Find a Job You Really Want In
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 North Dakota 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 12 largest cities in North Dakota with data. We then crunched the numbers and were left with this set of the brightest cities in the Peace Garden State:
- West Fargo
- Grand Forks
- Fargo
- Bismarck
- Wahpeton
- Jamestown
- Minot
- Williston
- Mandan
- Valley City
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.
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How we determined the smartest places in the Peace Garden State
Before we could dive into the potential IQs of various places in North Dakota, 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 12 places in North Dakota.
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 12 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 North Dakotaâ.
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. West Fargo
Population: 28,371
Adults Without High School Diploma: 5.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 2.2%
West Fargo graduated early and at the top of the class. Itâs taken the diploma as the smartest city in the state of North Dakota with almost 2% high school dropouts and only 5.4% of the population lacking a high school diploma.
2. Grand Forks
Population: 54,095
Adults Without High School Diploma: 7.2%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.8%
The residents of Grand Forks obviously have the keys to success in their pocket as they take the #2 spot on our list. At a population of around 54,095 and so few high school dropouts this city is on the path to success in the classroom.
3. Fargo
Population: 110,725
Adults Without High School Diploma: 5.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 2.7%
The famous town of Fargo is the biggest city to make our list and they have the numbers to back it up. Coming in at 110,725 residents and only 5.3% of the adult population lacking a high school diploma itâs no wonder they made #3.
4. Bismarck
Population: 65,123
Adults Without High School Diploma: 6.8%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 2.6%
The coveted #4 spot has fallen to the residents in Bismarck. Numbering around 65,123 people this city is doing it big with almost no high school dropouts to be found.
5. Wahpeton
Population: 7,804
Adults Without High School Diploma: 8.1%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 2.2%
The city of Wahpeton is coming in at #5 with some pretty great numbers. An ultra low high school dropout rate and 8.1% lacking a high school diploma earns them a high rank on our list.
6. Jamestown
Population: 15,407
Adults Without High School Diploma: 13.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.1%
Coming in at #8 the city of Jamestown is making a big show of intelligence as only 1.1% of high school kids are dropping out early and 13.6% of the population is missing itâs high school diploma.
7. Minot
Population: 44,533
Adults Without High School Diploma: 6.7%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 7.7%
The city of Minot is taking the #7 spot with only 7.7% of the high school population dropping out early and 6.7% of the adult population missing a high school diploma.
8. Williston
Population: 19,849
Adults Without High School Diploma: 9.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 4.1%
The residents of Williston really are some of the brightest bulbs in the box with so few high school dropouts and only 9.9% adults lacking a diploma.
Come soak up some of the smarts here.
9. Mandan
Population: 19,381
Adults Without High School Diploma: 8.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 5.9%
Finishing strong at #9 the town of Mandan is studying hard as only 8.4% of the population is missing a high school diploma and so few kids are leaving high school early on.
10. Valley City
Population: 6,636
Adults Without High School Diploma: 12.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 3.1%
Rounding out our list and coming in at #10 is the city of Valley City, North Dakota. With so few high school dropouts and 12.9% of the adult population lacking a high school diploma they have earned their spot on the list.
And thatâs how you graduate in style
There you have it folks, the Ten Smartest cities in the state North Dakota. They have the numbers to back it up so go ahead and visit them to soak up some of the smarts around town. If youâd like more information on different cities and states around the U.S. be sure to visit www.zippia.com to have all of your questions answered.
Detailed List Of Smartest Cities In North Dakota
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| West Fargo | 1 |
| Grand Forks | 2 |
| Fargo | 3 |
| Bismarck | 4 |
| Wahpeton | 5 |
| Jamestown | 6 |
| Minot | 7 |
| Williston | 8 |
| Mandan | 9 |
| Valley City | 10 |
| Devils Lake | 11 |
| Dickinson | 12 |
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