I agree. To me, a town, small or otherwise, is an independent community, standing on its own merit.
Bethesda, MD is a wealthy suburb of Washington, DC, which would naturally invite a higher concentration of educated people. So is McLean, VA. Some of the California towns mentioned are Silicon Valley strongholds. Mercer Island, Washington, is surrounded by the Seattle metro area. I haven't checked the atlas, but I'm sure a number of the other named "towns" are just as conveniently located to a larger metro area. So this list has to be taken with a huge grain of salt.
Dave