Recently, the Washington Post published a study on the smartest states in America.
In the categories of SAT scores and college graduation rate, Virginia ranked as the 13th smartest state in America, a little brighter than North Dakota, but a little dumber than Nebraska.
We’ll be looking at high school completion rates rather than college-related metrics of smartness, for the sake of figuring out which cities in Virginia are contributing to Virginia’s stupidity more than the rest.
After crunching the numbers, we came up with this list of the ten dumbest cities in the Old Dominion:
- Emporia (Photos)
- Rocky Mount (Photos)
- Luray (Photos)
- Petersburg (Photos)
- Franklin (Photos)
- Richlands (Photos)
- Marion (Photos)
- Orange (Photos)
- South Boston (Photos)
- Colonial Beach (Photos)
For more Virginia reading, check out:
How we determined the dumbest cities in the Old Dominion
In order to rank the dumbest cities in Virginia, 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 adults based on the 2014 American Community Survey. That left us with 78 places to rank. We then looked at the following dumb-tastic criteria for each of the places on the list:
- % of city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of high school Dropouts (Ages 16-19)
Note: We also looked at the graduation rates of the entire population, not the current rates for high schoolers.
1. Emporia
Population: 3,843
Adults Without High School Diploma: 30.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 16.8%
When you look at the raw data, Emporia, way out on I-95 in the southern part of the state, is technically the dumbest city in Virginia.
The number of adults without a high school diploma is the 2nd highest in the state, and twice as high as the state average. Same goes for the high school dropout rate. So, when you add it all up, it’s both the adults and the kids who are to blame to Emporia’s educational woes.
2. Rocky Mount
Population: 3,608
Adults Without High School Diploma: 26.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 16.0%
Nearly 4% more of Rocky Mount’s adult population has a high school diploma by the age of 25, but they are still far behind when it comes to overall educational prowess, when compared to the rest of the state.
And like Emporia, the kids just refuse to stay in school. Their dropout rate is the 3rd highest in Virginia.
Rocky Mount is south of Roanoke.
3. Luray
Population: 3,442
Adults Without High School Diploma: 26.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 10.4%
Way out in the Shenandoah Valley you’ll find Luray, a smallish place that’s way behind, educationally. The adult population is the 3rd least educated in the Commonwealth.
However, the teens seem to be picking up the slack. While still 6% below the state average, the dropout rate is still far lower here than it is in the cities listed below.
4. Petersburg
Population: 22,015
Adults Without High School Diploma: 23.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 10.1%
Petersburg adults are the 6th least educated, and the high schools are the 9th least educated, in compared to all 78 cities we measured. That puts this medium-sized city just a short drive south of Richmond towards the top of this list.
5. Franklin
Population: 5,605
Adults Without High School Diploma: 21.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 15.5%
Franklin’s adult population is 2% smarter than those in Petersburg, however, the teen dropout rate is far higher. As a matter of fact, with more than 15% of Franklin’s current teens currently not attending class, they have the 4th least educated generation about to enter the workforce here, which is a problem that might loom larger here in a few short years.
Franklin is a relatively rural area west of Suffolk.
6. Richlands
Population: 3,894
Adults Without High School Diploma: 22.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 7.7%
The high school kids (ages 16-19) aren’t the problem in Richlands. While a 7.7% dropout rate is the 14th highest in the state, it’s only about 2% above the state average.
It’s the adults that need to hit the books. More than 1 in 4 residents above the age of 25 is walking around without a GED in this small city located in Tazewell County, in the far western side of the state.
7. Marion
Population: 4,628
Adults Without High School Diploma: 20.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 12.9%
At nearly 13%, the teens in Marion have the 5th highest dropout rate in the state of Virginia. But the parents can’t blame them; they are more uneducated that the kids are. 1 in 4 Marion adults is without a high school equivalent, which is 4% higher than the state average, and the 21st highest rate in Virginia.
8. Orange
Population: 3,276
Adults Without High School Diploma: 19.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 36.8%
The kids in the town of Orange are simply failing. At 36%, the dropout rate is by far the highest in the state, and one of the highest rates we’ve seen. That’s nearly five times higher than the state average.
Orange is a speck of a place halfway between Charlottesville and Fredericksburg.
This is the only city on this list where the teens are less educated than the adults. That’s a long-term problem that Orange will have to cope with soon.
9. South Boston
Population: 5,653
Adults Without High School Diploma: 20.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 12.9%
South Boston’s adults are just about as uneducated as those in Orange. However, the high school-aged population is much more educated.
But still, at 13%, that’s 5% below the state average, good for the 6th highest dropout rate in the state of Virginia.
