Boulder learned something new today: it topped Fort Collins on another list. Both are in the top 10 of highest daily learning in a new Gallup Poll.
75.2 percent say they learned something new or interesting 'yesterday' in Boulder. In Fort Collins the number is 71.8 percent, good for seventh place. Only Provo, Utah is ahead of Boulder.
This is what I’ve learned about these two learned cities.
The reason these cities mark so highly is the fact that they’re home to major universities. Boulder has the University of Colorado, Fort Collins Colorado State University.
Gallup surmises that “university towns often provide learning opportunities for non-students, such as symposiums, lectures, museums, and active cultural organizations.”
That’s certainly the case in Boulder, where the annual Conference on World Affairs is known to expose you to everything from foreign affairs to vampires in literature. Every September you can learn from the speakers at TEDxBoulder.
If you’re looking for scientific discovery, there are several national research labs in town, where smart people come up with things like the most accurate clock in the world.
You can even learn a little bit more about Boulder itself via a rolling barn on wheels.
In the eternal struggle between these two towns, Boulder tops this most recent list. But Fort Collins’ residents are most likely to be satisfied with the city or area where they live, a whopping 94.9 percent – so they have that going for them.
Both are in better shape though than Denver. Only 68.9 percent reported to Gallup that they “learned something yesterday.”
