D.C. tops rankings for USA's most literate cities

Washingtonians are the nation's most well-read citizens, but they're reading less these days. And so, it appears, are city dwellers everywhere.

That's according to the latest findings of an annual study of the United States' most literate cities, which ranks the "culture and resources for reading" in the nation's 75 largest metro areas. The study examines not whether people can read, but whether they actually do.

"What difference does it make how good your reading test score is if you never read anything?" says researcher Jack Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Conn. "One of the elements of the climate, the culture, the value of a city is whether or not there are people there that practice those kinds of behaviors."

The study, based on 2010, looks at measures for six items — newspapers, bookstores, magazines, education, libraries and the Internet — to determine what resources are available in each city and the extent to which its inhabitants take advantage of them.

CHART: Most literate cities in 2010

Now in its eighth year, the study finds little to celebrate. Were Washington's top score in 2010 applied to the 2004 rankings, for example, the city would land at No. 7.

The study identifies "worrisome trends" consistent with other national research, including declines in newspaper circulation and book-buying, along with sluggish growth in educational attainment. Increases in Internet usage and stable library patronage aren't offsetting those declines, it says.

Among details in the study at www.ccsu.edu/amlc2010:

•Washington's climb to No. 1. this year was likely helped by troubles in Seattle, which has claimed or shared (with Minneapolis) the top spot four of the last five years. In recent years, Seattle has lost a newspaper and some legendary local bookstores have struggled.

•New Orleans, which ranked 42nd in 2005, then dropped off the list because its population dipped after Hurricane Katrina, has more than bounced back. It returned last year at 17 and this year climbed to 15. Changing demographics likely explain the spike. "A lot of the people that left and haven't come back were poorer," Miller says.

•Ten of California's 12 largest cities landed in the bottom half, including Sacramento, the state capital, at 45, and lowest-ranked Stockton, which has been at or near the bottom since the list debuted in 2004. San Francisco was ranked 6; Oakland squeaked into the top half at 37.

One bright spot: The use of public libraries has remained consistently strong over the years, particularly in manufacturing towns. Toledo, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Ind., for example, were in the bottom half overall but were two of six Rust-Belt cities to land in top 10 for library resources. Robert Lang, an urban planning and policy expert at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, acknowledges cause for concern but questions whether results necessarily mean people are reading less. "People are reading more things and less in depth. They're getting briefed," he says. "The bigger finding (is) what's consumed is different."

Chart:

                                  2010    2009    2008   2007   2006    2005

Washington	1	2	3	5	3	3
Seattle	2	1	1	2	1	1
Minneapolis	3	3	1	1	2	2
Atlanta	4	5	6	8	3	4
Pittsburgh	5	4	12	9	6	8
San Francisco	6	12	5	7	9	5
St. Paul	7	7	4	3	5	9
Denver	8	10	7	4	8	6
St. Louis	9	11	9	6	12	15
Portland, Ore.	9	6	10	12	10	11
Cincinnati	11	9	10	11	7	9
Boston	12	8	8	10	11	7
Raleigh, N.C.	13	19	14	14	13	13
Cleveland	14	13	13	13	14	18
New Orleans	15	17	0	--	0	42
Columbus, Ohio	16	22	15	21	15	12
Kansas City, Mo.	17	14	18	15	17	14
Baltimore	18	26	16	27	24	21
Tampa	19	20	29	20	21	24
Lincoln, Neb.	20	23	0	--	0	0
Austin	21	16	17	23	16	16
Nashville-Davidson, Tenn.	22	18	19	19	18	17
Lexington-Fayette, Ky.	23	15	19	17	30	27
Tulsa	24	20	21	16	19	24
Colorado Springs	25	24	26	30	33	19
New York	26	29	24	28	42	32
Honolulu	27	28	22	18	22	35
Chicago	28	30	34	40	39	46
Milwaukee	29	31	36	34	25	29
Miami	29	33	33	22	23	27
Charlotte	31	27	31	26	19	20
Philadelphia	31	32	28	31	33	32
Tucson	33	45	32	33	36	34
Indianapolis	34	25	37	29	29	23
Virginia Beach	35	44	27	24	27	41
Oklahoma City	36	38	43	38	43	38
Oakland	37	35	23	46	35	30
San Diego	38	33	25	36	26	39
Greensboro, N.C.	38	36	0	--	0	0
Louisville-Jefferson Co., KY	40	40	38	31	37	40
Buffalo	41	41	42	42	44	47
Omaha	42	37	40	34	31	31
Albuquerque	43	39	35	41	38	36
Dallas	44	48	38	47	49	48
Sacramento	45	41	30	25	28	22
Fort Wayne, Ind.	46	43	44	�--	0	0
Toledo, Ohio	47	47	48	37	32	26
Wichita	48	46	49	44	48	49
Jacksonville	49	55	50	47	45	44
Fort Worth	50	52	45	45	45	44
San Jose	50	56	46	54	50	51
Las Vegas	52	50	41	43	40	44
Anchorage	53	49	47	38	47	43
Plano, Texas	54	53	55	51	53	0
Memphis	55	53	58	59	54	58
Detroit	56	51	51	50	52	56
Newark	57	57	52	49	51	37
Phoenix	58	59	57	56	59	54
Riverside, Calif.	59	58	53	52	56	58
Houston	60	60	54	55	55	53
Los Angeles	61	62	56	53	57	60
San Antonio	62	61	64	62	63	64
Henderson, Nev.	63	64	0	--	0	0
Fresno	64	65	59	58	60	63
Mesa, Ariz.	65	68	61	61	58	52
Glendale, Ariz.	66	65	65	--	0	0
Santa Ana, Calif.	67	67	62	57	61	62
Long Beach	68	63	60	60	63	61
El Paso	69	75	71	68	69	68
Corpus Christi, Texas	69	74	69	65	68	67
Arlington, Texas	71	70	63	62	64	57
Anaheim, Calif.	72	69	67	67	64	66
Bakersfield, Calif.	73	73	68	64	66	65
Aurora, Colo.	74	70	66	66	67	55
Stockton, Calif.	75	72	70	69	70	69

Source: America's Most Literate Cit