These Are The 10 Smartest Cities In Kansas

One of the many qualities that people look for in a potential location or company is the intelligence of those around them. This factor can play a huge role in oneâs experience at a particular company and can make or break an employeeâs time there.

So finding a city with an intelligent population makes sense for both companies and employees. Thatâs where Zippia comes in; to help you identify those places in Kansas that might have skipped a gradeâ¦or two.

You may be wondering how does one determine how intelligent a town really is?

Well we went to the source of all things demographic data â the Census â to figure out what criteria about a place would identify it is a smart cookie.

We set upon the percentage of adults (over 25) with at least a high school degree and the percentage of high school dropouts (aged 16-20) for the 59 largest cities in Kansas with data. We then crunched the numbers and were left with this set of the brightest cities in the Sunflower State:

Read on to see why these places got into a four-year college or skip to the end to see a full chart of all the places in our analysis.

For more KS reading, check out:

How we determined the smartest places in the Sunflower State

Before we could dive into the potential IQs of various places in Kansas, we needed to know which places to look at in the first place. We settled upon any place with over 5,000 people and data available for every criteria.

This left us with 59 places in Kansas.

We then looked at the following criteria to determine the cream from the crop when it comes to smarts:

Our data comes directly from the latest American Community Survey from the Census.

We thought this criteria was representative of the current state of smarts with the potential for a place to improve the education levels of the next generation. And itâs not like we are setting the education bar incredibly high â 80% of students graduate from high school nowadays.

In order to determine the smartest, we ranked all the cities for each criteria from one to 59 with one being the âsmartestâ in any category.

We took the average rank across all criteria, with the place posting the highest overall score being given the diploma for âSmartest City In Kansasâ.

If your city or town isnât among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart. Otherwise, learn more about how the top ten cities achieved their potential.

1. Prairie Village

Population: 21,730
Adults Without High School Diploma: 1.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Graduating early with their diplomas held high are the citizens in Prairie Village, Kansas. With a population of 21,730, an almost nonexistent high school dropout rate, and only 1.4% of the adult population without a high school diploma this town earned its #1 spot.

2. Leawood

Population: 32,842
Adults Without High School Diploma: 0.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.4%

The kids in Leawood are studying late every day since only .4% drop out of school and less than 1% of the adult population did not finish high school.

Smart cookies.

3. Andover

Population: 12,113
Adults Without High School Diploma: 3.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Taking the bronze medal is the town of Andover. With a population of around 12,113 and almost no high school dropouts they definitely earned the #3 spot.

4. Valley Center

Population: 6,449
Adults Without High School Diploma: 3.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

It might sound like a vacation spot but Valley Center is clearly a place of study. A town of almost 6,500 this area boasts almost no high school dropouts and a small population of 3.6% of adults without high school diplomas.

5. Manhattan

Population: 55,112
Adults Without High School Diploma: 4.5%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.3%

Like its distant cousin in New York, Manhattan, Kansas is a superstarâ¦when it comes to intelligence. A city of 55,112 residents they have an ultra low high school dropout rate and a population without high school degrees numbering around 4.5%. Superstars indeed.

6. Mulvane

Population: 6,000
Adults Without High School Diploma: 4.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Near the middle of our list sits Mulvane. At 6,000 flat this small town is doing big things as they keep their kids in school up until graduation. Stop by and soak up some smarts okay?

7. Bel Aire

Population: 6,923
Adults Without High School Diploma: 4.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Bel Aire, Kansas has ranked #7 on our list with only 4.7% of the adult population lacking a high school diploma, little to no high school dropouts, and a population of around 7,000.

8. Overland Park

Population: 178,945
Adults Without High School Diploma: 3.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.7%

The biggest city to make our smartest list, Overland Park is disproving the idea that large cities lack education and opportunity. At over 178,000 residents, itâs kept an astonishingly low high school dropout rate of only 1.7%.

Wow.

9. Lenexa

Population: 49,573
Adults Without High School Diploma: 4.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 2.1%

Cutting it close is the city of Lenexa, Kansas. With a population of almost 50,000 people, a high school dropout rate of 2.1%, and only 4% of adults missing a high school diploma what else is there to say?

