10 Dumbest Cities in Connecticut: Did East Hampton or Portland Make the List?

By BRIAN MCCREADY (Patch Staff)

RoadSnacks, which analyzes data for what it calls “infotainment,” had its work cut out for itself with their latest off-beat list.

They’ve compiled a list — “These Are the 10 Dumbest Cities in Connecticut — but the Constitution State overall was recently ranked the fourth-smartest state in the county.

In order to create such a list, RoadSnacks examined school completion rates in communities with 5,000 or more people. Specifically, they studied the percentage of high school dropouts between the ages of 16-19, the percentage of the population with less than a high school education, and a community’s graduation rate.

And here is RoadSnacks’ usual disclaimer: they’re not saying “these cities or the cities themselves are bad,” but “as a majority they’re not the brightest bulbs in the room.”

Some key findings from their report: Bridgeport was No. 1 because a quarter of its population doesn’t have a high school degree and the high school dropout rate is 11 percent.

Hartford was high on the list, too, because 30 percent of the population above the age of 25 is without a high school education.

New Haven made the list because 17.6 percent of adults there are without a basic education, RoadSnacks said.

The smartest community in Connecticut is Milford, according to RoadSnacks. Milford’s dropout rate is less than 2 percent and only 5.7 percent of adults are considered uneducated.

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Here is RoadSnacks’ full list, and you can click on the link here to see data that goes along with their ranking.

1. Bridgeport
2. Danielson
3. Waterbury
4. Hartford
5. Jewett City
6. New Britain
7. Torrington
8. New Haven
9. Meriden
10. Danbury
11. Derby
12. Norwalk
13. Naugatuck
14. New London
15. Stamford
16. West Haven
17. Norwich
18. Bristol
19. Ansonia
20. Shelton
21. Middletown
22. Milford
23. Groton

Obviously, communities toward the end of the list are actually considered smart, such as Milford and Groton specifically, according to RoadSnacks.

Does anything surprise you about the list? Let us know in the comments section below.

Photo by cogdogblog, via flickr creative commons