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Buffalo Business First Releases Brain Power Rankings

Which area in Western New York has the most brain power?

Buffalo Business First set out to answer that question, and came back with some surprising results. The publication recently released the Brain Power Rankings of Western New York municipalities, measuring educational attainment of all the adult residents of the man zip codes across the Upstate region.

The ratings were based on data for persons 25 or older from the five-year version of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. Each adult living within a given ZIP code was assigned an individual score, depending on his or her highest level of educational attainment.

The top area code in Upstate New York with the highest “brainpower” ranking was listed as Pittsford. Pittsford reported 98.2 percent of area adults had high school diplomas, 71.3 percent had bachelor’s degrees and 38.4 percent had advanced degrees.

Rochester zipcode area 14618, near Pittsford, came second with 96.3 percent of adults having a high school diploma, 67.9 percent with a bachelor’s degree and 40 percent having an advanced degree. Delmar followed close behind, reporting that 97.2 percent of adult residents had high school diplomas, 64.2 percent had bachelor’s degrees and 36.3 percent had advanced degrees. Slingerlands ranked fourth on the list.

The municipality reported that 96.7 percent of adults had high school diplomas, 61. 4 percent had bachelor’s degrees and 35.4 percent had advanced degrees. Buffalo zipcode area 14222 was given a ranking of No. 5 with 94.3 percent of adults obtaining high school diplomas, 65.5 percent obtaining bachelor’s degrees and 33.8 percent obtaining advance degrees.

Locally, Fredonia had the highest ranking at No. 61 out of the 180 municipalities ranked. Ninety-five percent of adults in Fredonia have a high school diploma and 36.4 percent have obtained their bachelor’s degree. Only 19.3 percent have advanced degrees.

Jamestown ranked significantly lower at No. 17 3, with only 87.2 percent of adults obtaining their high school diplomas, and 19.5 percent obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Only 7.9 percent of adults in Jamestown have an advanced degree. Dunkirk ranked at No. 188, with 85.8 percent of adults achieving a high school diploma, 16.9 achieving a bachelor’s degree and 8.5 achieving an advanced degree.

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