Oh, Seattle, You're So Smart!

Harvard students may not think much of Seattle, but Harvard economics professor and author (Triumph of the City) Edward L. Glaeser sings the praises of the the Emerald City in his New York Times Economix blog, published yesterday. Before your eyes glaze over and you declare TL;DR, let me synopsize:

1. Seattle is one of the few non-Sunbelt cities that is growing faster than the national average;
2. Despite the importance of Boeing in the mid-20th century, other companies, like Microsoft, Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Amazon, were able to fill the economic gap, so that we didn't turn into another Detroit;
3. Fifty-six percent of the city's population has at least one college degree;
4. Personal, per capita income is 25 percent higher than the U.S. average;
5. Per capita productivity is 37 percent higher than the metro-U.S. average.

As flattering as Glaeser's article is, the comments are also well worth a read, adding significant insights not explored in the piece itself--as long as you ignore the weathery retreads, of course. (And, as Zach Klein notes in the caption to his great photo, we have an amazing library.)