DENVER – Boulder is full of smart people and actually has a higher concentration of brainiacs than any other city in the United States, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
Bloomberg put Boulder in the top spot on its ‘Brain Concentration Index’ list. Boulder’s score of 99.15 beats out well-known Silicon Valley tech hubs like San Francisco and San Jose.
The Brain Concentration Index aims to measure business growth and the concentration of workers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields as well as the number of people with post-graduate and professional degrees.
Boulder is home to government laboratories, a National Weather Service office, a Google campus and a growing number of tech startups, so it’s no surprise that the city landed on the top of Bloomberg’s list.
It’s not the only Colorado city that was highly ranked, however. Fort Collins came in at fourth place with a score of 96.16 and Denver ranked 10th with a score of 93.26.
Having three cities in the top 10 could help solidify Colorado’s efforts to land Amazon’s second North American headquarters. Among the criteria that Amazon has stated in its search are a good supply of skilled tech workers and a business-friendly environment. The deadline for cities to submit proposals is Oct. 19.
Here are Bloomberg’s top 10 cities (Brain Concentration Index score in parentheses):
1. Boulder, CO (99.15)
2. San Francisco, CA (97.33)
3. San Jose, CA (96.94)
4. Fort Collins, CO (96.16)
5. Washington, DC (95.66)
6. Raleigh, NC (95.00)
7. Durham, NC (94.64)
8. Madison, WI (93.40)
9. Seattle, WA (93.27)
10. Denver, CO (93.26)
Bloomberg also developed a ‘Brain Drain Index’ that shows which cities have seen declines in advanced degree holders and STEM jobs. Muskegon, Michigan tops that list, followed by Beckley, West Virginia and Altoona, Pennsylvania.
Read the full report at Bloomberg.com.
