How Educated is Shreveport Compared to the Rest of the Country?
When it comes to the most and least educated cities in America, how does Shreveport-Bossier City stack up against the rest?
WalletHub.com recently released its findings with regard to 2022's most educated cities in America. Sadly, cities in Louisiana didn't rank as well as we would have liked.
When determining how 'educated' individual cities were across the United States, WalletHub.com looked at the 150 largest metro areas in America across 11 key metrics. Those metrics included looking at the number of adults (25+) in an area with a bachelor's degree or higher, the quality of the public school system, and the gender education gap.
How did Shreveport-Bossier City rank in WalletHub.com's list of 2022's Most and Least Educated Cities in America?
The Shreveport-Bossier City metro area came in 125th out of 150. While we're not last, we definitely have some room for improvement here in the twin cities. As WalletHub.com points out, education and poverty levels are closely linked.
How educated are the rest of the cities in Louisiana and in our region?
Looking to our west, the Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX area ranked 73rd in the country, with the Little Rock, AR metro ranking 80th. As far as Louisiana cities, in order, the New Orleans metro was ranked 98th, Baton Rouge was 113th, and Lafayette was 133rd. Adding insult to injury, Lafayette also came in 146/150 when it comes to the percentage of adults with an associate's degree or college experience.
How can Shreveport-Bossier City raise its education levels going forward?
While these action items are all my own, I think they bear some thought.
- We have to attract more white-collar employers to the area, hence, attracting a more educated workforce to come to Shreveport-Bossier.
- Increase teachers' salaries and ensure better, strategic funding for our schools.
- Make it easier for students to attend college or trade schools after high school.
- Review and implement afterschool programs that promote literacy and educational advancement, especially for those students who fell behind during the pandemic.
- Make sure no child goes without school lunch. You can't learn on an empty stomach or when you're worried about where your next meal is coming from.
- Address the truancy problem in our area.
Of course, there are plenty of other things we can do to ensure educational success. Do you have any ideas on what we can do to improve? I'd love to hear from you.