The Geography of Talent Shows a Gaining Rust Belt and Sunbelt

Much has been made of the “rise of the rest”—the notion that there’s a shift underway in the location of talent (as well as technology) from expensive coastal cities like New York and San Francisco to more affordable Rust Belt and Sunbelt metropolitan areas. But how true is it?

Karen King, my colleague at the Martin Prosperity Institute, and I took a dive into the most recent Census data on the geography of talent, looking at two key measures in American metros: the share of adults (25 years of age and older) with a bachelor’s degree and above, and the share with a graduate or professional degree. In addition to charting the levels of educational attainment across U.S. metros, we looked at two measures of change: the percent change in the shares of these groups, and the rate of change per 1,000 people.