US | college America's 20 Smartest Small Towns Where brains and high property values meet By Victoria Floethe Posted Jan 10, 2009 6:59 PM CST Copied Bethesda, Md. attracts brainy folk from state capital Georgetown. (Flickr) See 6 more photos America's brainiest small towns boast high property values and high culture. Forbes lists the nation's smartest: Bethesda, Md.: Nearby Georgetown and the National Institutes of Health draw brainy folk to Bethesda, which has a rate of advanced degrees five times higher than the nation's. Wellesley, Mass.: Home to two private colleges and some of the state's top high schools, Wellesley is just 13 miles from brainy Boston. Palo Alto, Calif.: Palo Alto's scholarly folk, drawn by Stanford University, maintain a median income of $119,000. McLean, Va.: Many officials and politicians are drawn here from nearby Washington, DC. Los Altos, Calif.: Pulls in some of Stanford's tenure-track faculty and probably has even higher property values than Palo Alto. For more enlightened corners, click here. Read These Next Something James Carville said made Melania Trump's lawyer unhappy. Vance's office says it wasn't involved in the river-raising. Ivanka and Jared are making headlines again. Justice Department goes after a prominent Trump foe. See 6 more photos Report an error