There are all sorts of factors that go into deciding where to live. Are you looking for a family-oriented community? Somewhere with a low crime rate? Job opportunities? Of course, education is always a large determining factor when it comes to narrowing down the search. If you’ve been curious about which of Idaho’s cities rank as the “smartest”, you’ll want to check out the list compiled below. This handy data was compiled by a company called Zippia and it sheds some light on where you’ll find Idaho’s smartest cities. With a focus on the 32 largest cities in the Gem State, Zippia was able to determine the state’s top 10 brainiest communities. Check it out:
Coming in at #10, the quaint city of Star proved itself to be one of Idaho's smartest communities. With a population of just 6,379 individuals, Star has a minuscule high school dropout rate of 5% and only 6.7% of adults without a high school diploma. Despite its small size, Star is doing just fine on the education front.
Rathdrum is just a teensy bit larger than Star, with a population of 7,046 individuals. The high school dropout rate is just 2.7% but the amount of adults without a high school diploma is higher at 9.4%. Those are still some pretty great numbers so it's no wonder this tiny North Idaho community made the list.
Boasting a population of 90,739, Meridian is the second most populous city in Idaho. It's also officially one of the smartest! The high school dropout rate is just 4.1% and only 5.1% of adults don't have a high school diploma. That's really not so bad considering the large population, if I do say so myself.
With a population of 54,441, Pocatello is another one of Idaho's larger cities. It also happens to be home to our beloved Idaho State University. The amount of adults without a high school diploma is a little higher than the other cities that came before it on this list at 7.5%. However, with a dropout rate of just 0.5%, this city seems to be doing just fine.
Sitting at #6 on the list is the smaller community of Hayden. With a population of just 14,133, you may not have expected it to make it so high on the list. Yet, here it is! And it's well deserved, considering only 8% of adults lack a high school diploma and the dropout rate is a whopping 0.0%. Now, that's pretty amazing, don't you think?
Idaho's most populous city comes in at #5 on this list. The capital city has a population of 218,281, yet only 6.2% of adults lack a high school diploma. The dropout rate is also just 2.8%, proving that this urban area excels in both education and opportunity.
The rural community of Kuna sits right outside of the Boise area so it's easily overlooked. However, the quiet town has proven itself as one of the Gem State's smartest cities with a dropout rate of 0.0% and just a small population of 7.8% of adults without a high school diploma. This little town clearly takes its studies seriously.
With a healthy population of 23,612 individuals, Eagle is one of those mid-sized communities that seems to have the best of both worlds. It's not too small or too big, and they've been ranked as the third smartest city in all of Idaho. The teenage dropout rate is just 1.7% and only 3.6% of Eagle adults lack a high school diploma.
Coming in at second smartest is the humble town of Moscow. Home to University of Idaho, it's clear that this community doesn't mess around when it comes to education. The town has almost no high school dropouts at 0.0% and a microscopic population of 2.3% adults without a high school diploma. Way to make us proud, Moscow!
Finally, in the #1 spot is the small eastern Idaho town of Rexburg. Home to BYU-Idaho, this unsuspecting town is officially considered the smartest of us all. The teenage dropout rate is just 0.2% and only 1.9% of adults are without a high school diploma. It's no wonder this place earned the top spot on this list.
What do you think? Were you surprised by any of the towns on this list? Let us know in the comments! If you thought this list was fascinating, you may be interested in our list of the Top 10 Safest Cities To Live In Idaho.
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