Be sure to read the comments!
Data points from the article:
- 3.8% unemployment
- Biggest impetus, of course
- Oil
- Fourth in production behind Texas, Alaska, and California
- 650 oil wells drilled last year (2010)
- Expect 5,500 new oil wells over the next two decades
- Between 2005 and 2009, oil industry revenues have tripled to $12.7 billion from $4.2 billion
- Oil industry has created more than 13,000 jobs since 2005
- Most state officials, including Democrats, are pro-oil
- "The industry services the old-fashioned liberal goal of making middle-class constituents wealthier."
- Oil revenue will put an extra $1 billion in state coffers; based on now-low $70/bbl
- Coal
- Wind: industry ranks 9th in the country
- Employs only 7.2% of the state's work force
- Yet, number one in many grass crops (wheat) and honey production
- Number one in Premarin production
- Great Plains Software, founded in the 1980s; sold to Microsoft in 2001 for $1 billion; over 1,000 employees
- Headquarters Microsoft Business Systems
- PacketDigital
- Aldevron: manufactures proteins for biomedical research
- State employment in science, technology, engineering and math-related professions grew over 30% --> five times the national average
- North Dakota now outperforms the nation in everything from percentage of college graduates under the age of 45 to per-capita numbers of engineering and science graduates
- Median household income increased from $42K (2000) to $50K (2009); the 17 percent increase over that decade was three times the rate of Massachusetts and more than 10 times that of California
- Taxes are moderate
- Right-to-work; attractive for manufacturers
