Small. Secluded. Sparse. Stale. These are words that describe the common stereotypes of American suburbs. According to data reported by real estate blog Movoto, however, suburbs may be more interesting than most would think. In fact, they are claiming titles as some of the smartest regions in the nation.
Cupertino was ranked sixth on a list of Top 10 smartest U.S. suburbs released by Movoto. The highest honor of intelligence was awarded to Santa Monica, another suburb in California. Among others are the homes of well known institutions including Berkeley, Calif., Cambridge, Mass. and Evanston, Ill.
The complete list of Top 10 smartest suburbs in the United States is as follows:
- Santa Monica, CA
- Evanston, IL
- Berkeley, CA
- Cambridge, MA
- Towson, MD
- Cupertino, CA
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Newton, MA
- Seal Beach, CA
- Alameda, CA
While compiling the reports, Movoto took into consideration factors ranging from colleges per capita to public libraries, museums and high school graduation rates. In addition, it incorporated percentages of students with a bachelor’s degree or higher, as well as ratings released by GreatSchools.org based mainly on test scores. Cupertino’s high ranking is largely a result of its prestigious education.
Movoto specifically addressed Cupertino in its findings, writing that though Cupertino may have a dearth in colleges and universities compared to cities like Berkeley or Cambridge, it “more than makes up for this with its younger students.” According to the reports, students in Cupertino ranked highest in test scores in the nation, and had a distinguished 95 percent high school graduation rate, propelling it above 100 other U.S. suburbs.
“I’m not very surprised by this ranking,” senior Jahnavi Meka said. “I mean, [Cupertino is] known for our smarts. But I think it’s interesting that we’re finally acknowledged for our brilliance.”
On the other hand, sophomore Emilie Yu uses the results to predict the future of Cupertino in terms of demographics.
“If we have a good district, more people will be coming [to Cupertino],” Yu said.
Yu believes that, considering the fact Cupertino seems to have ranked shoulder-to-shoulder with cities like Cambridge and Evanston with nationally-acclaimed colleges, Cupertino may also see an increase in higher institutions in the coming years.
In its released ranking report, Movoto underscores Cupertino’s newly-achieved position with a few final lines of thought.
“No surprise, really, when you consider that 74.24 percent of residents hold bachelor’s degrees or higher,” Movoto writes in the report. “These kids are learning from the best.”
