Via Universal Hub: A study by the president of Central Connecticut University tags Boston as the 8th most literate city in the US, with Minneapolis and Seattle tied for first.
"America's Most Literate Cities, 2008" places Boston 22nd in educational attainment (Plano, Texas, is first), 9th in Internet usage (measured by online book orders and by visits to the "city's Internet version newspaper"), 7th in public library resources, 4th in newspaper circulation, and 47th in booksellers per capita.
Boy, that last one really killed us. Maybe the fact that so many of us go to bookstores across the river in Cambridge (not counted as part of Boston in the survey) has something to do with our poor showing. It seems to have hurt us in the 2003 version of the survey as well (see third item here).
We ranked 13th in overall literacy six years ago; that Internet usage category seems to have helped us this time. So thanks to all the Americans who like to click on pictures from dog shows and the like on Boston.com!
New York City fared even worse, placing 24th in literacy overall and 60th in booksellers per capita. That was probably because Manhattan's bookstore numbers were dragged down by Staten Island, Queens, and the Bronx.
Meanwhile, Anchorage ranked 11th in bookstores per capita, and Las Vegas ranked 14th. The lesson: If you want to live in a literate city, pick any place that that's not too big, not too small, and not too weirdly shaped, and you can't go wrong.