Less Than 20% of Young Adults in Jacksonville Have 4 Year Degrees

[simms3]

This came out today:

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2012/05/07/less-than-20-percent-of-young-adults.html


Rather than "analyze", here are some groupings:

Peer Cities of 1-1.6 Million

1. Raleigh-Cary 30.84%
2. Austin 28.13%  (no longer a peer city)
3. Hartford 27.46%
4. Charlotte 25.60% (hardly a peer city anymore)
5. Richmond 25.05%
6. Nashville 24.49%
7. Birmingham 23.12%
8. Louisville 22.96%
9. New Orleans 22.75%
10. Greenville 22.59%
11. Grand Rapids 20.35%
12. Oklahoma City 20.01%
13. Salt Lake City 19.32%
14. Jacksonville 19.30%
15. Greensboro-High Point 18.74%
16. Virginia Beach-Norfolk 18.54%
17. Memphis 18.06%
18. Tucson 17.83%

Southeastern Metros

1. Raleigh-Cary 30.84%
2. Charlotte 25.60%
3. Richmond 25.05%
4. Charleston 24.66%
5. Atlanta 24.60%
6. Nashville 24.49%
7. Columbia 23.42%
8. Birmingham 23.12%
9. Knoxville 22.97%
10. Louisville 22.96%
11. New Orleans 22.75%
12. Baton Rouge 21.80%
13. Jackson MS 21.80%
14. Little Rock 21.22%
15. Orlando 21.12%
16. Greenville 20.59%
17. Tampa 19.91%
18. Miami 19.65%
19. Jacksonville 19.30%
20. Greensboro-High Point 18.74%
21. Virginia Beach-Norfolk 18.50%
22. Memphis 18.06%
23. Chattanooga 17.33%
24. Augusta 16.56%
25. Melbourne FL 16.38%
26. Sarasota-Bradenton 11.82%
27. Fort Myers 11.28%
28. Lakeland 9.13%

Florida Cities (rank LOW overall...all in bottom quartile)

1. Orlando 21.12%
2. Tampa 19.91%
3. Miami 19.65%
4. Jacksonville 19.30%
5. Melbourne 16.38%
6. Sarasota 11.82%
7. Fort Myers 11.28%
8. Lakeland 9.13%

Sprawling Sunbelt Mega-Metros (>2 Million)

1. Denver 30.68%
2. Atlanta 24.60%
3. San Diego 22.99%
4. Los Angeles 22.88%
5. Dallas 22.12%
6. Orlando 21.12%
7. Houston 20.05%
8. Tampa 19.91%
9. Miami 19.65%
10. Phoenix 17.63%
11. San Antonio 17.05%
12. Riverside CA 11.95%

Industrial/Manufacturing/Rust Belt Cities

1. Pittsburgh 29.81%
2. Baltimore 28.13%
3. Philadelphia 27.92%
4. Buffalo 27.79%
5. Kansas City 26.86%
6. St. Louis 25.94%
7. Worcester 25.47%
8. Milwaukee 25.21%
9. Rochester 25.00%
10. Cleveland 23.80%
11. Cincinnati 23.65%
12. Birmingham 23.12%
13. Harrisburg 23.05%
14. Syracuse 22.99%
15. Knoxville 22.97%
16. Louisville 22.96%
17. Allentown 22.82%
18. New Orleans 22.75%
19. Providence 22.64%
20. Akron 22.25%
21. Detroit 20.99%
22. Grand Rapids 20.35%
23. Toledo 20.15%
24. Jacksonville 19.30% (for comparison)
25. Dayton 19.02%
26. Springfield 17.43%
27. Chattanooga 17.33%
28. Youngstown 17.29%

Tech/Research Cities

1. Boston 39.16%
2. DC 37.22%
3. San Francisco 35.59%
4. San Jose 35.22%
5. New York 33.12%
6. Minneapolis 32.22%
7. Raleigh-Cary 30.84%
8. Denver 30.68%
9. Pittsburgh 29.81%
10. Seattle 28.62%
11. Austin 28.13%
12. Philadelphia 27.92%
13. Atlanta 24.60%
14. Los Angeles 22.88%
15. Houston 20.05%

