6 California cities ranked among least educated in US. Here’s who made the list
More than half of the nation’s 10 least educated cities are in California, according to a new report.
Personal finance website WalletHub ranked the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the country based on factors including residents’ education levels, the quality of public schools and educational attainment.
Several Central Valley communities landed near the bottom of the 2026 rankings.
“Higher education doesn’t guarantee better financial opportunities in the future, but it certainly correlates with it,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a Monday, June 29, article. “The most educated cities provide good learning opportunities from childhood all the way through the graduate level.”
In addition to a city’s overall education, Lupo said, it’s also important to look at how well it can “promote educational equality when it comes to race and gender.”
Here’s where to find the least educated cities in California:
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Where are the least educated cities in California?
According to the WalletHub study, California and Texas account for most of the nation’s least educated metropolitan areas.
Six California metro areas ranked among the 10 least educated in the country, with five located in the Central Valley.
Visalia ranked last nationwide, earning an overall score of 12.32 out of 100 after receiving low marks for educational attainment, school quality and educational equity.
Bakersfield was the nation’s fourth least educated metro area with a score of 16.25, followed by Modesto at No. 5 with a score of 19.03.
Salinas placed sixth with a score of 23.84, while Fresno ranked seventh with 24.04.
Stockton was the final California city among the 10 least educated metro areas, ranking eighth nationwide with a score of 25.93.
Which US metro areas have the lowest education scores?
According to WalletHub, these were the 10 least educated metropolitan areas in the country for 2026:
- Visalia
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
- Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas
- Bakersfield
- Modesto
- Salinas
- Fresno
- Stockton
- Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina
Where are the most educated metro areas in the US?
“In general, higher education levels translate into higher salaries, and as earnings rise, so do long-term tax contributions,” WalletHub said. “At the same time, graduates tend to seek out places where they can get a strong return on their educational investment.”
These were the 10 most educated metropolitan areas in the United States in 2026:
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
- Madison, Wisconsin
- San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley
- Raleigh-Cary, North Carolina
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire
- Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, Texas
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
“However, not all highly educated individuals gravitate toward the same types of places,” WalletHub said. “Some prefer areas with a high concentration of similarly educated peers for networking and social opportunities, while others would rather stand out in a smaller, less competitive environment.”
How did WalletHub come up with its findings?
To find the most and least educated cities in the United States, WalletHub looked at the 150 largest metropolitan areas and scored them based on how much schooling people have and the quality of that education, including achievement gaps.
WalletHub used 11 different measures, gave each a weight and then calculated an overall score out of 100 to rank the areas.
The rankings are based on data collected as of June 1, from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, GreatSchools.org and Yelp.
