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The 10 Dumbest States in America
thestreet.com ^ | May 29, 2014 | Tony Owusu

Posted on 06/07/2014 4:38:46 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- When writing an article ranking the "smartest" and "dumbest" states in the Union it is important to explain your methodology. This list is based on the level of education a certain percentage of the residents of each state achieves.

According to information compiled by the website infoplease.com, as of 2010 men with a BA make 60% more than their counterparts with a high school diploma -- $40,000 to $64,000 -- while women with BA's make 56.6% more than their counterparts with a lower level of education -- $30,000 to $47,000.

And the gulf is widening. Twenty years ago male college graduates only made 47.5% more than high school grads while female BA holders made 53% more.

For this reason there is some correlation between states with higher percentages of people with Bachelor's and advanced degrees also having fewer people living below the poverty line.

One would think that states with more colleges and universities per capita might do better on this list but that is not necessarily the case. Vermont -- number 8 on the smartest list -- has the most schools per capita with 1 university per 36,545.3 residents, while New Jersey -- number 6 on the smartest list -- has the second lowest number of schools per capita with 1 university per 526,764.8 residents.

Average SAT scores also do not accurately reflect the level of education as certain states with higher average SAT scores have a smaller percentage of students taking the test. North Dakotan students for example had an average SAT score of 1799 in 2013, good for second in the country. However, the state only had a 2% participation rate.

(Excerpt) Read more at thestreet.com ...


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1 posted on 06/07/2014 4:38:46 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: ilovesarah2012

Educated and smart are different animals. Is this another “the northeast is smarter and better” story?


2 posted on 06/07/2014 4:42:15 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: driftdiver

I think it is.


3 posted on 06/07/2014 4:44:27 AM PDT by Shimmer1 (The love that dare not speak its name is now the love that will not shut its *bleeping* mouth)
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To: driftdiver

Looks that way to me.


4 posted on 06/07/2014 4:45:06 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin.)
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To: ilovesarah2012
See headline from CNN: Community college grads out-earn bachelor's degree holders

So who's dumber now?

5 posted on 06/07/2014 4:45:14 AM PDT by tellw
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To: ilovesarah2012

Some of the states they rank as “dumbest” are also the most stable, economically vibrant, and fiscally responsible. So who’s dumb, eh? Free enterprise guys or Marxists?


6 posted on 06/07/2014 4:46:42 AM PDT by SC_Pete
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To: driftdiver

So many of the degree programs today, even at the most prestigious colleges, are really worthless in the marketplace.


7 posted on 06/07/2014 4:48:36 AM PDT by SC_Pete
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To: SC_Pete

Does the study adjust for illegals?


8 posted on 06/07/2014 4:49:44 AM PDT by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: ilovesarah2012
Can someone just post the damn list, and save us the trouble or going through 20 pages of crap? I stopped when I saw NY as one of the 10 "smartest" states.

Lemme guess...at least 9 of the 10 dumbest states is below the Mason-Dixon Line.

9 posted on 06/07/2014 4:51:18 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (For every Ted Cruz we send to DC, I can endure 2-3 "unviable" candidates that beat incumbents.)
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To: driftdiver

Of course. But I find liberals to be the dumbest people on earth.


10 posted on 06/07/2014 4:51:44 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: driftdiver

Not sure where they come with salaries because many educated people are on welfare and without a job. North Dakota has lowest unemployment rate... so, what the heck.


11 posted on 06/07/2014 4:52:11 AM PDT by lavaroise (A well regulated gun being necessary to the state, the rights of the militia shall not be infringed)
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To: Night Hides Not

Lebanon has the highest rate of PhDs in the world...


12 posted on 06/07/2014 4:53:13 AM PDT by lavaroise (A well regulated gun being necessary to the state, the rights of the militia shall not be infringed)
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To: tellw

Hard to say really. Our local community college is trying to morph into another big 4 year college that we don’t need. It brings in lots of taxpayer dollars but shuts out the community.

My sister is taking some kind of course for certification in business management but it requires a nearly full classload that she wouldn’t have needed 10 years ago. She even had to take a course in socialization in college life. She’s 50 years old and has 5 kids, she hasn’t had a social life in years.


13 posted on 06/07/2014 4:53:31 AM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin.)
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To: achilles2000

Arbitrary data collection. :)


14 posted on 06/07/2014 4:54:03 AM PDT by SC_Pete
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To: ilovesarah2012

DC 90.91% Obama 2012
HI 70.55% Obama 2012
VT 66.57% Obama 2012
NY 63.35% Obama 2012
RI 62.70% Obama 2012
MD 61.97% Obama 2012
MA 60.65% Obama 2012
CA 60.24% Obama 2012
DE 58.61% Obama 2012
NJ 58.38% Obama 2012
CT 58.06% Obama 2012

One could reasonably argue that voting for Obama in 2008 was a simple case of ignorance - smart people who didn’t collect the information needed to make a better decision. Those who voted Obama is 2012 though? Colossal stupidity, almost beyond measure. Good people lose the most under Obama, but even the parasites who form his voting base are far worse off under FedGov’s inept socialism that has replaced the rule of law.


15 posted on 06/07/2014 4:54:24 AM PDT by Pollster1 ("Shall not be infringed" is unambiguous.)
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To: achilles2000

These studies don’t adjust for population mix. I suspect that when students of various ethnicities in the US are matched up with students in their homelands, they do quite well.


16 posted on 06/07/2014 4:56:52 AM PDT by grania
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To: ilovesarah2012

It’s surprising Florida isn’t on the list ...


17 posted on 06/07/2014 4:58:22 AM PDT by Ken522
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To: driftdiver
Of course! Yankees are so smart it's taken them 400 years or so to figure where the good weather is on the continent.

This is like Swedes faulting Hawaiians for being unable to ski.

When you rig the educational game it's very easy to claim to be 'smarter' than the other guy.

18 posted on 06/07/2014 5:00:00 AM PDT by relictele (Principiis obsta & Finem respice - Resist The Beginnings & Consider The End)
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To: Night Hides Not

Yep. Dumb redneck southerners, as usual.

10th smartest - MN
9th - NH
8th - NY
7th - VT
6th - VA
5th - NJ
4th - CT
3rd - MD
2nd - CO
1st - MA

Dumbest States -

10th - TN
9th - OK
8th - IN
7th - AL
6th - NV
5th - LA
4th - KY
3rd - MS
2nd - AK
1st - WV


19 posted on 06/07/2014 5:00:59 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: ilovesarah2012
New Jersey -- number 6 on the smartest list

Not from what I can see in my neighborhood.

20 posted on 06/07/2014 5:03:48 AM PDT by NJRighty ("It's sick out there and getting sicker" - Bob Grant)
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