Top 7 Metros in Northeast (by size)

1. Boston 39.16%
2. DC 37.22%
3. New York 33.12%
4. Pittsburgh 29.81%
5. Baltimore 28.13%
6. Philadelphia 27.92%
7. Providence 22.64%

Top 7 Metros in Southeast (by size)

1. Charlotte 25.60%
2. Atlanta 24.60%
3. Nashville 24.59%
4. Orlando 21.12%
5. Tampa 19.91%
6. Miami 19.65%
7. Virginia Beach-Norfolk 18.50%

Top 7 Metros in Midwest (by size)

1. Minneapolis 32.22%
2. Chicago 29.67%
3. Kansas City 26.96%
4. St. Louis 25.94%
5 Cleveland 23.80%
6. Cincinnati 23.65%
7. Detroit 20.99%

Top 7 Metros in SW/Texas (by size)

1. Austin 28.13%
2. Dallas 22.12%
3. Houston 20.05%
4. Oklahoma City 20.01%
5. Phoenix 17.63%
6. San Antonio 17.05%
7. Las Vegas 14.15%

Top 7 Metros in West Coast/Mountain (by size)

1. San Francisco 35.59%
2. Denver 30.68%
3. Seattle 28.62%
4. Portland 24.67%
5. San Diego 22.99%
6. Los Angeles 22.88%
7. Riverside 11.95%



Man FL is not looking too good.  I would hope that Jacksonville can find a way to pull ahead because that would sure be a differentiator, and it wouldn't take much to climb the ranks in the South.  Unfortunately, educational attainment is rarely an overnight phenomenon.  It's at least partially a cultural thing, if not a fully baked result of homegrown institutions of higher learning and a mature economy that promotes and requires some level of advanced degree.  The NE has had centuries of large amounts of people going to great colleges, and nowadays it starts at home with northern parents who push for it and it starts with public schools who prepare students well enough to make it into college and succeed.

Raleigh's big differentiator is a combination of RTP, Duke, NC State, Chapel Hill and Wake Forest, as well as its seat as NC's capital.  RDU also provides great direct flights to key cities, including London.

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
B - Highly diversified 21st century economy
C - Low cost of living/low cost of doing business
D - Center of government
E - Job machine

Charlotte's big differentiator was and is its situation as a financial hub with a high quality of life.  It has gone the Atlanta route and focused on its central areas, its airport, its amenities, its transit and it has focused on attracting major events like the DNC.

C - Low cost of living/low cost of doing business
E - Job machine (generally speaking)
F - Focus on quality of life/central areas
G - Transit friendly
H - Large airport hub

Atlanta's differentiator is that it has Georgia Tech, Emory, GA State and UGA and is the hub of the south, and it has the 2nd most highly educated black population after DC (which keeps it high for the south despite the large minority population).

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
B - Highly diversified 21st century economy
D - Center of government
E - Job machine (generally speaking)
F - Focus on quality of life/central areas
G - Transit friendly
H - Large airport hub

Nashville's big differentiator is Vanderbilt and its setup as a healthcare services hub.

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
B - Highly diversified 21st century economy
C - Low cost of living/low cost of doing business
D - Center of government
E - Job machine
F - Focus on quality of life/central areas

Birmingham is relatively high because it is has aged, relatively advanced population that possesses a pride in educational attainment.  UAB is near downtown and Tuscaloosa is an hour away.  The people there have Midwestern values with southern sensibilities.

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
C - Low cost of living/low cost of doing business
D - Center of government
F - Focus on quality of life/central areas

Austin is a major major tech hub and is a magnet for young professionals.  It also has UT, which is big time.  Quality of life differentiates it from the other TX cities, and it is also unique for TX in that it focuses on developing and improving its central areas.

