[adrotate banner=’4′]
New York is far from a dumb state; in fact, a recent Washington Post study found that it was the 17th smartest state overall, with the seventh highest rate of college graduate residents in the United States.
But there’s a huge gap in the educational levels of New York’s smartest and dumbest cities, and the cities on this list are the ones that really hold the state back intellectually.
After crunching the numbers, we came up with this list of the ten dumbest cities in the Empire State:
- Monticello (Photos)
- West Haverstraw (Photos)
- Albion
- Amsterdam (Photos)
- Spring Valley (Photos)
- Gloversville
- Poughkeepsie (Photos)
- Freeport (Photos)
- Hudson Falls (Photos)
- Glen Cove (Photos)
For more New York reading, check out:
[adrotate banner=’5′]
How we determined the dumbest cities in the Empire 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 New York:
- % 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 169 cities in New York to rank. We also looked at the graduation rates of the entire population, not the current rates for high schoolers.
[adrotate banner=’7′]
1. Monticello
Population: 6,780
Adults Without High School Diploma: 22.1%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 22.1%
Located in southeastern New York, Monticello unfortunately ranks as the dumbest city in all of New York.
Monticello has the second highest rate of teenage high school dropouts in the state, with about 22 of every 100 teenagers opting out of basic education each year.
The city has the identical rate of adult residents without GED, with 22.1% of Monticello residents over the age of 25 lacking a GED.
2. West Haverstraw
Population: 10,308
Adults Without High School Diploma: 22.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 15.5%
West Haverstraw ranks as the second dumbest city in New York, with nearly the same rate of uneducated adults as Monticello.
The dropout rate in West Haverstraw, however, is much lower than in Monticello.
Still, with 15.5% of West Haverstraw teenagers leaving high school each year, the city has a dropout rate close to four times as high as the statewide average for New York cities with populations over 5,000.
3. Albion
Population: 5,799
Adults Without High School Diploma: 19.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 46.0%
Albion may only rank as the third dumbest city in New York overall, but the city’s current teenage high school dropout rate is more than twice as high as Monticello’s (the second highest dropout rate in the state).
A whopping 46% of Albion’s teenagers drop out of high school each year, so the city’s future certainly doesn’t look super bright.
On top of that, just about 2 in 10 adults living in Albion lack a high school diploma, so it’s not like the older generations do much to improve the city’s smartness scores.
4. Amsterdam
Population: 18,348
Adults Without High School Diploma: 21.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 15.8%
A city in east-central New York, Amsterdam is the fourth dumbest city in its state.
The city has the fifth highest rate of teenage high school dropouts in the state, with 15.8% of teenage students leaving school before acquiring their diplomas.
21% of Amsterdam adults also lack a GED, which is the 15th highest rate for cities in New York.
5. Spring Valley
Population: 32,007
Adults Without High School Diploma: 30.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 9.8%
Located about 25 miles north Manhattan, Spring Valley is the fifth dumbest city in New York mostly because of its shockingly high population of uneducated adults.
With more than 3 in 10 residents over the age of 25 lacking a high school degree, Spring Valley’s adults are about three times as uneducated as the New York average. That’s the fourth highest rate in the state.
About 1 in 10 high school teenagers drop out each year, which is more than double the state average.
6. Gloversville
Population: 15,395
Adults Without High School Diploma: 20.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 14.4%
Located in east-central New York, Gloversville was once the hub of America’s glove-making industry, but now it’s just the sixth dumbest city in the state.
14.4% of teenagers leave high school in Gloversville each year, which is the ninth highest rate in the state and more than triple the statewide average for New York.
The adults in Gloversville aren’t braniacs either, since about one fifth of them lack their high school diploma.
7. Poughkeepsie
Population: 30,716
Adults Without High School Diploma: 21.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 12.4%
Located midway between New York City and Albany, Poughkeepsie ranks as the seventh dumbest city in New York.
Only 79% of Poughkeepsie residents over the age of 25 possess a high school diploma, which ranks as the fourteenth worst rate of the New York cities we measured.
12.4% of teenagers in Poughkeepsie also drop out of high school each year, which is about three times higher than the state average.
8. Freeport
Population: 43,168
Adults Without High School Diploma: 21.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 9.8%
Located on the South Shore of Long Island, Freeport is a commuter city that ranks as the ninth dumbest place in the state of New York.
21.3% of Freeport’s adult population lack a high school diploma, which is the eleventh highest rate of uneducated adults in the state.
Just about 1 in 10 of Freeport’s teenagers also drop out of high school, which is more than twice as high as the average dropout rate for New York cities with populations over 5,000.
9. Hudson Falls
Population: 7,266
Adults Without High School Diploma: 16.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 21.0%
Located in east-central New York, Hudson Falls ranks as the ninth dumbest city in New York with the third highest rate of teenage high school dropout rates in the state.
Most of the reason Hudson Falls makes this list: 21% of teenagers living in Hudson Falls drop out of high school each year.
16.9% of adults in Hudson Falls also lack a GED, which is more than 5% higher than the state average.
10. Glen Cove
Population: 27,161
Adults Without High School Diploma: 20.5%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 9.8%
Located on the North Shore of Long Island, Glen Cove is the last city to make the dumb list for New York.
20.5% of Glen Cove’s adult population do not possess a high school diploma, and 9.8% of the city’s teenagers drop out of high school each year; both of these rates rank in the worst 15% for cities in New York.
So this is one of the last places in New York that you’d want to start a Book Of The Month Club.
