There’s a superfluous list for everything these days—hottest girls, hunkiest guys, best movies, worst movies and now, the United States cities with the highest literacy rates.

Prior to the publication of this list by the Central Connecticut State University, I probably would have laughed if you had told me that the South had more cities in the top ten than the Northeast, a region that’s home to the venerable Ivy League.

As it turns out, however, the South gets the last laugh here, as the Northeast only had one city at the top of the list (Boston of all places!).

The list:

Minneapolis (tied for 1st)
Seattle (tied for 1st)
Washington, D.C.
St. Paul, Minn.
San Francisco
Atlanta
Denver
Boston
St. Louis
Cincinnati (tied for 10th)
Portland, Ore. (tied for 10th)

And so, the Midwest and Pacific Northwest reign supreme—yet again.

How is the region with the best schools in the country the one with the least literate cities?!

New York City can’t catch a break; Boston always wins.