North Dakota Economy Booming 3.8% Unemployment - California 12.4%

See Wall Street Journal MARCH 15, 2011 Why North Dakota Is Booming By JOEL KOTKIN
■ "They're drilling for oil, attracting high tech, and keeping the tax burden moderate. Result: 3.8% unemployment"
■ "progressives in California—which sits on its own prodigious oil supplies—abhor drilling, promising green jobs while suffering double-digit unemployment, higher utility rates and the prospect of mind-numbing new regulations that are designed to combat global warming and are all but certain to depress future growth."
■ "Between 2002 and 2009, state employment in science, technology, engineering and math-related professions grew over 30%, according to EMSI, an economic modeling firm. This is five times the national average."
■ "North Dakota now outperforms the nation in everything from the percentage of college graduates under the age of 45 to per-capita numbers of engineering and science graduates. Median household income in 2009 was $49,450, up from $42,235 in 2000. That 17% increase over the last decade was three times the rate of Massachussetts and more than 10 times that of California."
■ "North Dakota is a right-to-work state, which makes it attractive to new employers, especially in manufacturing"