Of all the factors that impact housing prices, perhaps none matter more than a community’s education level. Better schools typically mean more expensive homes, and the education level of a city has a widespread effect on its overall well-being.
Earlier this year, FindTheHome found the most educated city in every state. This time, we used data from the American Community Survey to find the least, and we highlighted the 10 worst. To achieve this, we looked at cities with populations in the 95th percentile for their states and found the one with the highest percentage of people age 25 years or older who have less than a high school diploma or GED equivalent. The percent of residents 25 years or older with no diploma and the total population for each city represent rolling five-year estimates, as reported by the ACS.
The list is dominated by smaller cities, as five of the 10 have fewer than 50,000 residents. Two cities have a population under 10,000, including Midwestern towns located in Iowa and Nebraska.
Note: In the event of ties, the city with the larger population was ranked higher on the list.
#10. Denison, IA
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 33.84 percent
Total population: 8,370
#9. Dodge City, KS
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 35.77 percent
Total population: 27,950
#8. Dalton, GA
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 36.32 percent
Total population: 33,336
#7. Reading, PA
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 36.32 percent
Total population: 88,051
#6. New Brunswick, NJ
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 37.56 percent
Total population: 55,804
#5. Pharr, TX
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 38.18 percent
Total population: 73,143
#4. Cicero, IL
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 38.53 percent
Total population: 84,423
#3. Schuyler, NE
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 45.35 percent
Total population: 6,195
#2. Sunland Park, NM
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 46.62 percent
Total population: 14,794
#1. East Los Angeles, CA
Percent of 25-year-olds with no high school diploma: 54.33 percent
Total population: 127,610