This study attempts to capture one critical index of our nation’s social health—the literacy of its major cities (population of 250,000 and above). The study focuses on six important indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and online resources. Because of the number and complexity of the variables, the variety of ways in which the resource data are gathered and presented, and the variability in the timeliness of the data, the ranking is necessarily an interpretation.
| Rank | City | Rank | City | Rank | City |
| 1. | Seattle, Wash. | 24. | Baltimore, Md. | 47. | Anchorage, Alaska |
| 2. | Minneapolis, Minn. | 25. | Milwaukee, Wis. | 48. | Wichita, Kans. |
| 3. | Atlanta, Ga. | 26. | San Diego, Calif. | 49. | Dallas, Tex. |
| | Washington, DC | 27. | Virginia Beach, Va. | 50. | San Jose, Calif. |
| 5. | St. Paul, Minn | 28. | Sacramento, Calif. | 51. | Newark, N.J. |
| 6. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | 29. | Indianapolis, Ind. | 52. | Detroit, Mich. |
| 7. | Cincinnati, Ohio | 30. | Lexington-Fayette, Ky. | 53. | Plano, Tex. |
| 8. | Denver, Colo. | 31. | Omaha, Nebr. | 54. | Memphis, Tenn. |
| 9. | San Francisco, Calif. | 32. | Toledo, Ohio | 55. | Houston, Tex. |
| 10. | Portland, Ore. | 33. | Colorado Springs, Colo. | 56. | Riverside, Calif. |
| 11. | Boston, Mass. | | Philadelphia, Pa. | 57. | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 12. | St. Louis, Mo. | 35. | Oakland, Calif. | 58. | Mesa, Ariz. |
| 13. | Raleigh, N.C. | 36. | Tucson, Ariz. | 59. | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| 14. | Cleveland, Ohio | 37. | Louisville, Ky. | 60. | Fresno, Calif. |
| 15. | Columbus, Ohio | 38. | Albuquerque, N.M. | 61. | Santa Ana, Calif. |
| 16. | Austin, Tex. | 39. | Chicago, Ill. | 62. | San Antonio, Tex. |
| 17. | Kansas City, Mo. | 40. | Las Vegas, Nev. | 63. | Long Beach, Calif. |
| 18. | Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. | 41. | New Orleans, La. | 64. | Anaheim, Calif. |
| 19. | Charlotte, N.C. | 42. | New York, N.Y. | | Arlington, Tex. |
| | Tulsa, Okla. | 43. | Oklahoma City, Okla. | 66. | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| 21. | Tampa, Fla. | 44. | Buffalo, N.Y. | 67. | Aurora, Colo. |
| 22. | Honolulu, Hawaii | 45. | Fort Worth, Tex. | 68. | Corpus Christi, Tex. |
| 23. | Miami, Fla. | | Jacksonville, Fla. | 69. | El Paso, Tex. |
Source: Study conducted by Dr. Jack Miller, President of Central Connecticut State University, 2006. Web:
/node/4994 . Used with permission.
