The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Evergreen State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.
While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.
We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in Washington have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.
A recent study we published found that Washington is the 17th smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 101.
But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in Washington are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.
#1 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Union Gap is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,047. Union Gap has a storied history and in recent years has become the retail hub for the entire Yakima Valley as a result of Valley Mall and other thriving businesses being located here. Part of the city is part of the Yakama Nation.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#2 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Toppenish is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,949. It is located within the Yakama Indian Reservation, established in 1855.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#3 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Grandview is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. It is about 38 miles west of Kennewick and 38 miles southeast of Yakima. The population was 10,862 at the 2010 census. Grandview-s economy is agriculture based; with apples, cherries, concord and wine grapes, hops, asparagus, corn, wheat, dairy and other fruit and vegetable production supported by processing plants and cold storage facilities.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#4 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Sunnyside is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 15,858.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#5 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Franklin County, Washington
Connell is a city in Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,209 at the 2010 census. The Washington State Office of Financial Management’s 2015 estimate placed the population at 5,446.
Data | Movers
#6 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Adams County, Washington
Othello is a city in Adams County, Washington, United States. The population was 5,847 at the 2000 census and grew 25.9% over the next decade to 7,364 at the 2010 census. Othello refers to the city as being in the “Heart” of the Columbia Basin Project. It is located approximately 100 miles southwest of Spokane, 180 miles east of Seattle, and about 25 miles south of Interstate 90, at the intersection of SR 17 and SR 26.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#7 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Cowlitz County, Washington
Woodland is a city in Clark and Cowlitz counties in the State of Washington. Most residents live within Cowlitz County, in which the majority of the city lies. It is part of the ‘Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area’. The population was 5,509 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#8 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Grant County, Washington
Quincy is a city in Grant County, Washington, United States. The population was 6,750 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#9 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Grays Harbor County, Washington
Aberdeen is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 16,896 at the 2010 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is called the “Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
#10 dumbest in Washington
Located in
Yakima County, Washington
Yakima is a U.S. city located about 60 miles southeast of Mount Rainier in Washington. Yakima is the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state’s eleventh largest city by population. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,067 and a metropolitan population of 243,231. The unincorporated suburban areas of West Valley and Terrace Heights are considered a part of greater Yakima.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
On the map
Where Washington’s dumbest cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Evergreen State
We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.
So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.
In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in Washington:
- % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
- % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)
We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.
Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in Washington from dumbest to brightest.
For this ranking, we used every Washington city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in Washington.
The full plate
