Find a Job You Really Want In
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 Tennessee 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 97 largest cities in Tennessee with data. We then crunched the numbers and were left with this set of the brightest cities in the Volunteer 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 TN reading, check out:
For more TN reading, check out:
How we determined the smartest places in the Volunteer State
Before we could dive into the potential IQs of various places in Tennessee, 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 97 places in Tennessee.
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 97 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 Tennesseeâ.
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. Germantown
Population: 39,207
Adults Without High School Diploma: 1.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
Graduating early and at the top of itâs class is the town of Germantown, Tennessee. With a population of 39,207 people, almost no high school dropouts, and only 1.9% of the population lacking a high school diploma itâs Tennesseeâs best chance for a bright future.
2. Brentwood
Population: 39,059
Adults Without High School Diploma: 2.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
The town of Brentwood, Tennessee has taken the #2 spot with a population of 39,059 and an almost nonexistent high school dropout rate.
Smart cookies!
3. Arlington
Population: 11,623
Adults Without High School Diploma: 3.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
Coming in the #3 spot is the city of Arlington, Tennessee. With just 3.4% of the adult population lacking a high school diploma and almost no high school dropouts to be found itâs not hard to see how they ranked so well.
4. Lakeland
Population: 12,549
Adults Without High School Diploma: 5.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
Securing its spot on the list of smartest cities is the town of Lakeland. With a population hovering just over 12,000 and only 5% of the adult population lacking a high school diploma the kids here are spending extra time in study hall every week.
5. Oakland
Population: 6,944
Adults Without High School Diploma: 5.3%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
At #5, the town of Oakland, Tennessee is on itâs way to success. With a population of around 6,944 and almost no high school dropouts this town earned its spot on the list.
6. Bartlett
Population: 57,805
Adults Without High School Diploma: 5.6%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.0%
Coming in at #6 is the metro area of Bartlett, Tennessee. As the biggest city to make our list this location is breaking the stereotype that big cities have poor systems of education. With only 1% of the high school population not finishing school itâs obvious the kids here are studying hard every night.
7. Atoka
Population: 8,727
Adults Without High School Diploma: 7.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
Taking the coveted #7 spot is Atoka, a town of 8,727 people. With a virtually nonexistent high school dropout rate and only 7.4% of the adult population lacking a high school diploma this city is on the road to success.
8. Collierville
Population: 46,780
Adults Without High School Diploma: 3.4%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.3%
Aside from having a cool name the city of Collierville can also brag about itâs #8 spot in the lineup of smartest cities in the state of Tennessee. With such great numbers the kids here must be acing every test!
9. Mount Juliet
Population: 27,053
Adults Without High School Diploma: 6.9%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 1.2%
Cutting it close, the city of Mount Juliet has ranked as the #9 smartest city in the entire state of Tennessee. Despite being a larger town the high school dropout rate is low at 1.2%.
Itâs safe to say the kids here are going to climb the success ladder in record time.
10. Greenbrier
Population: 6,550
Adults Without High School Diploma: 10.0%
Teenage High School Dropouts: 0.0%
Rounding out our list at #10 is the city of Greenbrier. Although it has a population of only 6,550 this tiny town is doing big things as it has almost no high school dropouts. The IQs here must be off the charts!
And thatâs how you graduate in style
There you have it folks, the Ten Smartest Cities in the state of Tennessee. 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 Tennessee
City | Rank |
---|---|
Germantown | 1 |
Brentwood | 2 |
Arlington | 3 |
Lakeland | 4 |
Oakland | 5 |
Bartlett | 6 |
Atoka | 7 |
Collierville | 8 |
Mount Juliet | 9 |
Greenbrier | 10 |
Collegedale | 11 |
Hendersonville | 12 |
Spring Hill | 13 |
Maryville | 14 |
Murfreesboro | 15 |
Millington | 16 |
Clarksville | 17 |
Franklin | 18 |
Cookeville | 19 |
La Vergne | 20 |
Signal Mountain | 21 |
Oak Ridge | 22 |
Clinton | 23 |
Church Hill | 24 |
Johnson City | 25 |
Jackson | 26 |
Goodlettsville | 27 |
Jefferson City | 28 |
Farragut | 29 |
Fairview | 30 |
Smyrna | 31 |
McKenzie | 32 |
Milan | 33 |
Athens | 34 |
Nolensville | 35 |
White House | 36 |
Kingsport | 37 |
Martin | 38 |
Cleveland | 39 |
Humboldt | 40 |
Munford | 41 |
Henderson | 42 |
Soddy-Daisy | 43 |
Brownsville | 44 |
East Ridge | 45 |
Nashville | 46 |
Knoxville | 47 |
Sweetwater | 48 |
Crossville | 49 |
Winchester | 50 |
Dickson | 51 |
Dayton | 52 |
Tullahoma | 53 |
Alcoa | 54 |
Erwin | 55 |
Columbia | 56 |
Newport | 57 |
Union City | 58 |
Manchester | 59 |
Lebanon | 60 |
Mount Carmel | 61 |
Lenoir City | 62 |
Ripley | 63 |
Lawrenceburg | 64 |
Red Bank | 65 |
Pulaski | 66 |
Harriman | 67 |
Bolivar | 68 |
Lexington | 69 |
Millersville | 70 |
Elizabethton | 71 |
Chattanooga | 72 |
#N/A | 73 |
Portland | 74 |
Paris | 75 |
Pigeon Forge | 76 |
Loudon | 77 |
Memphis | 78 |
Dyersburg | 79 |
Gallatin | 80 |
Morristown | 81 |
Lewisburg | 82 |
Kingston | 83 |
Jonesborough | 84 |
Greeneville | 85 |
Fayetteville | 86 |
Shelbyville | 87 |
Sevierville | 88 |
Savannah | 89 |
Bristol | 90 |
Hartsville/Trousdale County | 91 |
Springfield | 92 |
Sparta | 93 |
Covington | 94 |
McMinnville | 95 |
Rockwood | 96 |
La Follette | 97 |