adult residents lacking a high school diploma.

Putting a dunce cap on our analysis

If you’re measuring the locations in Minnesota where there are a high number of teenage dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious, the five smartest cities in Minnesota, in order, are: Orono, Shorewood, Medina, Victoria, and Rogers. All of these cities, excluding Victoria, are in Hennepin County. None of these cities are more than 30 miles away from Minneapolis, and all of them are to the west of the Twin Cities.

Other notable cities: the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are almost equally (un)intelligent, with St. Paul ranking as the 23rd dumbest city in Minnesota, and Minneapolis ranking as the 24th dumbest. Roughly 10% of each city’s adult population never completed high school, and the dropout rate in each city is slightly higher than the state average of 3.3%.

Rochester is near the middle of the pack in terms of intelligence, ranking as the 69th dumbest city in Minnesota.

Duluth is slightly dumber, ranking as the 61st dumbest city in the state with 7% of adults lacking a GED, and a 2.8% high school dropout rate.

We also wrote about the 10 Laziest Cities In Minnesota if you wanted another interesting study to read.

In all seriousness we had to mention a great organization in Minnesota. If youve ever considered adopting a child, there’s no better time. Check out MN Adopt and change a life.

Detailed List Of Dumbest Cities In Minnesota

City	Rank	Population	Adults Without High School Diploma	Teenage High School Drop Outs
Worthington	1	12,920	29.3%	22.2%
Faribault	2	23,460	16.1%	11.8%
Brooklyn Center	3	30,549	16.7%	10.2%
Albert Lea	4	17,931	15.4%	8.7%
Glencoe	5	5,575	16.7%	6.1%
Columbia Heights	6	19,605	14.5%	7.2%
Richfield	7	35,877	13.0%	8.1%
Little Falls	8	8,291	14.6%	5.9%
Litchfield	9	6,689	12.8%	6.3%
Austin	10	24,760	15.6%	4.3%
Crookston	11	7,899	11.4%	7.1%
Spring Lake Park	12	6,503	9.2%	23.4%
Willmar	13	19,626	17.0%	3.5%
Detroit Lakes	14	8,834	10.4%	7.2%
Hopkins	15	17,909	8.8%	12.4%
St. Paul	16	291,728	13.6%	3.8%
Waseca	17	9,370	8.6%	16.7%
Waite Park	18	7,391	12.0%	3.6%
North St. Paul	19	11,775	9.8%	5.1%
Fridley	20	27,494	8.3%	8.0%
East Grand Forks	21	8,621	9.1%	5.6%
Red Wing	22	16,502	7.8%	9.8%
St. Paul Park	23	5,327	10.5%	3.7%
Minneapolis	24	394,424	11.0%	3.4%
Brooklyn Park	25	77,579	10.2%	3.5%
New Hope	26	20,648	9.5%	3.9%
Otsego	27	14,257	7.7%	5.9%
Bemidji	28	14,319	10.6%	2.8%
Owatonna	29	25,550	8.2%	4.9%
South St. Paul	30	20,368	8.3%	4.8%
Brainerd	31	13,521	9.8%	3.0%
Cloquet	32	12,064	6.1%	8.7%
Fergus Falls	33	13,215	10.0%	2.7%
Anoka	34	17,202	10.0%	2.5%
Cambridge	35	8,223	12.6%	1.4%
Inver Grove Heights	36	34,258	7.0%	5.2%
Hutchinson	37	13,983	6.5%	5.8%
St. Cloud	38	66,038	8.7%	3.1%
West St. Paul	39	19,690	9.9%	2.5%
Fairmont	40	10,474	14.9%	0.0%
Montevideo	41	5,283	13.9%	0.0%
Forest Lake	42	18,933	5.5%	7.7%
Sauk Rapids	43	13,079	8.2%	3.2%
Robbinsdale	44	14,196	6.5%	4.6%
Hibbing	45	16,330	9.8%	1.9%
