Why North Dakota Is Booming -- WSJ Article

Link here.

Be sure to read the comments!

Data points from the article:

• 3.8% unemployment

Energy

• 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

Agriculture

• 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

High tech

• 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

Other

• 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