--- title: Minneapolis is the Most Literate City in the United States description: Washington D.C. lost the title canonical: https://time.com/3817323/most-literate-city-america/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-10T15:17:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:18:36.692Z og:title: There's a New Most Literate City in America og:description: Washington D.C. lost the title og:url: https://time.com/3817323/most-literate-city-america/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45f89e797b6780ad/6987ea860b72e30bf86e169e/175177823.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 175177823 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There's a New Most Literate City in America twitter:description: Washington D.C. lost the title twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45f89e797b6780ad/6987ea860b72e30bf86e169e/175177823.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There's a New Most Literate City in America by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Apr 10, 2015 3:17 PM UTC  Row of books on shelf Row of books on shelfJamie Grill—Getty Images/Tetra images RF by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Apr 10, 2015 3:17 PM UTC Minneapolis has been named the “Most Literate City” in the United States, [_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2015/04/10/americas-most-literate-cities-minneapolis/25531751/)reports. The Minnesota city — which is appropriately currently hosting the [Association for Writers & Writing Programs Conference](https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2015/04/colossal-writers-conference-arrives-minneapolis-many-related-free-events) — was given the title in the 12th annual “Most Literate City” study, conducted by Central Connecticut State University president Dr. Jack Miller. Washington D.C., which held the title for the last four years, was bumped down to the number two spot. It is followed by Seattle, St. Paul (also in Minnesota) and Atlanta. The study looked at data surrounding local bookstores, library resources, newspaper circulation and education levels. See the rest of the ranking [here](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2015/04/10/americas-most-literate-cities-minneapolis/25531751/). \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2015/04/10/americas-most-literate-cities-minneapolis/25531751/)\] Minneapolis is the Most Literate City in the United States ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3817323/most-literate-city-america/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3817323/most-literate-city-america/"},"headline":"There's a New Most Literate City in America","datePublished":"2015-04-10T15:17:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:18:36.692Z","description":"Washington D.C. lost the title","url":"https://time.com/3817323/most-literate-city-america/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Living","Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45f89e797b6780ad/6987ea860b72e30bf86e169e/175177823.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45f89e797b6780ad/6987ea860b72e30bf86e169e/175177823.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"175177823","caption":"175177823","creditText":"Jamie Grill—Getty Images/Tetra images RF","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3817323/most-literate-city-america/","name":"There's a New Most Literate City in America"}}]}] ```