Business First of Louisville - 2:20 PM EST Tuesday

Study says Louisville's literacy level is middle of the road

Louisville is medial when it comes to literacy, according to a recent study that measures the literacy of 69 major U.S. cities.

"America's Most Literate Cities 2005," a study by Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, develops a statistical profile of American cities with populations of 250,000 or more.

It ranks cities according to six indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources. The data is culled from the U.S. Census, audited newspaper circulation rates and information on magazine publishing, educational attainment levels, library resources and booksellers. The information is compared with population rates in each city.

Seattle, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and San Francisco are the most literate U.S. cities, according to the study.

Louisville ranks No. 40 out of 69 cities in overall literacy. Lexington, Ky., ranks No. 27.5.

Below are Louisville and Lexington's rankings in the literacy indicator categories:

• Periodical publishers: Louisville, 36; Lexington, 19.
• Newspaper circulation: Louisville, 35; Lexington, 30. 
• Library resources: Louisville, 30.5; Lexington, 20.
• Internet resources: Louisville, 59; Lexington, 62.
• Educational attainment: Louisville, 38.5; Lexington, 18.5.
• Bookstores: Louisville, 25.5; Lexington, 43.
  
  © 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.