10. Hays

Population: 20,886
Adults Without High School Diploma: 5.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%

Rounding out our list is the city of Hays. With a population hovering around the 20,000 mark and so few high school dropouts the IQs here must be off the charts!

And thatâs how you graduate in style

That is our definitive ranking of the 10 Smartest Cities in Kansas. Here at Zippia we want to bring important information to our readers. Now you can make a more informed decision on your next visit to the Sunflower State. Be sure to visit these towns to see their intelligence first hand and experience it for yourself. And next time youâre looking for career advice head to zippia.com to have all of your quesitons answered.

Detailed List Of Smartest Cities In Kansas

City	Rank	Population	Adults Without High School Diploma	Teenage High School Drop Outs
Prairie Village	1	21,730	1.4%	0.0%
Leawood	2	32,842	0.8%	0.4%
Andover	3	12,113	3.3%	0.0%
Valley Center	4	6,449	3.6%	0.0%
Manhattan	5	55,112	4.5%	0.3%
Mulvane	6	6,000	4.6%	0.0%
Bel Aire	7	6,923	4.7%	0.0%
Overland Park	8	178,945	3.6%	1.7%
Lenexa	9	49,573	4.0%	2.1%
Hays	10	20,886	5.8%	0.0%
Lawrence	11	90,194	5.1%	1.5%
Gardner	12	20,128	5.8%	0.8%
Merriam	13	11,191	7.0%	0.0%
Mission	14	9,451	4.5%	2.7%
Olathe	15	129,913	6.0%	1.5%
Colby	16	5,411	7.9%	0.0%
Shawnee	17	63,597	5.5%	2.4%
Lansing	18	11,535	8.4%	0.0%
Eudora	19	6,152	8.4%	0.0%
Roeland Park	20	6,799	4.8%	2.7%
Spring Hill	21	5,618	4.7%	4.1%
Derby	22	23,419	4.0%	5.0%
Wellington	23	8,028	8.2%	1.9%
Pittsburg	24	20,336	9.9%	1.5%
Paola	25	5,589	7.8%	2.9%
Independence	26	9,282	10.3%	1.0%
De Soto	27	5,888	10.7%	0.0%
Chanute	28	9,194	9.5%	1.6%
Haysville	29	11,235	8.8%	2.5%
Ottawa	30	12,548	10.4%	1.9%
McPherson	31	13,205	6.9%	4.8%
Leavenworth	32	35,738	9.2%	3.4%
El Dorado	33	12,931	8.0%	5.1%
Iola	34	5,650	11.6%	2.4%
Atchison	35	10,920	8.2%	5.3%
Coffeyville	36	10,034	16.9%	0.0%
Pratt	37	6,889	12.0%	2.5%
Parsons	38	10,307	12.8%	2.5%
Hutchinson	39	41,946	12.3%	3.0%
Emporia	40	24,787	15.4%	2.5%
Newton	41	19,144	11.8%	4.6%
Park City	42	7,194	9.3%	8.9%
Concordia	43	5,327	10.5%	6.3%
Abilene	44	6,729	13.2%	4.2%
Salina	45	47,894	11.8%	5.3%
Bonner Springs	46	7,420	14.9%	3.2%
Winfield	47	12,324	10.6%	8.1%
Topeka	48	127,660	11.3%	5.8%
Fort Scott	49	7,957	13.8%	4.2%
Junction City	50	24,691	10.2%	16.2%
Augusta	51	9,239	10.3%	13.5%
Wichita	52	385,518	12.9%	5.3%
Arkansas City	53	12,316	16.1%	4.4%
Dodge City	54	27,950	35.8%	3.6%
Ulysses	55	6,010	29.4%	4.5%
Garden City	56	26,924	30.3%	5.6%
Great Bend	57	15,942	17.0%	8.6%
Liberal	58	20,846	35.1%	7.4%
Kansas City	59	147,598	22.2%	10.5%