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Compared to the nation’s other large cities, the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region falls short in the smarts department, according to a recent analysis by a national publication.
Daily Beast released a list ranking the nation’s 55 largest cities in terms of intellect. Buffalo-Niagara came in at No. 44, posting an IQ score of 70 (out of 200).
The rankings took into account the number of residents with bachelor’s and graduate degrees, nonfiction book sales, the ratio of institutions of higher education and the percent of eligible voters who cast a ballot in the last presidential election.
“Willis McGahee, former running back for the Bills, said that arriving in Buffalo is like ‘Hitting a brick wall. You can’t go out. You can’t do nothing. There’s an Applebee’s, a T.G.I. Friday’s and they just got a Dave & Buster’s,” the report said. “Perhaps the city should add bookstores: Its per capita nonfiction buying ranked near the bottom, and the rate of college graduates was in the bottom 10 percent.”
Topping the list was Raleigh-Durham, N.C., with an IQ of 170. Rochester came in at No. 26 (IQ of 106), while Fresno, Calif., was last (IQ of 3).
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In an unrelated poll that nonetheless might explain the Buffalo region’s low placement on the previous list, the Queen City placed near the top of Sporting News’ list of best sports cities.
Buffalo came in No. 40 on the Sporting News list, which takes into account the won-lost records of pro and college teams, postseason appearances, number of teams and attendance, among other factors. Niagara, which would technically be Lewiston (the rankings take into account Niagara University, which is often misrepresented as being in Niagara Falls), came in at No. 141.
Coming in No. 1 on the list of 399 North American cities was Pittsburgh, followed by Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. Syracuse came in at No. 90, Albany was No. 140, Olean was No. 170, Rochester was No. 267, Batavia was No. 387 and Jamestown was No. 395.
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A Middleport native will see a documentary he made premiere today in Rochester.
Victor Rook’s film “Stronghold: In the Grip of Wrestling” will make its world premiere at 1 p.m. today, the last day of the Rochester Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival. The film examines wrestling’s grasp on many boys as they become men.
The festival, which began Oct. 9, featured more than 94 films from 19 countries, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.
Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.
