Seattle is the largest city by population in the state of Washington. It is not its state capital city (Olympia is), but it is a major economic, cultural and educational center in the King County. Seattle is known for coffee companies founded or based there, such as Starbucks or Seattle’s Best Coffee, and for successful software development companies (Microsoft’s headquarters are not far from the city). Seattle was ranked as the most educated large city in the US and among the most literate cities of America.

The city of Seattle is frequently mentioned in “best city” surveys, based on different criteria. All worldwide and regional surveys where Seattle appears in the rankings presented on this site are listed below. Continue reading »

An analysis of US Census Bureau data, performed by BizJournals in 2006, reached the conclusion Seattle (Washington) is America’s Smartest City, followed by San Francisco (California) and Austin (Texas). The rankings reflect each community’s collective brainpower, which is tied to its residents’ abilities to innovate, create, compete, and make money.

Communities were ranked in population categories, to reward cities with heavy concentrations of college graduates. The analysis looked at the educational levels of adults in thousands of US cities, towns, villages, boroughs and unincorporated areas. Continue reading »