Tech and Science By State

The Milken Institute ranks the states according to its technology and science index:

The 2004 State Technology and Science Index encapsulates each state’s comprehensive inventory of technology and science assets that can be leveraged to promote economic development.

The Index provides states with a benchmark, monitors their technology progress and can be leveraged to promote economic growth. It provides a valuable framework of measures to guide state policy makers and the public on the realities of their performance in the knowledge-based economy of today.

The index uses 75 indicators in five categories to measure how well a state will perform in today’s knowledge-based economy. The five composite categories are:

Research and development inputs;
Risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastructure;
Human capital investment;
Technology and science workforce; and
Technology concentration and dynamism.
Individual indicators include a wide range of measurements such as the percentage of a state’s population with Ph.D.s, research and development expenditures per capita, and venture capital investment.

“Places that can attract, grow and retain firms and industries proficient at deploying information technology, in addition to producing it, will be at a competitive advantage,” the report says. “The degree to which a state’s knowledge assets are harnessed and converted into successful innovations, products and services determine its economic future.”

According to the report, the states in the best position to succeed in the technology-led information age are:

* Massachusetts
* California
* Colorado
* Maryland
* Virginia
* Washington
* New Jersey
* Minnesota
* Utah
* Connecticut

My own Ohio is 24th – smack dab in the middle, and they wonder why the state has a “brain drain.” Of course it could be much worse, like say, Mississippi.

This list is what the economic future of the country looks like – plan accordingly.