The following is text from an article from the Des Moines Register, which originally was released on May 31st, 2017.  A direct link to the article can be found HERE.

This report says Iowa has four times as many 'smart' cities as Nebraska

Iowans now have more bragging rights over Nebraskans, thanks to the Omaha World-Herald.

When looking for ways to determine whether Nebraska or Iowa was smarter, the Omaha World-Herald discovered that Iowa has four times as many "smart" cities as Nebraska using one metric: The number of bachelor's degrees.

"Specifically, which cities with 5,000 people or more boast the highest percentage of people ages 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree," World-Herald staff writer Chris Peters wrote.

Peters, using the 2015 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau as a source, found that Iowa has 25 "smart" cities. Nebraska only has six. 

Let it be known that there are at least 80 Iowa cities with a population greater than 5,000, whereas Nebraska has about 30.

"Now, before we go declaring Iowans as wholly smarter than Nebraskans, remember, this is one arbitrary measure of intelligence," Peters wrote. "... We’ve chosen 33 percent — that’s one in three people — as our arbitrary cutoff point.

"So, cities with at least 33 percent of residents 25 and older holding bachelor’s degrees qualify as 'smart' cities."

Ames, where Iowa State University is located, leads the way in Iowa, with almost 62 percent of residents ages 25 and older holding a bachelor's degree. Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa, came in third at 58.6 percent.

None of Iowa's four largest cities — Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Sioux City — made the cut, Peters found.

Nebraska's front-runner? Wayne — where Wayne State College is — had almost 50 percent of its population owning a four-year degree.

Nine Des Moines suburbs found a spot on the list, too: Johnston (2nd; 59.6), Clive (4th; 56.6), West Des Moines (6th; 53.2), Grimes (7th; 49.3), Urbandale (9th; 48.5), Waukee (10th; 48.4), Ankeny (12th; 45.7) Pleasant Hill (17th; 36.8) and Norwalk (20th; 35.4).

Peters wrote that the 31 cities in Iowa and Nebraska making this list are "either home to a four-year college or are part of a metropolitan area."

"Also, it’s important to note that there are differences in annexation laws between the two states," Peters wrote. "That could be one reason you’ll see so many suburbs, and no big cities, on Iowa’s list."

Read the full report here.

The 'smart' cities in Iowa, Nebraska

Iowa

1. Ames (58,965): 61.6

2. Johnston (17,278): 59.6

3. Iowa City (67,862): 58.6

4. Clive (15,447): 56.6

5. Coralville (18,907): 56.0

6. West Des Moines (56,609): 53.2

7. Grimes (8,246): 49.3

8. Bettendorf (33,217): 48.7

9. Urbandale (39,463): 48.5

10. Waukee (13,790): 48.4

11. North Liberty (13,374): 47.2

12. Ankeny (45,582): 45.7

13. Cedar Falls (39,260): 44.6

14. Decorah (8,127): 42.0

15. Eldridge (5,651): 38.5

16. Waverly (9,874): 37.6

17. Pleasant Hill (8,785): 36.8

18. Orange City (6,004): 36.6

19. Fairfield (9,464): 35.4

20. Norwalk (8,945): 35.4

21. Hiawatha (7,024): 34.9

22. Marion (34,768): 34.1

23. Sioux Center (7,048): 33.7

24. Pella (10,352): 33.5

25. Grinnell (9,218): 33.2

Nebraska

1. Wayne (5,660): 49.6

2. Chadron (5,851): 40.3

3. Papillion (18,894): 39.3

4. Lincoln (258,379): 36.7

5. Kearney (30,787): 35.8

6. Omaha (408,958): 34.1