Washington Is America’s Most Literate City

Just in case yet another typo-riddled work e-mail had you doubting Washington is filled with smart people who read a lot: We’ve now officially been declared the most literate city in the country—for the second year in a row. Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, published a study examining various kinds of data that indicate if a city is well read: newspaper circulation; how many people purchased a book online in the past year, visited a news website in the past week, or owned an e-reader; magazine and journal subscription data; number of bookstores in the area; educational attainment; and prevalence of libraries.

Washington ranked first overall, ahead of Seattle, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Boston. The District also ranked highest in the second data set—Internet usage to access books and news—as well as in newspaper and magazine/journal circulation. So yep, Washingtonians are smart. Cue the dramatic removal of eyeglasses.

Kay Steiger