These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In New York


We used science and data to determine which of New York’s cities are dumb as rocks.

This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

Swipe left for slideshow. Article continues below.
Advertisement

[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:

  1. Monticello (Photos)
  2. West Haverstraw (Photos)
  3. Albion
  4. Amsterdam (Photos)
  5. Spring Valley (Photos)
  6. Gloversville
  7. Poughkeepsie (Photos)
  8. Freeport (Photos)
  9. Hudson Falls (Photos)
  10. Glen Cove (Photos)

For more New York reading, check out:

Advertisement

[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.

Advertisement

[adrotate banner=’7′]

1. Monticello

Dumbest New York

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

Dumbest New York

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

Dumbest New York

Source: Public Domain

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

Dumbest New York

Source: Public domain

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

Dumbest New York

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

Dumbest New York

Source: Public Domain

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

Dumbest New York

Source: Public domain

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

Dumbest New York

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

Dumbest New York

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

Dumbest New York

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 Population Adults Without High School Diploma Teenage High School Dropouts
Monticello 1 6,780 22.1% 22.1%
West Haverstraw 2 10,308 22.0% 15.5%
Albion 3 5,799 19.9% 46.0%
Amsterdam 4 18,348 21.0% 15.8%
Spring Valley 5 32,007 30.9% 9.8%
Gloversville 6 15,395 20.6% 14.4%
Poughkeepsie 7 30,716 21.0% 12.4%
Freeport 8 43,168 21.3% 9.8%
Hudson Falls 9 7,266 16.9% 21.0%
Glen Cove 10 27,161 20.5% 9.8%
Port Chester 11 29,275 31.2% 7.5%
Wappingers Falls 12 5,377 18.8% 10.1%
Hempstead 13 54,801 29.5% 7.5%
Sleepy Hollow 14 10,002 21.8% 7.9%
Fulton 15 11,786 17.1% 10.5%
Kingston 16 23,707 16.3% 10.7%
Utica 17 61,852 21.3% 7.0%
Newburgh 18 28,614 31.8% 5.3%
Norwich 19 7,080 14.6% 14.7%
Kiryas Joel 20 21,201 37.0% 5.0%
Schenectady 21 66,055 16.7% 9.1%
Buffalo 22 259,959 17.5% 7.7%
Rochester 23 210,461 20.0% 7.0%
Binghamton 24 46,771 16.3% 8.6%
Auburn 25 27,369 16.6% 8.3%
Penn Yan 26 5,011 14.1% 11.8%
Yonkers 27 198,654 17.3% 7.2%
Westbury 28 15,201 13.5% 10.9%
Mastic Beach 29 14,880 13.5% 11.6%
New York 30 8,354,889 19.9% 5.5%
Dunkirk 31 12,386 16.7% 7.2%
Middletown 32 27,904 20.2% 5.4%
Newark 33 9,019 13.4% 10.2%
Jamestown 34 30,799 14.1% 9.2%
Elmira 35 29,046 17.1% 5.4%
Hudson 36 6,658 21.2% 4.0%
Ossining 37 25,232 28.1% 3.2%
Malone 38 5,866 15.6% 6.8%
Syracuse 39 144,648 19.9% 4.2%
Peekskill 40 23,875 19.1% 4.3%
Massena 41 10,937 11.2% 14.1%
Mount Vernon 42 67,962 15.0% 6.0%
Batavia 43 15,274 10.6% 15.6%
Johnstown 44 8,552 12.1% 7.7%
Watertown 45 27,590 11.9% 8.4%
Haverstraw 46 12,060 28.2% 2.0%
Bath 47 5,747 11.4% 9.7%
Salamanca 48 5,717 14.8% 5.4%
Troy 49 49,965 14.9% 5.2%
Ogdensburg 50 11,029 16.5% 3.7%
New Rochelle 51 78,476 16.4% 3.3%
Herkimer 52 7,752 14.1% 4.5%
Lackawanna 53 18,037 16.2% 2.9%
Niagara Falls 54 49,679 14.5% 4.1%
Rome 55 33,161 12.5% 4.8%
Olean 56 14,232 8.1% 19.9%
White Plains 57 57,505 13.5% 4.1%
Patchogue 58 12,045 15.1% 2.8%
