Using educational attainment data from the U.S. Census, NerdWallet compiled a list of the top 20 most educated places in the country. Westport was the only community in Connecticut to make the list.
“Westport attracts educated workers,” NerdWallet analyst Divya Raghavan said.
The study found that 74.7 percent of Westport’s population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, Raghavan said. Nationwide, only a third of Americans over 25 have a bachelor’s degree, she said.
Conversely, only 2.4 percent of the town’s population did not complete high school. “That’s incredibly low,” Raghavan said
In conducting the study, NerdWallet used a broad-based methodology to show increasing levels of education in a community, Raghavan said. It focused on four factors: What percent of residents finished high school or have an associate’s degree as their highest level of education; what percent completed a bachelor’s degree; what percent completed a master’s degree; and what percent completed a professional or doctoral degree.
The study weighted high school and college education higher than graduate degrees, she said, and prioritized a workforce where the majority of workers are moderately educated, verses a workforce where a minority of the workers are highly educated.
As to why Westport attracts so many educated people, Raghavan said one factor to consider is the town's proximity to New York City, where many residents work.
Westport is also home to several major employers, she said, like Bridgewater Associates, Save the Children, BNY Mellon, Terex and Canaan Partners.
Other communities that made the list include Bethesda, Md.; Cupertino, Calif.; Wellesley, Mass.; and Brookline, Mass.
To see the detailed results of the study, visit the NerdWallet website.
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