Small Illinois Village Named one of America’s ‘Least Educated Towns’

Is there anything more important than a good education?

When people are well educated, they have a better chance.

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For those that aren't, the odds are stacked against them. Sadly it's the truth. After all, "Stay in School" isn't just a phrase, it's one of the most important things any student can do.

However, one Illinois village was just profiled as having one of the least educated towns in all of America.

Mind you, this town isn't the least educated in all of America, but it did come in 5th overall. It was also the only town in either Illinois or Wisconsin to land on 24/7 Wall Street's Least Educated Towns list.

Using education data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. has identified the least-educated town in the United States. For the purposes of this analysis, towns are defined as any place covered by the national census within the 50 states and District of Columbia with a population between 1,000 and 25,000.

To put the list together, 24/7 Wall Street used 5 different factors:

• Adults with at least a bachelor's degree
• Adults with at least a high school diploma or equivalent
• Median household income
• The estimated unemployment rate from 2015-2019
• Population

A town in Texas was named the least educated in all of America, but in the Land of Lincoln, Ina came in 5th.

Wait, where is Ina?

Village of Ina:

Minutes away from scenic Rend Lake and just miles away from Mt. Vernon, Ina is a village that holds close to its small town values. With camping, entertainment, and higher education all within driving distance - Ina offers access to it all. Ina is also home to two of Jefferson County's largest employers in Big Muddy Prison and Rend Lake College.

Ina has a college in town and was named one of the "least educated?" Really?

24/7 Wall Street says less than 2% of the nearly 2500 people in Ina own a bachelor's degree, while only 60% of the town has a high school diploma or GED.

With unemployment at 7% between 2015 and 2019, which I'm sure has been buoyed by the pandemic, and median household income at just over $40K, Ina, unfortunately, qualified as one of the least educated towns in America.