Vermont. Yes, Vermont! At least that’s what Forbes magazine says, if you measure inventiveness based on states’ patents per capita – in other words, each state’s number of patents relative to its population size. And what states round out the top 5?:
2. Idaho
3. Washington
4. California
5. Massachusetts
Would you have called this? Let’s just say we wouldn’t have expected Vermont to lead the way, even though we’re big fans of the small state’s maple syrup and fall foliage.
Of course, these rankings are heavily skewed by the companies in the states, as they’re responsible for getting most of the patents. Vermont’s #1 largely in patents per capita because IBM employees in the state got 282 patents (in a state with just over 600,000 residents). Idaho – it’s home to Micron Technology, which picked up 828 patents last year. You can imagine how folks at Microsoft, HP and MIT helped round out the Top 5.
Interestingly, you see a very different picture if you look at the percent of patents granted to individual inventors in each of those states. How they compare:
Vermont: 3%
Idaho: 6%
Washington: 8%
California: 13%
Massachusetts, 10%
So does this make AbsolutelyNew’s home state of California really the most inventive? Or are our in-state neighbors simply the most independent? Or is this just a bunch of statistics that really means nothing when the most exciting conclusion of all is that folks in every state keep on inventing? What do you think?
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