Study: Rockford Is Third Least-Educated Metro Area in U.S.

Well, this is discouraging.

A new study by WalletHub.com claims that Rockford is the third least-educated metro area in the country. The website analyzed the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. based on nine key metrics. Among them are educational attainment, the percentage of workers with jobs in computer, engineering and science fields, and the number of enrolled students in the top 200 universities per capita. 

Education of Rockford (1=Best; 75=Avg.; 150=Worst)

• 107^th – Percentage of High School Diploma Holders
• 130^th – Percentage of Bachelor’s Degree Holders
• 125^th – Percentage of Graduate or Professional Degree Holders
• 70^th – Number of Doctors per Capita
• 109^th – Percent of Workers with Jobs in Computer, Engineering and Science Fields
• 141^st – Public School System Ranking
• 130^th – Percentage of College or Associate's Degree Holders

Overall, WalletHub says we check in at #148. Chicago is at #31 while Peoria is at #114. At least we're not Salias, Cal. or Beaumont, Tex.

There's been a lot of good news surrounding District 205 in the past year or two and Hononegah just appeared on a Top 50 list of districts. But at least by these measures there's still work to be done to both improve schools and attract more college graduates to the region.