10. Colonial Beach
Population: 2,691
Adults Without High School Diploma: 21.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 8.9%
Colonial Beach is a bit of an outlier here. On the coast of the Potomac River, it’s the only city on this list that’s not isolated in the middle, eastern or southern part of the state.
While the adults are way behind, education wise, the high school kids are ‘only’ .4% behind the state dropout average of 8.9%.
Believe it or not, but the Virginia state average for adults without a high school degree is 16%.
Putting a dunce cap on our analysis
If you’re measuring the locations in Virginia 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 smartest cities in Virginia: Blacksburg, Vienna, Falls Church, West Point and Poquoson.
Other cities of note:
Fairfax: 8th smartest (8% of adults are without a diploma)
Virginia Beach: 9th smartest (6.5% of adults are without a diploma)
Bristol is the 17th dumbest, and Richmond is the 20th dumbest.
Detailed List Of Dumbest Cities In Virginia
City | Rank |
---|---|
Emporia | 1 |
Rocky Mount | 2 |
Luray | 3 |
Petersburg | 4 |
Franklin | 5 |
Richlands | 6 |
Marion | 7 |
Orange | 8 |
South Boston | 9 |
Colonial Beach | 10 |
Pulaski | 11 |
Norton | 12 |
Martinsville | 13 |
Hopewell | 14 |
Vinton | 15 |
Tazewell | 16 |
Bristol | 17 |
Buena Vista | 18 |
Danville | 19 |
Richmond | 20 |
Big Stone Gap | 21 |
Front Royal | 22 |
Portsmouth | 23 |
Waynesboro | 24 |
Galax | 25 |
Roanoke | 26 |
Blackstone | 27 |
Covington | 28 |
Dumfries | 29 |
Woodstock | 30 |
Herndon | 31 |
Wytheville | 32 |
Lebanon | 33 |
Altavista | 34 |
Christiansburg | 35 |
Manassas Park | 36 |
Staunton | 37 |
Winchester | 38 |
Broadway | 39 |
Norfolk | 40 |
Suffolk | 41 |
Lexington | 42 |
Harrisonburg | 43 |
Culpeper | 44 |
Manassas | 45 |
South Hill | 46 |
Alexandria | 47 |
Berryville | 48 |
Warrenton | 49 |
Ashland | 50 |
Leesburg | 51 |
Newport News | 52 |
Abingdon | 53 |
Clifton Forge | 54 |
Smithfield | 55 |
Bluefield | 56 |
Hampton | 57 |
Lynchburg | 58 |
Bridgewater | 59 |
Strasburg | 60 |
Chincoteague | 61 |
Radford | 62 |
Charlottesville | 63 |
Farmville | 64 |
Wise | 65 |
Colonial Heights | 66 |
Chesapeake | 67 |
Salem | 68 |
Purcellville | 69 |
Fredericksburg | 70 |
Virginia Beach | 71 |
Fairfax | 72 |
Williamsburg | 73 |
Poquoson | 74 |
West Point | 75 |
Falls Church | 76 |
Vienna | 77 |
Blacksburg | 78 |
I am writing to you in reference to your Facebook article “These are the ten dumbest
cities in Virginia” of which Luray is number three. First of all Luray is a small
rural town, not a city. I have taught at Luray High School for 20 years. It is in
the county of Page and is one of two high schools in the county. Page County school
division has one of the highest on time graduation rates and one of the lowest
dropout rates in the state of Virginia, contrary to what your article reports. We
are a poor county but Luray High School has always been fully accredited and has
always made all the goals to meet the No Child Left Behind adequate yearly progress
(AYP). I am saddened that you would find pleasure in labeling our town as one of the
dumbest in Virginia. Our graduates have been accepted and graduated from Ivy League
universities as well as other universities on the eastern coast. We have produced
doctors, architects, politicians, engineers, attorneys, college professors and more.
I see no entertainment value in belittling Luray and the other towns and cities you
included in this article. It is sad that you seek out the bad and not the good!
Here, Here Nick…Orange County High grad here and thank you for standing up!!!
This is NOT about the “city” at all. IF you look at the list, it is a list of where the public school systems are located and that is what the author is REALLY talking about; not the city. Plus, not all of the school systems are listed, so why were these the only ones to be singled out? One really needs to question why this was written. What are the outcomes the author is expecting? What are his motives?
Back in the day at Orange County High School, we studied this concept, it is called “yellow journalism”…
Uh…it’s “Hear, hear”.
They need to recheck Martinsville again. Being #13 is a compliment. It should be in the top 5 in this case! Martinsville is full of dense acting people, even if they did graduate! This list should be done again!
The author is calling others “Dumb” but can’t differentiate between dumb and less educated.