These Are The 10 Dumbest Cities In Washington

Washington isn’t an incredibly dumb state, but it’s also far from the smartest state in America.

A recent Washington Post study found Washington to be the 23rd smartest state in the union, with above average scores in every intelligence metric except for SAT scores.

While the Evergreen State is about average on the smartness scale, our list is based on completion rates of basic education, and these are the cities that are holding the state back from a higher intelligence score overall.

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

1. Othello (Photos)
2. Sunnyside (Photos)
3. Kelso (Photos)
4. Connell (Photos)
5. Shelton (Photos)
6. Yakima (Photos)
7. Toppenish (Photos)
8. Tukwila (Photos)
9. Woodland (Photos)
10. Wapato (Photos)

For more Washington reading, check out:

• Worst Cities in Washington
• Most Dangerous Cities in Washington
• Safest Cities in Washington

How we determined the dumbest cities in the Evergreen 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 Washington:

• % 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 118 cities in Washington to rank. We also looked at the graduation rates of the entire population, not the current rates for high schoolers.

1. Othello

Population: 7,524
Adults Without High School Diploma: 38.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 23.7%

Located in eastern Washington, Othello, unfortunately, gets the title as the dumbest city in the whole state. How did we assign such a horrible title to Othello?

Well, the city has the highest rate of teenagers dropping out of high school, with in absurdly high 23.7% dropout rate; that’s about 1 in 4 teenage students just saying no to basic education.

The lack of motivation in the younger generation might have something to do with the adult population not placing much importance in formal education; an incredible 38.6% of adults living in Othello never acquired their GED, which, shockingly, is only the sixth highest rate of Washington cities with populations over 5,000.

2. Sunnyside

Population: 16,038
Adults Without High School Diploma: 47.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 15.5%

A city in southern Washington, Sunnyside may have a super-optimistic name, but it’s hard to find much cheer in having such an under-educated population.

A whopping 47.7% of Sunnyside residents over the age of 25 lack a GED, which is only the third highest rate in Washington for the cities we measured.

Considering almost half of the adult population here is uneducated, the 15.5% teenage high school dropout rate seems like a modest improvement. But it’s still the sixth highest dropout rate in the state.

3. Kelso

Population: 11,837
Adults Without High School Diploma: 20.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 23.6%

Located near Mount St. Helens in the southwestern part of Washington, Kelso ranks as the third dumbest city in the state overall.

Kelso’s high school dropout rate for teenagers is just a smidge lower than Othello’s, with 23.6% of students dropping out each year. That’s the second highest rate in the state.

With about 1 in 5 adult residents lacking a high school diploma, Kelso’s adult population doesn’t do much to help out its smartness score. Since the city’s teens are dropping out at higher rates than their elders, Kelso is guaranteed to get dumber as the years go by unless things change.

4. Connell

Population: 5,130
Adults Without High School Diploma: 21.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 15.2%

Connell’s population is 2/3 male, so its ranking as the fourth dumbest city in Washington doesn’t exactly reflect well on men.

21.2% of Connell’s residents over the age of 25 do not possess a high school diploma, which is the tenth highest rate in the state.

15.2% of teenagers in Connell also drop out of high school each year, which the eighth highest rate in Washington.

5. Shelton

Population: 9,798
Adults Without High School Diploma: 19.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 14.7%

The westernmost city on the Puget Sound, Shelton ranked as the sixth most dangerous city in Washington in one of our other lists. When you look at the unbiased numbers, apparently, in some cases, there’s a co-relation between criminals and a lack of education.

19.4% of Shelton’s adult residents lack a GED; that’s about 1 in 5 people over the age of 25 who might still struggle with the difference between your and you’re.

What’s even more troubling, Shelton’s teenage population is dropping out of high school at the ninth highest rate in Washington, with about 15 of every 100 students currently opting out of a high school diploma each year.

6. Yakima

Population: 92,806
Adults Without High School Diploma: 26.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 13.0%

The teens are a little brighter in Yakima than they are in Shelton, but the adults are far less educated. Combined, this keeps Yakima just out of the top 5 Washington ‘dumb’ list.

Yakima may be the sacred source of a lot of our beer, but it’s lagging behind in terms of intelligence, with more than 1 in 4 adult residents lacking a high school education.

The city also has the fourteenth highest teenage high school dropout rate in the state, with 13% of teenagers leaving school each year.

7. Toppenish

Population: 9,007
Adults Without High School Diploma: 54.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 8.4%

Just about 20 miles southeast of Yakima, Toppenish has the second highest rate of uneducated adults in Washington.