Putting a dunce cap on our analysis
If you’re measuring the locations in New York 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, here are the five smartest cities in New York, in order: East Hills, Bronxville, North Hills, Scarsdale, and Pelham Manor. East and North Hills are both in Nassau County, while Bronxville, Scarsdale, and Pelham Manor are all in Westchester County. All five are in southeastern New York.
New York City is the 30th dumbest city in the state of New York, with 19.9% of the city’s residents lacking a high school degree and 5.5% of the city’s teenagers dropping out of high school each year.
New York’s capital, Albany is in the middle of the pack in terms of intelligence, ranking as the 79th dumbest city of the 169 cities we looked at data for.
Buffalo ranked as the 22nd dumbest city in New York overall, with well below average scores in each of our intelligence metrics.
Rochester ranked just behind Buffalo as the 23rd dumbest city in the state.
Yonkers ranked as the 27th dumbest city and Syracuse ranked as the 39th dumbest city in the state.
White Plains came in as the 57th dumbest city in New York.
Detailed List Of Dumbest Cities In New York
City | Rank |
---|---|
Monticello | 1 |
West Haverstraw | 2 |
Albion | 3 |
Amsterdam | 4 |
Spring Valley | 5 |
Gloversville | 6 |
Poughkeepsie | 7 |
Freeport | 8 |
Hudson Falls | 9 |
Glen Cove | 10 |
Port Chester | 11 |
Wappingers Falls | 12 |
Hempstead | 13 |
Sleepy Hollow | 14 |
Fulton | 15 |
Kingston | 16 |
Utica | 17 |
Newburgh | 18 |
Norwich | 19 |
Kiryas Joel | 20 |
Schenectady | 21 |
Buffalo | 22 |
Rochester | 23 |
Binghamton | 24 |
Auburn | 25 |
Penn Yan | 26 |
Yonkers | 27 |
Westbury | 28 |
Mastic Beach | 29 |
New York | 30 |
Dunkirk | 31 |
Middletown | 32 |
Newark | 33 |
Jamestown | 34 |
Elmira | 35 |
Hudson | 36 |
Ossining | 37 |
Malone | 38 |
Syracuse | 39 |
Peekskill | 40 |
Massena | 41 |
Mount Vernon | 42 |
Batavia | 43 |
Johnstown | 44 |
Watertown | 45 |
Haverstraw | 46 |
Bath | 47 |
Salamanca | 48 |
Troy | 49 |
Ogdensburg | 50 |
New Rochelle | 51 |
Herkimer | 52 |
Lackawanna | 53 |
Niagara Falls | 54 |
Rome | 55 |
Olean | 56 |
White Plains | 57 |
Patchogue | 58 |
Oswego | 59 |
Tonawanda | 60 |
Geneva | 61 |
Port Jervis | 62 |
Waterloo | 63 |
Glens Falls | 64 |
North Syracuse | 65 |
Lockport | 66 |
Baldwinsville | 67 |
Endicott | 68 |
Mount Kisco | 69 |
Monroe | 70 |
Mineola | 71 |
Johnson City | 72 |
Saranac Lake | 73 |
Rensselaer | 74 |
Farmingdale | 75 |
Ilion | 76 |
Hornell | 77 |
Mamaroneck | 78 |
Albany | 79 |
Cortland | 80 |
Solvay | 81 |
Beacon | 82 |
Chestnut Ridge | 83 |
Chittenango | 84 |
Amityville | 85 |
Depew | 86 |
Watervliet | 87 |
Plattsburgh | 88 |
New Hyde Park | 89 |
Tarr | 90 |
Kenmore | 91 |
Cohoes | 92 |
Nyack | 93 |
Airmont | 94 |
Dobbs Ferry | 95 |
Harrison | 96 |
Walden | 97 |
Valley Stream | 98 |
Oneida | 99 |
Lindenhurst | 100 |
Irvington | 101 |
Warwick | 102 |
Mechanicville | 103 |
Manorhaven | 104 |
Canton | 105 |
Cedarhurst | 106 |
Long Beach | 107 |
Potsdam | 108 |
Brockport | 109 |
Lake Grove | 110 |
North Tonawanda | 111 |
Oneonta | 112 |
Great Neck | 113 |
Williamsville | 114 |
Kings Point | 115 |
Lancaster | 116 |
Great Neck Plaza | 117 |
New Hempstead | 118 |
Lynbrook | 119 |
Medina | 120 |
East Rochester | 121 |
Wesley Hills | 122 |
Geneseo | 123 |
Hilton | 124 |
Port Jefferson | 125 |
Suffern | 126 |
Pleasantville | 127 |
Webster | 128 |
Fairport | 129 |
Floral Park | 130 |
Scotia | 131 |
Tuckahoe | 132 |
Williston Park | 133 |
Saratoga Springs | 134 |
Rye Brook | 135 |
Babylon | 136 |
Pelham | 137 |
Hamburg | 138 |
Horseheads | 139 |
Goshen | 140 |
Ithaca | 141 |
Washingtonville | 142 |
Fredonia | 143 |
Corning | 144 |
Briarcliff Manor | 145 |
East Rockaway | 146 |
Sea Cliff | 147 |
Canandaigua | 148 |
New Paltz | 149 |
Ballston Spa | 150 |
Malverne | 151 |
Bayville | 152 |
Colonie | 153 |
Rye | 154 |
Croton-on-Hudson | 155 |
East Aurora | 156 |
Woodbury | 157 |
Rockville Centre | 158 |
Lawrence | 159 |
Hastings-on-Hudson | 160 |
Massapequa Park | 161 |
Garden City | 162 |
Northport | 163 |
Larchmont | 164 |
Pelham Manor | 165 |
Scarsdale | 166 |
North Hills | 167 |
Bronxville | 168 |
East Hills | 169 |