TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y. -- According to Forbes.com, Ithaca is one of the smartest cities in the nation.

Using Sperling's "BestPlaces" list, Forbes then compares the percentage of people ages 25 and up who have at least a bachelor's degree.

"With two big schools on each hilltop, you know, we have an Ivy League University on one and a great private institution on the other hilltop, it's not surprising that there's a lot of educated people in Tompkins County," said Doug Levine, director of membership services and public relations at the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce

And he's right. Levine said research done by the Claritas research firm shows that in the 25 and older demographic in Tompkins County, 27.4% of the population has a master's degree or higher. Nationally, the average is just under 8.9%.

"I suspect it has something to do with Cornell and Ithaca College being here, it's sort of a haven for great minds," said Bruce Stoff of the Ithaca/Tompkins Convention Visitors Bureau.

And the people who live here aren't surprised their city is one of the brainiest. They agree that Ithaca College and Cornell University are two major reasons that Ithaca made the list.

"We have great educational institutions here that help feed our community and retain a lot of the smart people to our community," said Ithaca resident Lisa Holmes.

"Seems like a very progressive place with Cornell and Ithaca College so no that doesn't surprise me at all," said Sarah Pollica-James of Ithaca.

And even though lists about the best traits in cities are done all the time, having one more in the bag doesn't hurt.

"Any time you get mention in a major publication like Forbes it's just a great mention for the city. It keeps us top of mind with a lot of people, it says something important about the community, you know, that we value education," said Stoff.

The common denominator among almost all the cities on the list is that they're college towns.

Boulder, CO and Bethesda, MD were the number one and two smartest cities on the list.