More than half (54% to be exact) of Toppenish residents over the age of 25 lack a high school diploma, which makes it one of the least likely places in the state to start a Book of the Month club.

The current dropout rate for teenagers is 8.4%, which is better than most other cities on this list, meaning things might be turning around here.

8. Tukwila

Population: 19,573
Adults Without High School Diploma: 19.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 10.4%

Located just south of Seattle, Tukwila is apparently more dangerous than it is dumb; it ranked as the most dangerous city in Washington in another study we conducted.

Roughly 2 in 10 adult residents here lack a GED, and about 1 in 10 teenagers drops out of high school each year, which cumulatively, makes for a fairly uneducated city overall.

9. Woodland

Population: 5,535
Adults Without High School Diploma: 15.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 17.9%

Located about 30 miles north of Portland, Woodland’s main reason for being on this list is its current teenage high school dropout rate.

With 17.9% of teenage students leaving high school each year, Woodland has the third highest dropout rate in Washington.

The city’s dropout rate is even higher than its rate of uneducated adults, basically guaranteeing that Woodland will only grow dimmer with time, unless things change.

10. Wapato

Population: 5,043
Adults Without High School Diploma: 58.5%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 6.2%

Wapato, a city 15 miles south Yakima, is the strangest city to make this list because of the huge difference in its uneducated adult population and its current teenage high school dropout rate.

Wapato has the highest rate of uneducated adults in the state, with 58.5% of adult residents lacking a high school diploma.

On the other hand, the city has the lowest current high school dropout rate for teenagers (on this list), but with 6.2% of students leaving school each year, the city is still ranked in the bottom 33% of cities we measured.

Putting a dunce cap on our analysis

If you’re measuring the locations in Washington 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 Washington, in order: Ridgefield, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Sammamish, and DuPoint. Mercer Island, Issaquah, and Sammamish are all located in King County.

Other notable cities: Seattle ranked as the 40th smartest city in the state, with a super low teenage high school dropout rate of 2.6%.

Washington’s capital, Olympia, fared slightly better than Seattle, ranking as the 35th smartest city in the state, but with a slightly higher dropout rate.

Spokane was right in the middle of the pack, ranking as the 57th smartest (or 62nd dumbest) city in Washington.

Tacoma ranked as the 27th dumbest city in the state.

