Washington most literate U.S. city

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- An annual survey ranking the "culture and resources for reading" in U.S. metropolitan areas named Washington the most literate city in the nation.

The 2010 survey, carried out by Central Connecticut State University researchers in New Britain, Conn., measured the availability and frequency of use for reading materials in the 75 largest metropolitan areas in the United States in terms of newspapers, magazines, bookstores, libraries, education and the Internet, USA Today reported Monday.

"What difference does it make how good your reading test score is if you never read anything?" said researcher Jack Miller, president of the university. "One of the elements of the climate, the culture, the value of a city is whether or not there are people there that practice those kinds of behaviors."

The survey named Washington the most literate city in the nation, followed by Seattle, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and San Francisco.

However, the researchers said they noticed some "worrisome trends" common to all of the cities, including declines in book buying and newspaper circulation amid slow growth for attaining higher levels of education.