In early July, WalletHub published a study ranking America's most- and least-educated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in 2024. MSAs are federally-designated urban areas with a city at the center of it ("center" is NOT a geographic term). The study only included the top 150 MSAs, and in Arizona, only Phoenix and Tucson were ranked.
In a development that probably isn't a surprise to any who live here, AZ didn't do too well in the survey.
From the survey -
There are other MSAs in AZ, and I'm going to speculate on where they'd rank, with "above Tucson" or "below Phoenix" designation (as none of the other MSAs are in the top 150, the study didn't rank them, so this is just speculation on my part and may be incorrect).
The list of other MSAs in AZ, from the Eller College of Management at U of A -
- Flagstaff MSA (Coconino Co.) - probably higher than Phoenix, may be higher than Tucson. Having NAU in the MSA doesn't hurt.
- Lake Havasu City-Kingman MSA (Mohave Co.) - lower than Phoenix. There's nothing there other than dust.
- Prescott Valley-Prescott MSA (Yavapai Co.) - lower than Phoenix, but may be the highest ranked of the other MSAs (with the exception of Flagstaff), benefitting from the number of Phoenix residents who have moved there.
- Sierra-Vista MSA (Cochise Co.) - lower than Phoenix, but its ranking may benefit from its proximity to Tucson.
- Yuma MSA (Yuma Co.) - lower than Phoenix. possibly the lowest in AZ. Yuma County is primarily agricultural and has the highest unemployment rate in AZ.
Bet that Tom Horne and the Republican caucus in the legislature think that the rankings of Phoenix and Tucson are too high and wish to reduce them, while Kate Gallego and Regina Romero, the mayors of Phoenix and Tucson, respectively, believe that the existing rankings should be increased upon.
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