Detailed List Of Dumbest Cities In Washington

City	Rank	Population	Adults Without High School Diploma	Teenage High School Dropouts
Othello	1	7,524	38.6%	23.7%
Sunnyside	2	16,038	47.7%	15.5%
Kelso	3	11,837	20.2%	23.6%
Connell	4	5,130	21.2%	15.2%
Shelton	5	9,798	19.4%	14.7%
Yakima	6	92,806	26.8%	13.0%
Toppenish	7	9,007	54.0%	8.4%
Tukwila	8	19,573	19.4%	10.4%
Woodland	9	5,535	15.4%	17.9%
Wapato	10	5,043	58.5%	6.2%
Pasco	11	65,858	30.8%	6.9%
Pacific	12	6,845	15.3%	13.6%
Mount Vernon	13	32,356	19.6%	7.8%
Hoquiam	14	8,560	17.4%	9.1%
Ferndale	15	12,040	14.1%	12.9%
Burlington	16	8,466	15.6%	9.0%
Lakewood	17	58,890	11.9%	14.4%
Longview	18	36,589	13.3%	8.8%
Burien	19	49,291	15.7%	6.4%
Orting	20	6,941	10.1%	16.7%
Kent	21	122,620	15.2%	7.2%
Grandview	22	11,023	44.7%	3.4%
Fife	23	9,346	10.6%	13.0%
East Wenatchee	24	13,403	19.0%	3.7%
Arlington	25	18,370	11.1%	8.8%
Auburn	26	73,403	12.9%	6.6%
Tacoma	27	201,794	12.5%	6.9%
Airway Heights	28	6,356	8.8%	13.3%
Des Moines	29	30,403	15.4%	4.4%
Everett	30	104,708	13.1%	5.6%
Federal Way	31	91,676	10.5%	8.1%
North Bend	32	6,127	7.7%	16.8%
Kennewick	33	75,971	13.8%	4.8%
Sumner	34	9,548	8.8%	10.2%
Stanwood	35	6,468	10.3%	8.1%
Wenatchee	36	32,627	17.1%	3.1%
Edgewood	37	9,538	8.5%	9.3%
Union Gap	38	6,061	40.2%	1.1%
Chehalis	39	7,265	15.3%	3.3%
Vancouver	40	165,554	10.6%	5.8%
Renton	41	95,479	11.6%	4.9%
Lynnwood	42	36,267	11.8%	4.4%
Bonney Lake	43	18,040	8.4%	8.2%
Monroe	44	17,564	16.0%	2.7%
Aberdeen	45	16,544	17.9%	2.0%
Bremerton	46	38,664	7.4%	9.5%
Sedro-Woolley	47	10,645	10.2%	5.3%
Walla Walla	48	31,895	13.1%	3.2%
Centralia	49	16,664	18.8%	1.0%
Quincy	50	7,075	37.4%	0.0%
Marysville	51	62,472	10.1%	4.6%
College Place	52	8,905	8.2%	6.3%
Prosser	53	5,793	20.3%	0.0%
Covington	54	18,361	6.9%	7.5%
Moses Lake	55	21,141	16.9%	0.8%
Spokane Valley	56	90,829	8.1%	6.1%
Fircrest	57	6,592	4.3%	15.2%
SeaTac	58	27,606	18.1%	0.0%
Lake Forest Park	59	12,938	4.7%	11.5%
Ephrata	60	7,888	16.3%	0.2%
Clarkston	61	7,318	15.9%	0.3%
Spokane	62	210,142	8.7%	3.7%
Washougal	63	14,563	7.8%	4.5%
Lake Stevens	64	29,258	8.7%	3.5%
Port Orchard	65	12,715	7.8%	4.3%
Puyallup	66	38,092	8.2%	3.5%
Bellingham	67	82,080	7.4%	4.1%
Ellensburg	68	18,455	8.7%	3.1%
Shoreline	69	54,254	8.6%	3.1%
Snohomish	70	9,326	6.9%	3.9%
Enumclaw	71	11,388	11.8%	0.2%
Anacortes	72	15,965	5.4%	5.0%
Battle Ground	73	18,168	10.8%	0.7%
Selah	74	7,328	11.7%	0.0%
Mountlake Terrace	75	20,318	9.0%	1.1%
Port Angeles	76	19,125	8.0%	2.4%
Snoqualmie	77	11,625	1.7%	6.5%
Duvall	78	7,185	3.2%	5.3%
Seattle	79	637,850	6.9%	2.6%
Yelm	80	7,398	7.4%	2.3%
Lynden	81	12,579	9.3%	0.0%
Sequim	82	6,651	9.1%	0.0%
Lacey	83	44,031	6.5%	2.5%
Olympia	84	47,847	5.7%	2.9%
Normandy Park	85	6,491	1.5%	5.9%
Oak Harbor	86	22,220	6.9%	2.0%
Brier	87	6,255	5.0%	3.0%
Gig Harbor	88	7,620	5.2%	2.8%
Bellevue	89	132,268	4.4%	3.2%
Maple Valley	90	24,040	3.0%	3.7%
Tumwater	91	18,128	6.2%	1.7%
West Richland	92	12,680	6.5%	1.2%
Richland	93	51,116	4.5%	2.4%
Redmond	94	56,704	4.5%	2.3%
University Place	95	31,670	5.4%	1.0%
Ocean Shores	96	5,609	6.5%	0.0%
Kirkland	97	83,320	3.5%	2.4%
Kenmore	98	21,263	6.0%	0.0%
Milton	99	7,260	5.1%	0.6%
Bothell	100	34,920	5.7%	0.1%
Edmonds	101	40,343	4.0%	1.1%
Newcastle	102	10,792	1.7%	2.7%
Poulsbo	103	9,436	5.5%	0.0%
Steilacoom	104	6,083	4.8%	0.0%
Camas	105	20,458	4.6%	0.0%
Cheney	106	11,014	4.6%	0.0%
Liberty Lake	107	8,027	4.2%	0.0%
Bainbridge Island	108	23,206	1.5%	1.3%
Mukilteo	109	20,635	2.5%	0.7%
Woodinville	110	11,201	3.7%	0.0%
Mill Creek	111	18,667	3.6%	0.0%
Port Townsend	112	9,168	3.4%	0.0%
Pullman	113	30,851	3.0%	0.1%
DuPont	114	8,851	2.7%	0.0%
Sammamish	115	49,077	1.6%	0.3%
Issaquah	116	32,551	1.9%	0.0%
Mercer Island	117	23,636	1.9%	0.0%
Ridgefield	118	5,373	1.7%	0.0%