Study: Odessa Among the Least Educated Cities in the Country

ODESSA, TX – A recent study identified the City of Odessa as the #8 least educated small city in the country. In a study of 511 small cities, Odessa was ranked as #497.

The top 10 least educated cities were ranked in the following way:

1. Hobbs, NM 
2. El Centro, CA 
3. Madera, CA 
4. Dalton, GA 
5. Opelousas, LA 
6. Gallup, NM 
7. Hanford, CA 
8. Odessa, TX 
9. Martinsville, VA 
10. Lumberton, NC

According to CBS7, AdvisorSmith.com used data that was compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to create their study. The scoring model used assigned points to each city based on the percentage of people over 25 that had attained different educational attainment levels. The educational attainment levels were: high school graduate, associate’s degree holder, bachelor’s degree holder, and graduate or professional degree holder.

The study reports that 16.1% of Odessa residents ages 25 or older hold a bachelor's degree and 5.3% have graduate degrees, compared with national averages of 35% and 13.1%, respectively.

Nationwide there are 219.8 million Americans that are over the age of 25. Out of those people, 197.4 million, or 89.8% of adults aged 25 or older, have attained at least a high school diploma. Also, 76.9 million people, or 35.0%, have at least a bachelor’s degree, and 28.7 million people, or 13.1%, have a graduate or professional degree.