Education
Building on its early reputation as the Athens of the West, Lexington continues to excel in education. Along with some of the best public schools in the state, Lexington also has one of the best educated labor forces in the nation. Census data for cities over 250,000 people ranks the city as the eleventh most highly educated in the nation based on the 38.4% of the population 25 years or older that has at least a Bachelor’s degree, which ties Lexington with Portland, Oregon and St. Paul, Minnesota. Even more impressive, when education levels all the way down to high school graduates are considered, Lexington claims the title of second most educated workforce in the nation (Business Facilities, 2008), trailing only Seattle, Washington.
Anchored by the state’s flagship university, the University of Kentucky, the Bluegrass boasts 10 colleges and universities within 40 miles of Lexington. In addition, Lexington has five other professional and technical colleges (Indiana Wesleyan, Sullivan, and Strayer Universities, National and Spencerian Colleges). In total, over 66,000 students are enrolled in institutions of higher learning in the Bluegrass, graduating close to 14,000 annually.
Source: Kentucky Council for Post Secondary Education
