The University of Wisconsin at Whitewater recently ranked "America's Most Literate Cities 2004," and the results are quite interesting. According to the study, which took into consideration factors such as U.S. census data, newspaper circulation rates, magazine publishing, educational attainment levels and the number of libraries and booksellers in the cities (over 200,000 population), the Top 10 (of 79 measured) are:

1) Minneapolis, MN
2) Seattle, WA
3) Pittsburgh, PA
4) Madison, WI
5) Cincinnati, OH
6) Washington, DC
7) Denver, CO
8) Boston, MA
9) Portland, OR
10) San Francisco, CA

What's curious is that none of the high-ranked cities has a population even close to 1 million (according to the study's measurements). If you're looking for a smart city, it appears you want to look for one that's not too big - and preferably one in a dreary, cold climate. In a way, that makes sense. If the weather's terrible most of the year, it's far more tempting to stay indoors and read a book. An exception seems to be Washington, DC; but all sarcasm aside, I suspect its high ranking derives from its artificially concentrated pundit infusion.

Chicago ranks at #58 overall with our population of 2,896,016 - lower than New York, ranked at #49 with a population of 8,008,278 (so there are more than 8 million stories in that town) - and higher than a few other over-one-million-population cities, such as Phoenix, Houston, Los Angeles and San Antonio. The highest-ranked over-one-million city is San Diego, ranked at #44 overall. Intriguingly, the "Bottom 10" cities are all in Texas or California (with the exception of Hialeah, FL):

70) Garland, TX
71) Fresno, CA
72) Arlington, TX
73) Long Beach, CA
74) Anaheim, CA
75) San Antonio, TX
76) Santa Ana, CA
77) Corpus Christi, TX
78) Hialeah, FL
79) El Paso, TX

Poor El Paso. It recently received another dubious distinction, having been named "America's Sweatiest City." When the rankings are separated in categories - "Education," "Publications," "Libraries" and "Booksellers," for example, the differences are even more striking. The Top 10 cities with respect to education include Plano, TX at #1 (rallying the state from its dismal showing in the overall rankings), Scottsdale, AZ at #2, Madison, WI at #3 and Colorado Springs, CO at #4.

Chicago comes in at a respectable #10 in Publishing nationwide, while Ohio seems to be a haven for public libraries, with four cities making the Library Top 10. Thanks to Chicago's own Gaper's Block for the tip.

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