Dumbest Cities In Washington For 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | % Adult High School Dropout | % Highly Educated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Union Gap | 6,584 | 32.0% | 4.0% |
| 2 | Toppenish | 8,723 | 42.0% | 9.0% |
| 3 | Grandview | 11,187 | 39.0% | 6.0% |
| 4 | Sunnyside | 16,277 | 44.0% | 10.0% |
| 5 | Connell | 5,054 | 23.0% | 10.0% |
| 6 | Othello | 8,795 | 31.0% | 12.0% |
| 7 | Woodland | 6,487 | 19.0% | 13.0% |
| 8 | Quincy | 7,998 | 27.0% | 19.0% |
| 9 | Aberdeen | 17,088 | 16.0% | 15.0% |
| 10 | Yakima | 96,961 | 21.0% | 20.0% |
| 11 | Shelton | 10,612 | 16.0% | 19.0% |
| 12 | Kelso | 12,684 | 12.0% | 12.0% |
| 13 | Pasco | 79,575 | 23.0% | 22.0% |
| 14 | East Wenatchee | 14,199 | 15.0% | 20.0% |
| 15 | Prosser | 6,305 | 19.0% | 23.0% |
| 16 | Airway Heights | 11,245 | 11.0% | 16.0% |
| 17 | Longview | 38,069 | 12.0% | 17.0% |
| 18 | Tukwila | 21,451 | 19.0% | 24.0% |
| 19 | Sedro-Woolley | 12,831 | 12.0% | 20.0% |
| 20 | Omak | 5,036 | 12.0% | 22.0% |
| 21 | Pacific | 7,066 | 13.0% | 23.0% |
| 22 | Selah | 8,437 | 16.0% | 25.0% |
| 23 | SeaTac | 32,414 | 16.0% | 26.0% |
| 24 | Ephrata | 8,560 | 9.0% | 17.0% |
| 25 | Centralia | 18,830 | 10.0% | 19.0% |
| 26 | Milton | 8,894 | 10.0% | 21.0% |
| 27 | Moses Lake | 26,083 | 10.0% | 21.0% |
| 28 | Lakewood | 62,937 | 12.0% | 24.0% |
| 29 | Kennewick | 85,295 | 13.0% | 26.0% |
| 30 | Arlington | 21,095 | 9.0% | 21.0% |
| 31 | Clarkston | 7,191 | 7.0% | 17.0% |
| 32 | Auburn | 85,676 | 11.0% | 26.0% |
| 33 | Hoquiam | 8,800 | 7.0% | 18.0% |
| 34 | Burlington | 10,003 | 9.0% | 21.0% |
| 35 | Ocean Shores | 7,302 | 9.0% | 23.0% |
| 36 | Kent | 135,603 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| 37 | Wenatchee | 35,484 | 14.0% | 30.0% |
| 38 | Burien | 51,513 | 16.0% | 33.0% |
| 39 | Chehalis | 7,587 | 10.0% | 27.0% |
| 40 | Walla Walla | 33,925 | 10.0% | 28.0% |
| 41 | Mount Vernon | 35,377 | 10.0% | 29.0% |
| 42 | Everett | 111,845 | 10.0% | 29.0% |
| 43 | Fife | 10,949 | 9.0% | 28.0% |
| 44 | Marysville | 73,002 | 7.0% | 25.0% |
| 45 | Orting | 8,978 | 7.0% | 24.0% |
| 46 | College Place | 9,854 | 14.0% | 36.0% |
| 47 | Yelm | 11,102 | 8.0% | 27.0% |
| 48 | Federal Way | 99,493 | 10.0% | 31.0% |
| 49 | Buckley | 5,371 | 6.0% | 23.0% |
| 50 | Vancouver | 195,300 | 10.0% | 32.0% |
| 51 | Sultan | 6,116 | 11.0% | 34.0% |
| 52 | Sumner | 10,733 | 7.0% | 27.0% |
| 53 | Washougal | 17,490 | 8.0% | 29.0% |
| 54 | Monroe | 19,755 | 8.0% | 30.0% |
| 55 | Renton | 105,317 | 12.0% | 39.0% |
| 56 | Spokane Valley | 106,365 | 6.0% | 26.0% |
| 57 | Des Moines | 32,823 | 10.0% | 34.0% |
| 58 | Enumclaw | 12,798 | 6.0% | 27.0% |
| 59 | Battle Ground | 21,886 | 6.0% | 27.0% |
| 60 | Tacoma | 222,758 | 9.0% | 34.0% |
| 61 | Port Angeles | 20,118 | 7.0% | 30.0% |
| 62 | Lacey | 57,737 | 7.0% | 33.0% |
| 63 | Puyallup | 42,746 | 6.0% | 29.0% |
| 64 | Lynnwood | 40,110 | 9.0% | 36.0% |
| 65 | West Richland | 17,586 | 9.0% | 39.0% |
| 66 | Stanwood | 8,373 | 4.0% | 25.0% |
| 67 | Oak Harbor | 24,362 | 5.0% | 29.0% |
| 68 | Bremerton | 44,830 | 5.0% | 29.0% |
| 69 | Lynden | 16,234 | 6.0% | 32.0% |
| 70 | Snohomish | 10,239 | 7.0% | 35.0% |
| 71 | Port Orchard | 17,149 | 6.0% | 35.0% |
| 72 | Spokane | 230,293 | 6.0% | 34.0% |
| 73 | Blaine | 6,100 | 5.0% | 32.0% |
| 74 | Edgewood | 13,032 | 5.0% | 33.0% |
| 75 | Ferndale | 15,999 | 6.0% | 38.0% |
| 76 | Ellensburg | 20,874 | 6.0% | 41.0% |
| 77 | Bonney Lake | 22,090 | 4.0% | 31.0% |
| 78 | Shoreline | 61,431 | 7.0% | 52.0% |
| 79 | Lake Stevens | 40,253 | 5.0% | 36.0% |
| 80 | Mountlake Terrace | 23,104 | 6.0% | 43.0% |
| 81 | Steilacoom | 6,686 | 6.0% | 49.0% |
| 82 | Covington | 21,233 | 5.0% | 37.0% |
| 83 | Cheney | 12,804 | 5.0% | 38.0% |
| 84 | Richland | 62,753 | 5.0% | 47.0% |
| 85 | DuPont | 9,931 | 6.0% | 53.0% |
| 86 | Poulsbo | 12,165 | 5.0% | 48.0% |
| 87 | Sequim | 8,161 | 3.0% | 34.0% |
| 88 | University Place | 34,911 | 4.0% | 42.0% |
| 89 | Tumwater | 26,956 | 4.0% | 43.0% |
| 90 | Ridgefield | 13,408 | 4.0% | 39.0% |
| 91 | Bellingham | 93,438 | 4.0% | 49.0% |
| 92 | Duvall | 8,526 | 5.0% | 59.0% |
| 93 | Brier | 6,545 | 4.0% | 52.0% |
| 94 | Gig Harbor | 12,424 | 4.0% | 52.0% |
| 95 | Olympia | 55,951 | 4.0% | 52.0% |
| 96 | Anacortes | 17,966 | 3.0% | 47.0% |
| 97 | Bothell | 49,610 | 5.0% | 59.0% |
| 98 | Seattle | 754,195 | 5.0% | 68.0% |
| 99 | Fircrest | 7,069 | 3.0% | 50.0% |
| 100 | Maple Valley | 28,287 | 3.0% | 50.0% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 122 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep
If you’re measuring the locations in Washington where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.
The dumbest cities in Washington are Union Gap, Toppenish, Grandview, Sunnyside, Connell, Othello, Woodland, Quincy, Aberdeen, and Yakima. Not sold on Washington? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
