Is your city brimming with the educated elite? The Brookings Institute analyzed data from the 2008 American Community Survey data against the 1990 Census and determined that Washington, DC is still the most-educated metro area in the country, with 46.8 percent of its residents over the age of 25 holding a bachelor’s degree.

But ranking a city as the smartest or most-educated depends on your definition. In June, The Huffington Post reported that John Carrol University graduate student Rob Pitingolo ranked cities based on “educational attainment density” and found that San Francisco had the most educated citizens because it had the most college-degree holders.

Regardless, here’s the rest of the list from The Brookings Institute. You won’t be surprised to find a lot of big college towns on the list:

1. Washington, D.C.: 46%

2.  Bridgeport, CT: 43.8%

3. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: 43.5%

4. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 43.4%

5. Boston-Cambridge, MA: 41.9%

6. Raleigh, NC: 41.5%

7. Madison, WI: 39.8%

8. Austin, TX: 38.2%

9. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: 37.6%

10. Denver-Aurora, CO: 37.5%

I wonder if it would be a good strategy to try and find a job in a city with a smaller percentage of college grads, to make yourself stand out. But even though huge cities like L.A. and New York won’t make lists like this because of low degree percentages, they still boast a large pool of educated people.

If you’re considering a move to DC, you might be interested to know that it ranked #21 on the Most Recession Proof Cities list, and also #1 on the US News & World Report list of the Healthiest Cities in the US.

Photo: Destination360