San Francisco and San Jose rank among America’s most intellectual cities

A new study by the social club Maxwell has ranked the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas based on their intellectual life. The ranking utilized seven metrics: museums, libraries, universities, graduate degrees, adult education, bookstores, and Google search interest in intellectual activities.

Boston ranked first nationally with a score of 80.3, followed by Hartford, Connecticut, at 72.3. San Francisco placed third with a score of 67.7. San Jose ranked sixth overall and led the nation in two specific categories: the percentage of adults holding graduate degrees (28.5%) and the number of adult-education schools per 100,000 residents (36.9).

Results for California varied significantly across the state. While San Francisco and San Jose scored highly, the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area ranked 50th, the lowest on the list. Fresno ranked 49th, though it performed relatively well in the university category (17th) compared to its lower rankings in museums, libraries, and bookstores.