International Falls	46	6,329	13.2%	0.0%
New Brighton	47	21,899	6.0%	5.7%
St. Peter	48	11,403	10.0%	1.5%
Big Lake	49	10,230	9.1%	2.3%
Redwood Falls	50	5,174	11.0%	0.7%
Maplewood	51	39,261	9.4%	1.9%
North Branch	52	10,099	5.3%	6.6%
Morris	53	5,324	11.1%	0.0%
St. Francis	54	7,297	6.8%	3.5%
Thief River Falls	55	8,662	10.2%	0.7%
Chaska	56	24,238	4.9%	7.0%
New Ulm	57	13,328	8.1%	2.5%
Alexandria	58	11,465	8.7%	1.4%
East Bethel	59	11,614	5.8%	3.9%
Burnsville	60	61,059	5.9%	3.7%
Duluth	61	86,239	7.0%	2.8%
Bloomington	62	85,136	6.5%	2.9%
Zimmerman	63	5,268	9.9%	0.0%
Marshall	64	13,609	7.9%	2.1%
Winona	65	27,526	9.3%	0.6%
Mounds View	66	12,412	8.6%	1.0%
Belle Plaine	67	6,794	3.1%	20.2%
Lake City	68	5,093	9.7%	0.0%
Rochester	69	109,252	6.5%	2.8%
Blaine	70	59,295	5.6%	3.6%
Moorhead	71	39,053	6.2%	2.9%
Virginia	72	8,671	7.9%	1.5%
Oakdale	73	27,705	5.3%	3.7%
Hastings	74	22,355	6.2%	2.9%
Shakopee	75	38,613	7.6%	1.9%
Buffalo	76	15,710	6.2%	2.9%
Wyoming	77	7,764	4.2%	5.4%
Mound	78	9,205	3.2%	8.6%
St. Louis Park	79	46,466	4.8%	4.2%
Cottage Grove	80	35,169	4.6%	4.5%
Crystal	81	22,459	8.3%	0.7%
Coon Rapids	82	61,809	6.4%	2.5%
New Prague	83	7,434	8.4%	0.0%
Waconia	84	11,230	5.0%	3.3%
Delano	85	5,598	3.5%	5.1%
Chisholm	86	5,001	4.7%	3.7%
Golden Valley	87	20,683	4.3%	4.0%
Apple Valley	88	49,911	4.2%	4.3%
Oak Grove	89	8,145	8.0%	0.0%
Lakeville	90	57,715	3.7%	4.8%
Northfield	91	20,303	7.8%	0.2%
Vadnais Heights	92	12,770	7.6%	0.0%
Corcoran	93	5,482	7.2%	0.0%
Monticello	94	12,974	5.7%	1.9%
Savage	95	28,055	5.2%	2.4%
Stewartville	96	5,990	7.0%	0.0%
Farmington	97	21,861	5.0%	2.5%
Little Canada	98	10,015	6.9%	0.0%
Lino Lakes	99	20,671	4.7%	2.6%
Grand Rapids	100	10,950	6.4%	0.4%
Mankato	101	39,871	6.0%	0.8%
Ham Lake	102	15,565	4.7%	2.5%
Sartell	103	16,123	5.3%	1.5%
St. Joseph	104	6,694	4.2%	2.8%
Rosemount	105	22,469	4.6%	2.5%
Edina	106	48,940	2.0%	4.5%
Hermantown	107	9,588	6.0%	0.3%
Chanhassen	108	24,003	3.4%	3.1%
Ramsey	109	24,441	4.5%	2.2%
Roseville	110	34,554	5.8%	0.0%
Prior Lake	111	23,956	3.9%	2.4%
Mahtomedi	112	7,923	2.6%	3.3%
St. Anthony	113	8,501	5.3%	0.0%
White Bear Lake	114	24,398	5.2%	0.0%
Kasson	115	6,017	5.1%	0.0%
Elk River	116	23,346	4.7%	0.7%
Byron	117	5,023	2.0%	2.8%
Stillwater	118	18,541	3.3%	1.9%
Jordan	119	5,784	4.7%	0.0%
Andover	120	31,271	3.7%	1.0%
Champlin	121	23,591	3.9%	0.7%
Baxter	122	7,710	4.4%	0.0%
North Mankato	123	13,403	4.3%	0.0%
Albertville	124	7,159	4.2%	0.0%
Isanti	125	5,396	4.0%	0.0%
Plymouth	126	72,868	3.0%	1.2%
Maple Grove	127	64,364	2.7%	1.5%
Hugo	128	13,850	3.8%	0.0%
Mendota Heights	129	11,131	2.8%	1.2%
Eagan	130	65,053	3.6%	0.3%
Arden Hills	131	9,700	2.8%	0.7%
Eden Prairie	132	62,096	2.7%	0.8%
Woodbury	133	64,544	2.7%	0.9%
Minnetonka	134	50,897	2.7%	0.7%
Shoreview	135	25,673	3.3%	0.0%
Lake Elmo	136	8,123	3.3%	0.0%
Minnetrista	137	6,661	3.2%	0.0%
St. Michael	138	16,767	2.9%	0.0%
Falcon Heights	139	5,439	2.2%	0.0%
Rogers	140	11,747	1.9%	0.0%
Victoria	141	7,845	1.8%	0.0%
Medina	142	5,163	1.1%	0.0%
Shorewood	143	7,438	1.0%	0.0%
Orono	144	7,690	0.6%	0.0%