A new study has identified Chester as the UK's sixth-smartest city.

The research analysed the top 50 most populated cities in the UK across 16 educational and professional factors.

This included the percentage of residents employed in scientific and financial professions, educational qualifications and academic performance metrics.

Chester secured sixth place with a score of 61.98. It has an average A-Level points of 38.17 as well as the average Key Stage 4 Attainment 8 score of 45.62 contributing to its position in the ranking.

The study also revealed that cities with higher proportions of residents working in science and technology tend to have better educational outcomes.

The top five cities for science and tech employment (Cambridge, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bristol and London) all rank in the top 20 overall.

"The results paint a clear picture of where the UK's academic talent is concentrated," said Naveed Janmohamed from Anara.

"These patterns have significant implications for regional development and the government's levelling-up agenda.

"What's particularly striking is how the presence of strong academic institutions seems to create a virtuous cycle, attracting and retaining highly skilled professionals.

"For cities looking to climb these rankings, investment in education and creating opportunities for skilled professionals should be top priorities."

The list, compiled using research conducted by Anara, an AI research assistant tool, was topped by Cambridge - scoring 74.85 out of 100. 

Cambridge has 16.2% of its population working in science, research, engineering, and technology roles, more than one and a half times that of Oxford, which placed second in this category (10.6%).

The historic university city also ranked highly across other metrics, with 77.8% of its population holding qualifications at Level 3 (A-Level) or above and 66.8% of its high school students progressing to top-tier universities - the highest rate in the country.

London secured second place with a score of 66.52, with strengths in financial and professional services, where it employs 11.4% of its population - the highest percentage nationwide.

The capital also scored well for educational attainment, with 71.4% of residents holding Level 3+ qualifications.

Brighton claimed third place with a score of 64.88, performing strongly across educational metrics with 73.1% of its population holding Level 3+ qualifications and an impressive average A-Level points of 38.78, the highest in the top ten.

Chelmsford placed fourth with a score of 63.32. The city stood out for its strong academic performance, achieving the highest Key Stage 4 Attainment 8 score (54.78) among all cities studied.

Edinburgh ranked fifth, making it the highest-ranked Scottish city, scoring 63.10. Scotland's capital boasts the second-highest percentage of people holding Level 3+ qualifications at 79.1%.

York took seventh place, scoring 60.44. York achieved the fourth-highest percentage of people achieving GCSEs in Maths and English by age 19 at 81.7%.

Completing the top ten smartest cities are Gloucester with a score of 60.18, Cardiff (59.54) and Bristol (59.15).

Oxford ranks 13th with a score of 57.59, though it has the second-highest percentage (10.6%) of residents in science and technology roles after Cambridge.