Patents

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1999 State Index Home

Introduction

Overview & Methodology

Overall Rankings

Summary of Results
THE INDICATORS

PART I: KNOWLEDGE JOBS

Office Jobs

Managerial, Professional, and Technical Jobs

Workforce Education

PART II: GLOBALIZATION

Export Focus of Manufacturing

Foreign Direct Investment

PART III: ECONOMIC DYNAMISM

"Gazelle" Jobs

Job Churning

IPOs

PART IV: THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Online Population

".com" Domain Name Registrations

Technology in Schools

Digital Government

PART V: INNOVATION CAPACITY

High-Tech Jobs

Scientists and Engineers

Patents

Industry Investment in R&D

Venture Capital

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

Data Sources

Weighting System

Endnotes

The Authors

PART V: INNOVATION CAPACITY

Patents

The number of patents issued to companies or individuals per 1,000 workers.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The capacity of firms to develop new products will determine their competitive advantage and ability to pay higher wages. One indicator of the rate of new product innovation is the number of patents issued. As technological innovation has become more important, the number of patents issued per year in the United States has grown from 58,000 in 1984 to over 110,000 in 1995.

THE RANKINGS: States with an above-average share of
high-tech jobs—and states where these jobs are in either
corporate headquarters or R&D labs, as opposed to production facilities—tend to use the highest numbers of patents. The Northeastern states lead the nation, partly because of DuPont, in Delaware.

STATES BY RANK
Rank	State	Score
1	Delaware	1.12
2	Connecticut	0.88
3	Vermont	0.86
4	Massachusetts	0.83
5	New Jersey	0.81
6	Idaho	0.79
7	California	0.75
8	New Hampshire	0.73
9	Minnesota	0.72
10	Michigan	0.64
11	New York	0.62
12	Colorado	0.60
13	Utah	0.59
14	Illinois	0.53
15	Rhode Island	0.52
16	Arizona	0.51
17	Pennsylvania	0.50
18	Ohio	0.50
19	Oregon	0.48
20	Wisconsin	0.47
21	Washington	0.46
22	Texas	0.45
23	Maryland	0.43
24	Indiana	0.42
25	North Carolina	0.34
26	New Mexico	0.33
27	Florida	0.32
28	Oklahoma	0.30
29	Georgia	0.27
30	Iowa	0.27
31	Virginia	0.26
32	South Carolina	0.26
33	Missouri	0.25
34	Tennessee	0.25
35	Nevada	0.24
36	Montana	0.23
37	Kansas	0.21
38	Louisiana	0.21
39	Nebraska	0.19
40	West Virginia	0.18
41	Kentucky	0.17
42	Wyoming	0.17
43	North Dakota	0.16
44	Maine	0.15
45	Alabama	0.15
46	Alaska	0.14
47	Hawaii	0.14
48	Mississippi	0.12
49	South Dakota	0.12
50	Arkansas	0.10

	U.S. average	0.48

ALPHABETICALLY
State	Rank	Score
Alabama	45	0.15
Alaska	46	0.14
Arizona	16	0.51
Arkansas	50	0.10
California	7	0.75
Colorado	12	0.60
Connecticut	2	0.88
Delaware	1	1.12
Florida	27	0.32
Georgia	29	0.27
Hawaii	47	0.14
Idaho	6	0.79
Illinois	14	0.53
Indiana	24	0.42
Iowa	30	0.27
Kansas	37	0.21
Kentucky	41	0.17
Louisiana	38	0.21
Maine	44	0.15
Maryland	23	0.43
Massachusetts	4	0.83
Michigan	10	0.64
Minnesota	9	0.72
Mississippi	48	0.12
Missouri	33	0.25
Montana	36	0.23
Nebraska	39	0.19
Nevada	35	0.24
New Hampshire	8	0.73
New Jersey	5	0.81
New Mexico	26	0.33
New York	11	0.62
North Carolina	25	0.34
North Dakota	43	0.16
Ohio	18	0.50
Oklahoma	28	0.30
Oregon	19	0.48
Pennsylvania	17	0.50
Rhode Island	15	0.52
South Carolina	32	0.26
South Dakota	49	0.12
Tennessee	34	0.25
Texas	22	0.45
Utah	13	0.59
Vermont	3	0.86
Virginia	31	0.26
Washington	21	0.46
West Virginia	40	0.18
Wisconsin	20	0.47
Wyoming	42	0.17

Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 1996-1997 data.

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The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)
Technology, Innovation, and New Economy Project
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