Oswego 59 18,119 13.2% 3.9%
Tonawanda 60 15,048 9.1% 9.4%
Geneva 61 13,202 15.6% 2.2%
Port Jervis 62 8,736 17.6% 1.1%
Waterloo 63 5,178 11.2% 5.7%
Glens Falls 64 14,574 10.5% 6.4%
North Syracuse 65 6,659 9.0% 8.6%
Lockport 66 20,957 11.9% 3.5%
Baldwinsville 67 7,655 9.0% 7.3%
Endicott 68 13,216 11.5% 3.9%
Mount Kisco 69 11,016 17.4% 0.0%
Monroe 70 8,493 8.2% 7.8%
Mineola 71 18,918 15.2% 0.7%
Johnson City 72 14,977 12.1% 2.5%
Saranac Lake 73 6,055 7.7% 8.5%
Rensselaer 74 9,476 11.7% 2.6%
Farmingdale 75 8,306 7.6% 7.6%
Ilion 76 7,968 11.3% 2.7%
Hornell 77 8,508 12.1% 1.9%
Mamaroneck 78 19,133 10.9% 3.0%
Albany 79 98,287 11.1% 2.9%
Cortland 80 19,218 10.7% 2.9%
Solvay 81 6,514 14.8% 0.0%
Beacon 82 14,437 12.1% 1.4%
Chestnut Ridge 83 8,035 7.8% 5.8%
Chittenango 84 5,052 6.5% 7.6%
Amityville 85 9,551 8.0% 4.7%
Depew 86 15,262 8.6% 3.8%
Watervliet 87 10,250 11.1% 1.6%
Plattsburgh 88 19,840 11.7% 0.8%
New Hyde Park 89 9,764 12.1% 0.0%
Tarr 90 11,423 7.9% 4.2%
Kenmore 91 15,334 7.1% 5.3%
Cohoes 92 16,195 11.9% 0.0%
Nyack 93 6,857 11.9% 0.0%
Airmont 94 8,770 11.8% 0.0%
Dobbs Ferry 95 11,001 4.7% 9.1%
Harrison 96 27,822 10.7% 0.7%
Walden 97 6,919 11.4% 0.0%
Valley Stream 98 37,764 11.3% 0.0%
Oneida 99 11,290 11.2% 0.0%
Lindenhurst 100 27,303 10.2% 0.7%
Irvington 101 6,506 6.5% 4.7%
Warwick 102 6,783 8.2% 2.2%
Mechanicville 103 5,207 10.0% 0.0%
Manorhaven 104 6,638 10.0% 0.0%
Canton 105 6,600 9.7% 0.0%
Cedarhurst 106 6,631 9.6% 0.0%
Long Beach 107 33,522 7.9% 1.8%
Potsdam 108 9,577 9.3% 0.0%
Brockport 109 8,398 8.3% 1.3%
Lake Grove 110 11,235 7.4% 2.0%
North Tonawanda 111 31,245 7.9% 1.6%
Oneonta 112 13,906 8.5% 0.6%
Great Neck 113 10,052 9.0% 0.0%
Williamsville 114 5,286 3.3% 6.1%
Kings Point 115 5,076 9.0% 0.0%
Lancaster 116 10,314 5.9% 3.5%
Great Neck Plaza 117 6,823 8.8% 0.0%
New Hempstead 118 5,240 8.4% 0.3%
Lynbrook 119 19,517 7.3% 1.5%
Medina 120 5,962 8.4% 0.0%
East Rochester 121 6,687 8.4% 0.0%
Wesley Hills 122 5,779 6.7% 1.9%
Geneseo 123 8,043 8.2% 0.1%
Hilton 124 5,954 5.0% 3.8%
Port Jefferson 125 7,789 2.0% 7.0%
Suffern 126 10,864 7.0% 1.5%
Pleasantville 127 7,090 5.1% 3.2%
Webster 128 5,528 7.8% 0.0%
Fairport 129 5,364 7.7% 0.0%
Floral Park 130 16,190 5.3% 2.5%
Scotia 131 7,742 4.9% 2.6%
Tuckahoe 132 6,559 7.4% 0.0%
Williston Park 133 7,319 7.3% 0.0%
Saratoga Springs 134 26,998 5.3% 2.0%
Rye Brook 135 9,456 6.9% 0.2%
Babylon 136 12,177 4.7% 2.3%
Pelham 137 6,984 6.7% 0.0%
Hamburg 138 9,482 3.2% 3.0%
Horseheads 139 6,593 6.5% 0.0%
Goshen 140 5,417 6.3% 0.0%
Ithaca 141 30,399 6.2% 0.0%
Washingtonville 142 5,837 6.3% 0.0%
Fredonia 143 10,988 4.4% 1.9%
Corning 144 11,108 6.2% 0.0%
Briarcliff Manor 145 7,783 5.3% 1.1%
East Rockaway 146 9,861 6.1% 0.0%
Sea Cliff 147 5,012 2.8% 2.5%
Canandaigua 148 10,532 6.0% 0.0%
New Paltz 149 6,945 5.5% 0.0%
Ballston Spa 150 5,298 5.3% 0.0%
Malverne 151 8,544 5.1% 0.0%
Bayville 152 6,724 3.9% 0.6%
Colonie 153 7,869 4.8% 0.0%
Rye 154 15,892 2.9% 1.5%
Croton-on-Hudson 155 8,168 4.8% 0.0%
East Aurora 156 6,255 4.8% 0.0%
Woodbury 157 10,638 4.2% 0.0%
Rockville Centre 158 24,128 3.4% 0.0%
Lawrence 159 6,511 3.3% 0.0%
Hastings-on-Hudson 160 7,905 3.3% 0.0%
Massapequa Park 161 17,137 3.0% 0.0%
Garden City 162 22,543 2.4% 0.0%
Northport 163 7,417 2.2% 0.0%
Larchmont 164 5,952 2.2% 0.0%
Pelham Manor 165 5,539 2.0% 0.0%
Scarsdale 166 17,471 1.5% 0.5%
North Hills 167 5,122 1.2% 0.5%
Bronxville 168 6,378 1.7% 0.0%
East Hills 169 7,025 1.4% 0.0%