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
B - Highly diversified 21st century economy
D - Center of government
E - Job machine
F - Focus on quality of life/central areas
G - Transit friendly

Richmond is definitely more Mid-Atlantic and leans northern in some cultural senses, like pride of having an advanced college degree and on a good general education.  It benefits as the state capital and from its proximity to DC, and it has quite a few great nearby universities that really feed into the Richmond job market (W&L, UVA, U. Richmond).

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
B - Highly diversified 21st century economy
C - Low cost of living/low cost of doing business
D - Center of government
E - Job machine

Meanwhile FL has some great colleges, but it bleeds those grads to other southern cities and cities in other regions of the country.


The overlapping factors of the more highly educated southern/sunbelt cities is

A - Presence of major top-rated research university(s)
D - Center of government
E - Job machine
F - Focus on quality of life/central areas

Jacksonville in my opinion has:

B - Highly diversified 21st century economy
C - Low cost of living/low cost of doing business

I think Jax has a high quality of life despite the lack of city attention, and that is a testament to the area's natural resources.  If the city were to invest more in parks and public amenities, and beautify the city with landscaping, and build more sidewalks and bike lanes, then I would include F - Focus on quality of life/central areas

And disclaimer UNF and JU are great, but I am comparing to the Vanderbilts and Chapel Hills and UFs and Bamas, etc.  UF is shared by the state and does not overwhelmingly feed a city in FL.

[JeffreyS]

Interesting would love to see some tracking over time.

[coredumped]

Wow, 70/100, that's pretty low. We have a pretty good tech community here, too bad we don't have a higher number of graduates.

On the other hand, 4th in FLA sounds about right, behind orlando (UCF, floridas largest school), Tampa and Miami. We're usally 4th behind those cities in most area (except crime  )

[JFman00]

Anyone have an explanation as to why Florida doesn't have any top-notch, private/liberal arts schools like other Southern states? I'm thinking along the lines of Duke, Emory, Rice, Vandy, Wake Forest, Tulane, Davidson, Centre, Furman, Rhodes...

[ChriswUfGator]

Anyone have an explanation as to why Florida doesn't have any top-notch, private/liberal arts schools like other Southern states? I'm thinking along the lines of Duke, Emory, Rice, Vandy, Wake Forest, Tulane, Davidson, Centre, Furman, Rhodes...

I'd put UF above 5 of the 10 you've listed.

[Garden guy]

I'm surprised its not worse in Florida. With the attack from the republican party on any type of public education its really suprising. County after county we see  defending. Yet simultaneously we see corporate tax breaks,property tax breaks...all of that helps...until we have a total change in Tally things are  going to get worse and we'll see our children and young adults getting more stupid every year....this is a political issue...even at the council level we see defending year after year...when will we learn that we all have to pay if wen want a modern educated population.

[Traveller]

Must be why the concert scene around here stinks. 

As for why Florida doesn't have elite private universities, most of the schools listed in the above post are older than the state of Florida itself.  Even when Rice was founded (1912), the entire state of Florida had fewer people than the city of Jacksonville does today.  For what it's worth, I'd put Miami up against schools like Tulane, Furman, Centre, etc. in terms of academic reputation.

I wonder what the stats would look like if you removed Navy personnel from the data pool.  Va.Beach/Norfolk would probably get a boost as well.

[tufsu1]

Anyone have an explanation as to why Florida doesn't have any top-notch, private/liberal arts schools like other Southern states? I'm thinking along the lines of Duke, Emory, Rice, Vandy, Wake Forest, Tulane, Davidson, Centre, Furman, Rhodes...

I'd put UF above 5 of the 10 you've listed.

yeah, except that the question was related to private/liberal-arts schools

and, as traveller noted, Miami fits in this group...they are a now a Top 40 university according to US News and World Report rankings

[Noone]

Very interesting. I agree with the area's natural resources.

[JFman00]

I wouldn't put UF or any other big name Florida school higher than say... UIUC or PSU, let alone the UC system, UT, or UNC Chapel Hill. The thrust of my post is that Florida seems way behind the curve, especially considering population, when it comes to strong tertiary education and research institutions. Having just one school in the top 50 of USNWR national universities (or pretty much any other academic/research ranking system) for the 4th most populous state should be shameful.