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Recently, the Washington Post published a study on the smartest (and dumbest) states in America. The Post based each state’s intelligence on SAT scores, IQ scores, and the number of college graduates.
Connecticut finished 4th, just ahead of Wisconsin and just behind New Hampshire.
But, we wanted to know which cities in the Constitution State are the dumbest. How can we tell? By measuring the school completion rates in Connecticut, that’s how.
After analyzing all cities with populations of 5,000 or more, we came up with this list as The Dumbest Cities in Connecticut:
- Bridgeport (Photos)
- Danielson
- Waterbury (Photos)
- Hartford (Photos)
- Jewett City (Photos)
- New Britain (Photos)
- Torrington (Photos)
- New Haven (Photos)
- Meriden (Photos)
- Danbury (Photos)
Also, we’re not saying the people in these cities – or the cities themselves – are bad. We’re just making an observation that as a majority, they’re not the brightest bulbs in the room.
Read on below to see where your town ranked.
For more Connecticut reading, check out:
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What stupid criteria did we use?
In order to rank the dumbest cities in Connecticut, we had to determine what criteria defines a dumb person.
We started by making a list of every place in the U.S. with over 5,000 people based on the 2014 American Community Survey.
We then looked at the following dumb-tastic criteria for each of the places on the list:
- % of the population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of high school dropouts (Ages 16-19)
Note: We looked at the graduation rates of the entire population, not the current rates for high schoolers.
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1. Bridgeport
Population: 147,216
Unfortunately, when you look at the data, Bridgeport is the dumbest city in Connecticut. Here’s why:
More than a quarter of the population over the age of 25 in Bridgeport is walking around without even a high school education. That’s the 2nd highest number of adults without even a basic education in the state of Connecticut. Hartford, believe it or not, is even higher (below).
In terms of the teens of Bridgeport, things aren’t much rosier. Nearly 11% of kids ages 16-19 are current high school dropouts. That’s the 4th highest number in the state. Jewett City has an even high rate of teens who are currently considered ‘dropouts’ – at an astounding 19%.
As a result of these numbers (or partially a reason for them), Bridgeport’s unemployment rate is 7.4%, and families bring in an average of around $42,000 each.
Connecticut’s average family earns $67,000 a year.
The lesson: Stay in school, Bridgeporters.
Other Highlights
Hartford: The city with the largest percentage of the population of uneducated adults is Hartford, where nearly 30% of the population above the age of 25 is currently without a high school education. Hartford’s 6.6% teen dropout rate is the 7th highest in Connecticut, according to the just released American Community Survey.
New Haven: ”The Cultural Capital of Connecticut” has some real issues with its adult population, although the teens seem to be hanging in there and staying in school – at least more than some of the other cities on this list. While 17.6% of the adults are without a basic education, 4.2% of kids between the ages of 16 and 19 have left high school early, according to the latest census data.
Milford: The city with the smartest adults in Connecticut is Milford. Its 5.7% uneducated rate among adults is the lowest in the state.
Smartest cities in Connecticut: Of those cities with populations above 2,000, here are the smartest cities in The Constitution State: Groton, Milford, Middletown, Shelton, Ansonia.
There You Have It
If you’re measuring the locations in Connecticut where there are a high number of teenage dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate list.
