A National Science Foundation report tells which states have built cutting-edge economies.

Could Delaware, that plain-Jane, highway-rest-stop-sized sliver of the map, secretly have the most high-tech economy of any U.S. state? Judging by one important measure, it just might.

Every two years, the National Science Foundation (NSF) releases a wide-ranging assessment of America’s science and technology sector, including a state-by-state breakdown of everything from patents issued to engineers employed. Nestled in the data is a single statistic that I’ve used to rank which state economies are most tech-centric: the percentage of their business establishments that are part of a high-technology industry.

American_Flag_Circuit_Board_CroppedTen Best States                               Ten Worst States

  1. Delaware                              North Dakota
  2. Colorado                               South Dakota
  3. Virginia                                   Iowa
  4. Maryland                                Mississippi
  5. New Jersey                           West Virginia
  6. Massachusetts                     Nebraska
  7. California                               Maine
  8. Nevada                                   Kentucky
  9. Utah                                        Alabama
  10. Texas                                      Tennessee

Click here to read the complete article.

Source: Jordan Weissmann | The Atlantic