If you equate smart with educational achievement, one city stands above all the others. That city is Seattle, Wash., where a whopping 52.7 percent of the residents age 25 and older have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, reports the U.S. Census Bureau.

In addition, Seattle was ranked as the most literate city in the United States by Central Connecticut State University, a distinction that is based on the number of booksellers, libraries, Internet resources, newspaper circulation and periodical publishing resources, as well as education achievement. Rounding out the top five most literate cities are Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and San Francisco.

Smart people are drawn to Seattle because of its "knowledge economy," which in turn drives what Queens College sociology professor Andrew Beveridge calls a "super service economy," reports CNN/Money. Major employers are Microsoft and Amazon, as well as Boeing and Costco. Just over one-fifth of the population holds an advanced degree, second in the nation to Washington, D.C.

The smartest U.S. cities with a population greater than 250,000 ranked by percentage of bachelor's degrees:

1. Seattle, Washington: 52.7 percent
   
2. San Francisco, California: 50.1 percent
   
3. Washington, D.C.: 45.3 percent
   
4. Austin, Texas: 44.1 percent
   
5. Minneapolis, Minnesota: 43.2 percent
   
6. Atlanta, Georgia: 42.4 percent
   
7. Boston, Massachusetts: 40.9 percent
   
8. San Diego, California: 40.4 percent
   
9. Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky: 39.5 percent
   
10. Denver, Colorado, 39 percent
    (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

--From the Editors at Netscape